Me: I'm hungry, let's order a pizza.

Mom: Sure, from Casey's.

Me: Ummm... yeah. Taco, or sausage and mushroom?

Mom: Taco.

Me: Sounds good. What's their number?

Mom: I'm not sure. You'll have to look in the phone book.

Me: What's a phone book?

Now, obviously I know what a phone book is. However, I like to be a "smart-ass", as my mom would call me, and so I decided to give her a hard time. She hates it when I make her feel old. I find it humorous.

You see, I consider a phone book to be "old school", and my mom knows this. In my opinion, a phone book is a lot like the TV Guide - a resource that is quickly being replaced by alternative faster digital technology. So when I asked my mom "what's a phone book", she took it as a jab. And, rightfully so.

What's my point? Well, I don't really have one. Rather I have a question.

I don't own a phone book, and I haven't since I first moved out. I get them - each year I'll find one at the end of my driveway - but, I never keep them. Instead, I rely 100% on search technology to provide me with those sorts of answers... specifically Google Maps. Google Maps is the best local search tool ever, and I'd much rather use it and my computer to find the information I need then flip the pages of the YellowBook. I imagine quite a few people feel the same. For me, it is just more convenient that way... especially now that I have an iPhone (via the Google Maps app.).

My question is this: do you think as more time passes, and more mobile technology becomes available that phone books will become at thing of the past? My money is on yes. If this does happen, how soon will it be before all of those small businesses pull their YellowBook advertising, and begin to invest in local search marketing? I image sooner, rather then later.

This leads me to believe that those companies who currently know about and practice local search marketing have a monster advantage over their competition - small fish in a big pond. I predict that over the next few years that "big" pond will become over-crowded. Take advantage now!

Labels: commentary-rants, local-search

I came across another interesting tid-bit of information in my efforts to catch up after missing an entire week of work to attend the SES Conference (quick thanks to Michael for IMing me the details), and it too is Blogworthy. Apparently Google Maps is going to be offering printable coupons for everything from pizza to car washes as they make a move designed to appeal to peoples' appetites for a bargain.

Also, and in addition to offering a service to Google Map users, Google is also providing an easier way for merchants to understand the impact of their online presence by allowing them to better track online leads that convert offline... which is one of the major purposes of Google's Maps and Local Search divisions.

Under the conditions of this new service, a search for "Day Spas in New York" will display business listings that match those terms alongside a map. If any Day Spas are offering coupons, a link accompanying the listing will take people to a separate web page where the coupon can be printed. The coupon can then be redeemed in person at the business location... which to sum up my point will assist merchants, in addition to the customers, by providing them some basis of how their local search campaigns are doing.

Here are a few snap-shots of this new service:

Example of a Google Maps Coupon Listing

Example of Google Maps Coupon

Beginning as early as this morning, Google Maps users will see coupons from the more than 12,000 advertisers who offer printable online coupons. As of right now, it appears that any and all merchants are eligible to sign up to offer coupons, at no charge, on Google Maps at Google's Local Business Center. Google will also begin offering in coming months the ability for businesses that purchase AdWords search-related keywords to send people who click on the ads to a page containing a coupon hosted by Google Maps.

Ok... with all of that said, here's my take on this. In the traditional offline world, coupons drive a lot of business, and they haven't been well-explored online. What Google has done here is provided a very valuable marketing tool for local businesses and it doesn't cost anything beyond the discount given to customers.

For the longest time, online maps from Google and rivals Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL have been racing to offer the most bells and whistles to attract more user-eyeballs that can then be fed advertisements. With that in mind, "Bravo" goes to you Google for being the first major map provider to offer coupons, which will not only appeal to cost-conscious consumers but also offer advertisers a reliable way to gauge the success of an ad campaign.

Labels: google, industry-news, local-search

Google put advertising on the map. I don't mean this in the sense that Google was the first to make Internet advertising mainstream (actually they were probably hugely responsible for that as well), rather I mean it in a literal sense... Google literally put advertising on the map.

As I had anticipated for some time now, Google has created and recently launched a feature that will allow web-marketers the ability to place photos, logos, and possibly other advertising inside the balloons that pop up on Google maps. These balloons mark exactly where specific merchants are located, according to each relevant search, and will now allow businesses the chance to target customers based on geography.

A handful of advertisers, including Barnes & Noble and Ralph Lauren, have been testing this new Local Business Advertising system for a few weeks now. According to Google, these companies purchased several keywords such as "New York books" and "Ralph Lauren New York" which when searched allowed them an opportunity to plug a logo, website, and detailed store information, such as store hours and payment options.

With Local Business Ads, merchants bid on keywords and pay per click as they do for ads associated with Google AdWords, Google's primary advertising network. The ads show up on the maps as well as on Google's main search results page as regular text ads.

I did a quick search for "Barnes and Noble Books New York" and came across the following listing:

Notice that this search, and many others, brought up a few icons on the map. In this case I clicked on the "shopping cart" icon which generated specific information about the merchant. A given icon might be a coffee cup, a shopping bag, a car or, in the case of Ralph Lauren, a flower. When someone clicks the icon, a balloon pops up containing more information about the merchant, including a logo or photo and maybe a link to the merchant's Web site.

I spent some time messing around with this new feature and I absolutely love the fact that merchants can effectively and literally "brand" themselves on Google's mapping service. Let's face it, there's no bigger selling tool for large corporations than their own brand, whether it be their slogan or logo. The closest thing I can think of at this moment that maybe even comes close to being as big of a selling point as brand would be price, but even so there are a lot of people who'll gladly pay tons more to own a piece of the brand. We're all guilty of it.

It is for that reason I believe this new feature will succeed in building up the local search markets. Not only will merchants love the ability to plug their brand, but users will too. Users will be able to quickly scan the map and find exactly what it is they are looking for in matter of seconds. All in all... a great new feature.

Labels: google, local-search

Earlier this week Google and Verizon SuperPages.com came together and signed a deal under which Verizon (aka the classified ad provider) will help its tens of thousands of marketers get ads onto the Google search result pages. Verizon SuperPages.com is now an authorized Google Adwords reseller and will now be helping small businesses take advantage of the many opportunities that Google provides.

This is actually a great thing for search... specifically local search. Verizon SuperPages.com sends sales representatives out to businesses to sell them advertising that will appear in print and online, something Google and other big Internet companies don't have the resources to do. This new arrangement "marries" Verizon's sales channel opportunities with Google's vast advertising network allowing Verizon an opportunity to play a key role with getting small merchants online.

Search engines have plenty to offer the small-business market and deals such as this are critical to move the local search market forward. I don't see small businesses going on their own to Google or Yahoo! anytime soon, so it's nice to see an authoritative source bring Search Engine Marketing services and resources to small businesses.

The Google deal also gives Verizon SuperPages.com advertisers an opportunity to appear in AOL's, Ask's (formerly Ask Jeeves), and other partner search engine's search results through their deals with Google. Not a bad arrangement for small-business marketing if you ask me!

Labels: google, industry-news, local-search

Labels: local-search, yahoo