Google has made some recent advances in local services that shouldn't go unnoticed. These releases advance Google's agenda in Local Business presence, mobile search and local advertising.
Mid-September Google launched Place Pages within its Maps offering to compete with Yelp. Google had already offered reviews and basic info withing the Maps bubble, but Place Pages provided additional information within a self-contained page for the business.
Then, still in September, they launch Local Search for Mobile. Now you can bookmark favorites, then access through you mobile device.
Finally, they make it easier for businesses to advertise on Google. Duh, make it turnkey for these 4 person small businesses to understand advertising on Google. Instead of devising a PPC strategy, Google created a flat-fee structure and included a Google Voice account to track referred calls. So smart, it seems dumb it wasn't introduced earlier. See more below.
With these moves, it's clear Google is looking to own the very furtile online small-business space. I'm sure this is disconcerting for companies such as Yelp, Localeze and CitySearch. Keep paying attention to these fragmented announcements. There is a bigger strategy at play.
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