All 5 entries tagged Google Maps

Two meanings for 'closed' confirms that the 'losers' in tech battles often win elsewhere.

Writing about web page https://ddaerials.com/googles-5-gold-stars/

And the Winners are:*
Facebook over Myspace
Google over Yahoo
Trustpilot in paid testimonial management over Checkatrade
Facebook over Google+
TripAdvisor for travel & restaurants.
Twitter & Sina Weibo in micro blogging.
etc.

When the modern tech giants get a lead and find the way to monetise it they are difficult to knock off their perch.

Last week a report on paid testimonial management found that Trustpilot had an impact on search visibility that was up to 300% better than their direct competitors. I advise small businesses to think carefully before committing to send out invites for independently verified reviews. To stay on the treadmill of inviting customers to give feedback, promptly managing the real complaints and the fake, whilst keeping up the 150 reviews per year to please Google.

There is one other, free, option; Google+ the loser to Facebook. As the Google Executive who was tasked with challenging Facebook learned when his young daughter asked “Why, daddy? Everyone’s already on Facebook!” He quit for Microsoft.

To get Google’s 5 Gold Stars on your Ad or organic search listing requires over 150 reviews in a year, see below. Google will withdraw these stars immediately if they detect that invites are no longer being sent out. Reviews are best fresh.

Yet on Google’s local business listings you can get the 5 Gold Stars with far fewer reviews as you can see from the local result from the same search. So I do recommend that my clients also send out invites with links to their Google Local pages. They just ask if they have a gmail address or Google account login. Another loser who continue to serve businesses differently is Checkatrade. They never even made it onto the Google list of recommended review sites; supporting postal and phone verification and the less connected. Checkatrade also allowed me to find a good local electrician to help my mother in law in Sandbach. You cannot search for good businesses on Trustpilot except by searching down a list from Yell or Google.

When planning my trip to Prague last month I used guidebooks and TripAdvisor to get up-to-date reports. Closer to the date I used Google maps.

Google has supplemented their logged in community of Adword experts with YouTube and then Android phone users. So this is how they can report when a business is open and when it is most busy, see the restaurant listing, above, right. I was recently taken back to a review of an excellent café in a Copenhagen park that I had added to TripAdvisor only to see the status ‘Closed’. Unfortunately, this was not about their opening hours!

My first experience was of the microprocessor battle between the 2 architectures RISC v CISC, Motorola v Intel. Then the first loser was Texas Instruments who turned to the smaller 4-bit processor for washing machines, TVs, microwaves etc. We courageously used both the x86 and 6800 on the same project as alternate sources. We found that initially that the network performance of the Intel was 5 times faster when our architecture experts were betting on Motorola. The difference was a better driver code or software. We got both working but Intel won long term and Motorola moved on to Apple and elsewhere.

New players can still set up new niches but more and more these will be bought up a great expense by one of the giants filling out the gaps in their platforms.

Robert McGonigle : 16 May 2017 16:16 |  Tags: Facebook Google Maps Google Plus Intelx86 V Motorola 6800 Tripadvisor Trustpilot |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Correcting your Location Marker on the Google Local Business Center

Writing about web page http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enGB304GB304&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=sg4+7jr+%22redcoats+farmhouse+hotel+%26+restaurant%22&fb=1&split=1&gl=uk&cid=0,0,56886799012450000&ei=AMuGSpu5EeLTjAf0v5yiCw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1

Today I was looking for Hotels at Heathrow close to the Sheraton where I am going to a seminar. Many were still identified by the Postcode default or were even further out.

Last week we stayed in an area in Herts where all the postcodes had slipped on Google, the OS and for all Sat Navs. We found the Redcoats Farmhouse Hotel and Restaurant easily enough, we do not take John Cleese on TomTom as the Gospel Truth.

We were upgraded to Annie’s Room, see left, when we confirmed that we had come to sample their Gourmet Restaurant menu. The service and food met or exceeded our expectations so the next morning I fixed their location problems. I had the Ulster estate venison and selected a bottle that was declared as ‘needing decanting’. Our hostess knew her wines and had the skill to leave the butler’s share very small.

I have described how to link to these ‘branded pages’ in emails etc. You can also embed these fully interactive maps into most websites since google will provide the iframe code. Just click Link on the top right.

Robert McGonigle : 15 Aug 2009 16:11 |  Tags: Correcting Google Map Markers Google Maps Map Markers Redcoats Farmhouse Hotel |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Snap Shot's MapShot | Beta tested, unknowingly, on this Blog.

Writing about web page http://blog.snap.com/2007/10/17/snap-shots-experience-making-your-links-more-interactive-with-snap-shots/

Snap have announced a new service.

The newest member of the Snap Shot family is MapShot which you can activate by typing a very specific address into Google Maps, click “Link To This Page” and copy the URL. Now paste the link into your site as you would a normal link and we’ll add a MapShot automatically.

This new ‘feature’ was working on this Blog back in the middle of August but with branded links.
Check out how to use Google Local to create previews of your own branded page on Google Maps.

Robert McGonigle : 18 Oct 2007 09:33 |  Tags: Branded Page Google Local Google Maps Mapshot Snap Shot |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

How to create your own Branded page on Google Local Maps

Writing about web page https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?continue=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Flocal%2Fadd%2FbusinessCenter%3Fgl%3DGB%26hl%3Den-US&service=lbc&hl=en-US&gl=GB

I have been linking to Google Maps in emails and on webpages for some time to help visitors to find locations and to get the directions from where they are.

The page displayed is a lot better if the company or organisation is registered with Google Local. When Google allowed images to be added you can create a branded page on Google Maps, with links back to your site and all the functionality of Google maps, see below.

To set up you own ;

1. Register your company or organisation on Google Local
2. Correct your position on the map if needed and add pictures, logos, etc.
3. Search Google Maps for your postcode to zero in on the area.
4. Then search for your company – producing one result.
5. Zoom to the right level to be helpful for navigation.
6. Click ‘link to this page’ and copy the link.

Click to see Frost’s complete map on Google with Get Directions

Click to see Frost’s complete map on Google with Get Directions

To add these maps to your own website follow the ‘Customise and preview embedded map’ link within the ‘link to this page’ box. This will allow you to change the size & details and generates HTML code for an Iframe that works on most blogs and websites.
See example on the WMCCM Site .

Robert McGonigle : 16 Aug 2007 15:41 |  Tags: Google Local Google Maps |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

WMCCM is on Google Local

Writing about web page http://www.google.com/local/add

I have just finished the process of registering WMCCM on Google Local.
(Follow the link to do likewise.)

You need to have a login, register your company or organisations details and then they send you a letter with a PIN number as the verification step.

I was pleasantly surprised to find 52 of WMCCM’s profiled companies has already got entries.
Join – Get Profiled here.
http://www.wmccm.co.uk/WMCCM/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=3&tabid=798

Some of the entries leave few or zero clues about what the company did. Always put keywords into titles including with your company name to create an effective online brand.

When Google has nothing else to differentiate these local entries it places them in order of the distance from the centre of the location. So check out all possible locations and the competition. In Brierley Hill a presswork company can be found in searches for Walsall and even Wolverhampton but would have no chance under Birmingham.

Yahoo! Local uses the classified entries from the BT phonebook. Again think about the title used in these entries.

Robert McGonigle : 08 Dec 2006 14:42 |  Tags: Google Local Google Maps Regional Portal Smes Wmccm |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem