Think your yellow pages listing matters? Then get ready to worry about a whole new category of business directories -- online maps. Theoretically, these flashy new interactive maps can bring you new business. But, they can be notoriously incomplete or just plain wrong.
That doesn't mean you have to live with bad data. It's important to be proactive. Chances are, most people under, say, 30, will look here before cracking open a phone book, if they even have one around. If they're under 20, if it's not on their cellular phone, it's not real. Maps and listing make the difference.
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Get to the know biggest services and how they work
If you are new to online maps, it would be a good thing to just go to a few and try to find your business. Who knows? Maybe it's listed just fine.
I recommend: Some of the better known mapping sites include
Google,
Yahoo!,
MSN,
MapQuest and
Multimap. Software that includes 3D versions of cities is put out by
Google Earth and
Windows Live Local.
Tell the map services where you are
Some of the big ones allow small businesses to identify themselves directly with the business database.
I recommend: You can upload your data directly with
Google, and you even add a
printable coupon next to your list for free. Strangely, Yahoo! maps presumes
you cannot type, but offers a feedback form in case your business isn't listed. It's easier to edit a business listing or claim you own the listed company via
Yahoo! Local, free or for a fee with enhanced features. MapQuest does it with a complex process called
geocoding, which basically means that if it's wrong,
you have to tell them. Window Live uses a third-party vendor called
Localeze.
Be found through your own Web site
Online maps are making it easier to tell customers where you are, with sometimes only minimal or no programming skills necessary.
I recommend: Google Maps allows you to use
its own code to embed maps into your site. Yahoo! suggests you
link out to their site. MapQuest goes both ways,
link out or embed in. For Windows Live, go to
Help and search for "link" for suggestions. Yes, it's that hard to find out how.
Increasingly, the data is on the move
The eventual goal of most mapping services online is to be the killer app when it comes to smartphones, those big-screen, broadband versions of cell phones. They've come down in price drastically, so being online will matter a lot more, sooner.
I recommend: Google's
mobile service is up and running.
Yahoo!, too, has been in this for a while.
MapQuest expects users to pay a monthly fee. The
Windows Live offering seems to focus on listings more than maps, but that matters.
Related Resources from Business.com
Comments
Is any content on this page inappropriate? To let us know, please 
