Unfortunately, due to my late arrival time at the conference, I was only able to take in one other session, beyond the one I spoke at, at the Kelsey ILM conference last week. However, it was an interesting presentation titled: “Maps: They’re not just for driving”
Aaron Kahlow was the Moderator, and he actually began the session with a presentation of his own, which basically asked questions of the presenters. Firstly he asked them how maps fit in to the marketing puzzle, and how they should be prioritized. Then he reminded people that while new, disruptive technologies are fun to play with, people shouldn’t just get excited for the sake of getting excited, they need to answer the big question: What are the business applications and what’s the ROII?
The first speaker up to attempt to answer the questions was Joe Abraham. He spoke on the topic of making sure that you get your data into the various mapping systems. The first step that you should take is to make sure that you have your data correctly listed, then go to the Google Local Business Center, Yahoo Local, Live Local, and InfoUSA to upload your data. In Google you can add multiple locations and coupons. One way to get your business ad listed quickly in Google Maps is to create a local business ad through Adwords.
Benu Aggerwal continued the conversation, reminding people that by getting their business in the mapping systems, Google maps in particular, they run a much better chance of dominating their SERPs and pushing any ‘bad’ listings ‘below the fold’. She recommended checking the data aggregators such as Acxiom and Amacai to verify that they have your listings entered correctly. Ensure that your website is fully optimized, and if using CSS use it to stick your address as high up in the html as you can, regardless of where it actually appears on the page. Use the map APIs to enhance your website i.e. showing local atractions / restaurants for a hotel.
- Get listings on 2nd tier local directories
- Get listings in vertical directories
- Get references from other local sites
- Get Reviews on social networking sites
- Use Geotargeted PPC
Up next was Danny Moon of the appropriately named company upNext. He spoke on the natural evolution of mapping systems from 2d to 3d. His belief is that the map will eventually not be the endng point of a search, but will instead become the starting point. This will be possible as users become more sophisticated, and is supported by hardware improvements over recent years that have improved rendering capabilities.
The last presenter was Andy White. He spoke on difference between a ‘free’ mapping solution and a paid solution. While the initial price may be better, the price of development will at some point push the cost of the ‘free’ solution above that of the paid solution. You really need to look at how critical the mapping features are to your core business.
During the Q&A phase, the panel reiterate their belief that mobile will be a big driver in the growth of maps for local. One question that was asked that doesn’t have a great solution at the moment was how to handle mapping for service based businesses. The response from the panel? It’s a challenge.
