Google is launching a new dashboard feature today that allows business owners to see how customers find their website.
The new dashboard is called Local Business Center (LBC) and is a free tool that allows business owners to also control the content of their business listings as they appear in Google Search and Google Maps.
Business owners can take advantage of the new tool by claiming their listing in the LBC and going through a brief verification process. Once a listing is claimed, business owners will have access to the following data:
Would Twitter Turn to Paid Profiles For Businesses?
People always want to know how Twitter will make money, and at the Web 2.0 Summit, CEO Evan Williams hinted at the commercial value of the service. But that doesn’t mean advertising exactly. Contentinople quotes Williams:
Americans Favor Businesses With A Social Media Presence
More than half (60%) of Americans interact with companies on a social media Web site, and one in four interact more than once a week, according to a new study by Cone LLC on social media.The majority (93%) of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media, while 85 percent believe a company should not only have a social media presence but also interact with its customers via social media.
More Businesses Embracing Social Media
More employers are becoming open to allowing social media use in their organizations.In a 2007 survey from Awareness Inc, 37 percent of business allowed their employees to use social media applications during business hours. In 2008, 69 percent of businesses allow their employees to use social media for business.Currently, 75 percent of employees use social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn for business purposes, up 15 percent from 2007.
Businesses Should Email Interested Consumers
More than half of U.S. consumers who say they are interested in a company are open to receiving a personalized or generic email or text message from the business they are interested in, according to Vertis "2007 Customer Focus Tech Savvy’ study.
Nonprofits Outpacing Businesses on Social Media
Charities are often more savvy than businesses when it comes to using social media – especially blogging. The Center for Marketing Research looked at the top 200 largest US charities as defined by Forbes Magazine. They found that seventy-five percent of the charities are using some form of social media.
Does Facebook Really ‘Cost Businesses Dear’?
I don’t have a Facebook account. At least, not yet, as I have mentioned in another blog post I shared over here not so long ago. But from that to say "[…] sites such as Facebook could be costing firms over £130m a day" is a bit of an over-reaction.
Businesses Expect Ecommerce Sales To Increase
Close to 30 percent of small businesses in the U.S. are estimating that their ecommerce sales will increase over the next 12 to 24 months, according to the Small Business Research Board study out now.
Local Businesses Need Reputation Management Too
If you think it’s only large businesses that need to worry about their online reputation, the Wall Street Journal wants to remind you otherwise.
They take a look at the effects of negative reviews on small businesses and give an example of a spa owner who discovered she had a 2 1/2 star rating on Yelp.com.
Google Offers Search For Small Businesses
Google has launched Google Custom Search Business Edition, which is focused on small businesses who want to add Google search to their Web sites.