Google

Google+ Local

June 11, 2012 by primm

Google recently switched over 80 million business listings from Google Places to Google+ Local. It’s an integration of Google maps, Google Places, Google+ and Zagat reviews.

The change is an effort to make Google maps a more social experience. Let’s face it: We often turn to people and resources to help us make decisions—especially when it comes to the best places to go.

Now, reviews can only be left by people who have Google+ accounts. This provides more transparency, while also preventing the potential abuse the previous review system was prone to.

Google+ Local is slightly different than Google Maps, because the listings feature Zagat scores and recommendations from people you trust in your Google+ network. It’s integrated into Search, Maps and mobile and available as a new tab in Google+.

Each place you see in Google+ Local will now be scored using Zagat’s 30-point scale, which tells you all about the various aspects of a place so you can make the best decisions. For example, if a place has great food but horrible service, you might see a 28 in Food and a 3 in Service, and you’d know to place your order for pick-up.

Also with Google+ Local, the opinions of people in your Google+ circles are front and center. So if you’re searching for “pizza” on Google+ Local, your results might show a friend’s wonderful review of a pizza place down the street.

What does this mean for the business owner?

Google+ Local is a great opportunity for business owners to use social networking as means for improving exposure on the Google search engine, but it also means they need to upgrade to Google+.

While Google Places information has transferred to Google+ Local Pages, there is still another step to finalize the transition.

As a Google+ member, you can claim and optimize your business page. But if you’ve already claimed and optimized your Google Places page, which has now transitioned to Google+ Local, you still have to claim your Google + Local Business Page and let Google know you would like to integrate the two pages.

After you integrate the pages, you can add customers to your circles. This will create better search engine optimization for your site and potentially boost word of mouth advertising for your business.

On the downside, it’s now more important than ever to deal with bad reviews. Each consumer is connected to a circle of people far larger than their immediate circle of friends. One bad review will likely be seen by many more people than before.

Stay ahead of the game and on top of your listing. If you need help with your Google+ Local listing, give The Primm Company a call at 757-623-6234.

Sources: ENGadget, BDaily, GoogleBlog

Google +

July 21, 2011 by primm

Google recently introduced its answer to Facebook: Google+. The familiar gray strip at the top of every Google page will turn black, and come with several new options for accessing your Google+ profile, viewing notifications and instantly sharing content.

Google+ is a social network, with a “steam” that operates very similarly to the Facebook News Feed. Users can share messages, pictures, videos, links, and their location with friends.

We’re waiting with bated breath at The Primm Company for company profiles to roll out. In the mean time, we’ve put together this summary to explain the current functionality of Google+.

Circles

It’s the “Circles+” that set Google+ apart from other social networks. In most cases, Facebook users share information with mass groups of friends. (Granted, there are ways around this on Facebook…but they’re tricky.)

Google+ makes it easy. The focus isn’t to share with a mass group of friends, but to share with very specific social groups. So if you want to post a picture on the internet of your best friend, four hours in to her bachelorette party…you can do it ever-so selectively by choosing which of your circles will see the post.

The circles are very easy to set up, allowing users to simply drag and drop their friends in and out of different social circles.

Photos and Video Chat

The photo tab allows users to easily see albums they uploaded and pictures in which they’re tagged. There are two really neat features that set Google+ apart from the competition. The first one is, again, the privacy options and sharing features. And the second is a nifty photo editor, allowing users to edit their photos after posting them. So the next day, when someone tells your best friend that you posted a horrid picture of her from her bachelorette party, you can quickly crop her out of the picture and plead innocence. (Then perhaps drop the tattle tale from the “People Who Can Keep a Secret” Circle.)

The video chat feature is one of the most interesting aspects of Google+. The creators understand how uncomfortable it is to invite people in to chat rooms or send them messages asking them to turn their webcam on. Thus, the “Hangout” concept was created.

Users click “start a hangout” and are instantly taken to a video chat room alone. At the same time, a message goes out to their circles to let them know their friend is “hanging out,” and they’re welcome to join.

If business profiles are set up the same way, this will be a great tool for businesses to manage customer service requests and coordinate meetings.

Sharing Content

Google+ Sparks is a collection of content (articles, videos, etc.), grouped by interest. If you click the “Recipes” spark, you’ll see a collection of recent and relevant information for that topic.

You can create your own sparks, which will help you (1) easily stay up-to-date on the subjects that interest you most, and (2) share things you like with others.

Users are also given the option to click the “+1” icon for websites and content all over the web. Whenever someone clicks the “+1,” it’s like giving it a thumbs up or your stamp of approval. As more people adopt Google+, this feature will undoubtedly play a role in search engine rankings.

If you’re interested in learning more about using social networking tools for your business, give us a call at 757-623-6234.

Source: Mashable

Google Love

February 15, 2011 by primm

If you want to get your site to the top of the organic listings and finally gain Google’s love and respect, it’s important that you understand something: It’s not easy. Google is no floozy.

She rates websites with a complex algorithm, evaluating the relevance of each one, and carefully ranking them in order. The top listings are the ones that will make her look best in public—the ones that show people she really knows what she’s doing—the ones she finds the least embarrassing.

Contrary to popular belief, this competition is not based on looks. [Read more…] about Google Love