User Generated Content Gets Boost on Google Maps
Mary Bowling | 27 February 2008 |
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Google Maps continues to enable and incorporate User Generated Content (UGC).
Google Maps Reviews
You may now add reviews directly to Google Maps, rather than submitting them elsewhere and waiting for Google to pull them in to a profile. First you must sign in to your Google account.
Then, when you add a review, it posts immediately, although the total count of reviews does not immediately update.
Search Option for User-created Content
User Generated Content has been
available on Google for a while, but the link to it is buried at the bottom of the local search results.
Searchers may designate which types of results they want to see by opting to Show search options in Maps.
Clicking on that link will open a box that enables you to restrict your search results to Everything, Locations, Businesses and User-created content.
This search brings up much more than reviews, although that’s exactly what many searchers are seeking. You’ll see content created on Google Calendar, and personalized saved maps - such as those on CommunityWalk, Platial and Google Maps - as well as content about the subject that Google’s found on blogs and locally focu
sed websites, such as Topix and MerchantCircle.
Different categories seem to focus on different sources. Restaurants and hotels have tons of Google Maps, while UGC results for local plumbers have a lot of job listings.
Research your own location and niche and see what’s being pulled into the results that matter to you. Then, determine where you should focus trying to get more User Generated Content for your business.
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