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The Google Maps Help forums posted an announcement that there will be scheduled downtime this Wednesday, July 29th. The downtime will be between 1pm - 2pm(edt) / 10am-11am(pdt).
I assume that after 2pm on Wednesday, we might be in for an updated set of features or a new user interface in the Google Local Business Center. Of course, this is just an assumption, but many people are expecting updates from Google in this area and it is due time for an update.
What would you like to see? My preferences?
- A way to easily unmerge those bad merged business records
- A way to give multiple people access to local business records
- Improved spam controls and reporting
- Enhanced business hours
Forum discussion (kind of) at Google Maps Help.
Comments:
Nick Stamoulis
07/27/2009 02:50 pm
It will be nice to see an update for Google local as there really hasn't been one in quite a while.
No Name
07/28/2009 11:57 am
I expect Google take charge on Titles with keywords stuffed!
Shagun Vatsa
07/28/2009 01:05 pm
It would be great to introduce the new and improved Dashboard and Analytics feature for the Canadian businesses that are currently present for the US based local businesses.
Marc Liron MVP
07/28/2009 07:07 pm
Be great to have the US style dashboard with analytics for the UK too!
Out Of Business
10/20/2009 09:54 pm
Let me tell you a story of how Google local put me in debt. First we have to go back... 2 years ago, Google gave my Local Business listing the #1 place for my service and location. Today, I wished they never had and here's why: Finlly, people that were searching for my services were finding me- and rightfully so! After all, I'm not only the best on my location, but one of the best in my industry, credited with multiple awards and years of expertise. At the time, I was so happy with Google that I would have kissed their shoes. They gave me the means to connect with clients where my limited resources could not. My home business grew to more than I could handle by myself. I needed to hire help, but to do so, I needed to get an office. I hired an attorney to draft up a business plan and we shopped it to the banks. Our pitch was simple "We need this much to expand- we're making twice as much so it won't be hard to pay back." The loan was approved. I paid thousands for all the right licensing, hired 2 employees and moved into a warehouse. As sales increased and I expanded my inventory. Here's where it turns bad: We moved into a warehouse lot with similar businesses. We all shared the same street address but different suites. One day, callers started complaining about products that we didn't even carry and services that we didn't perform. Turns out, one of our competitors had managed to rack up multiple negative reviews on his Google local listing and it had somehow MERGED with our listing. Now, dealing with damage control isn't so tough. We explained to callers that they had the wrong number and gave them the correct one. The icing on the cake- when our business came to a screeching halt- was when we found that our phone number was nowhere to be seen. No one called for our business. To put it lightly, our phone lines had become the enemy. For nearly 2 months, we struggled with finding new customers. We passed out flyers but that proved to be ineffective. We heavily relied on Craigslist advertising. In fact, that was our ONLY source of revenue. Google was no help. They would not even entertain the idea of listening to us. What baffled me the most was how a company that employs 20,000 people (that's right, twenty-thousand) didn't have a single person to answer the phone. Here's Google's phone number, call them and ask them about anything and see what happens: (650) 253-0000. They will shut you down like a light. Like a broken record, Google's android receptionists repeatedly chanted the anthem of: "We do not offer tech support for 'free services'. We do not offer tech support for 'free services'. We do..." Ok, as a professional I can understand that a business would not give free support for a free service, but I was willing to PAY. Alas, there was no one at Google that would take my money. Then I remembered that I had paid Google thousands of dollars in Adwords, a $21 Billion dollar company and they couldn't help me. Finally, I ended up deleting my Google Local listing. I created a new one and waited a week for my conformation code. After verifying the code I searched daily for my listing to appear. About a week later I found it... It was on page 4. I'm sure you can figure out what happened in the proceeding weeks. We liquidated. There's an old proverb: "Don't put your eggs into one basket"... Whether that's true or not, I know that basket is not Google. Thanks for debt, Out Of Business