Only 7 months after we announced the launch of Google+ Pages for businesses, Google has taken another large step forward in the area of local/mobile/social integration with the launch of Google+ Local.
In reality, Google+ Local is a refresh and re-design of the (now extinct) Google Places product. This video from Google shows what G+Local is all about:
During an interview with CBS, Google’s VP of Product Management, Marissa Meyer called the launch of G+Local “an amazing local-mobile-social moment.”for a few reasons:
- Social integration – This new product integrates the power of Google massive database with their still-relatively-new Google+ social network
- Zagat – Google purchased the popular subscription-only review publication in 2011 for $151MM, and is now looking to monetize it through local advertising
- Mobile – Google Maps usage is split 50/50 between mobile and desktop. Mobile usage of GMaps is expected to rise significantly. This is important for G+Local as advertisers will now be able to pinpoint potential customers on a geo-specific basis. Very powerful stuff.
What this means for TSS clients is that you’ll want to contact your account coordinator to make sure that your former Google Pages listing is up to date and ready for the additional push of energy that the Google juggernaut is about to put behind it’s newst product in it’s mission to open up accessibility to information for everyone.
