We all know that Google has been extremely innovative in offering tools that we all use, from email to maps to search results to online documents.  Now the company has small businesses raising eyebrows with the announcement of what they are calling “Place Pages” inside Google Maps. 

The goal of the Place Pages is for people to get as much information about a certain “place” all in one spot/box inside Google Maps.  So once you hover over a specific spot, you’ll be able to click a button and get “an entire page of rich details, like photos, videos, a Street View preview, nearby transit, reviews and related websites,” according to the company’s official blog.

Two questions arise.  First, is it incumbent on small businesses to ensure that the information about their place is correct and then can potentially capitalize on this new tool, and more importantly, will the need for their own independently operated websites wane?  Chris Crum explores this possibility in a recent post on Web Pro News.  The issue is an interesting one.

The bottom line is that more and more people are going online to find out details about local businesses, and Google is doing everything they can to capitalize on local search. They also want people to stay on Google driven pages as long as possible.  That might continue to keep traffic from going to independently operated sites.

Are you as a small business owner paying attention to developments like this and adapting your marketing strategies to capitalize?  If not, are you worried that these tools will take traffic away from your own independently run websites?

Leave us your feedback, we’d love to hear your personal experiences.