Chichester Design

Google has made a major change to how consumers see local businesses online and how local businesses interact with these consumers: it has replaced Google Places with Google+ Local. Expanding the use of Google+ is the target but all the same, it’s a smart move by the company.

Perhaps the largest change for small businesses that have been using Google Places is that Google+ Local means that they have to embrace the social element that surrounds this marketing technology, by which we mean social media. Google+ Local is a step into the world of Twitter and Facebook, at a …

Another week, another Google business application launch. I talked about the unveiling of Google Analytics Real-Time and what it means for tracking business website performance in October and this week, the company has announced the introduction of Google+ Business Pages.

This move comes as no surprise (the only surprise perhaps being that it hadn’t happened sooner) as Google continues in its attempt to create a social network on the scale of Facebook. The extension of Google+ Pages to include business pages sees the search engine giant expand its battle with its rival.

And why wouldn’t Google want to replicate the …

So, Google has bought mobile phone company Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion. What does that mean for you and me on the street? Well, I think it means that Google is stepping up its battle with Apple. I also think the move will accelerate the take-up of mobile browsing in general.

I’ve mentioned before that mobile browsing is fast growing in popularity – it is forecast by some to overtake PC browsing in the next five years – and I think that Google’s acquisition of Motorola will help drive this growth and maybe even accelerate it. It also makes mobile …

The big news this week is undoubtedly the launch of Google+, Google’s answer to Facebook. This is Google’s third attempt at a social network and all eyes are watching to see if the company can spear its own Moby Dick. Whatever happens, the move underlines the role of social media in our society, both from a personal point of view and professionally, by which I mean for businesses.

Browse the web or pick up a paper and you can read about the details of Google+, its services and its features, and I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on it in the …

More about mobile internet use this week. Having read about the launch of Google Wallet the other week and seen the new Barclaycard mobile payment system ad recently, my mind’s been somewhat focused on the subject and what it means for businesses and mobile advertising.

What is clear is that mobile internet use is being adopted at an incredible rate, much faster than that in the past for desktop
internet access. According to the Internet Advertising Bureau, the UK mobile advertising market was worth £83 million in 2010, up by 113% over 2000. Morgan Stanley estimates that by 2020, there …