Two Cities, One Week: Charlotte, North Carolina

[Cross-posted from the Hotpot Community Blog]

Fresh off launching business outreach and support in Madison yesterday, we’re now adding our fifth city to the mix: Charlotte, North Carolina. Starting today, we’ll offer dedicated support for the more than 40,000 local businesses in the Charlotte area, helping them get noticed on Google and get more customers at their door.

More than 20 percent of all searches on Google each day have a local intent, and we want to make it as easy as possible for Charlotte businesses to get discovered whether folks are looking for BBQ, furniture stores or electricians. We’ve already begun sending the Places starter kits directly to local businesses. In addition to instructions on how to make the most of Google’s free online tools, it also features some ideas on how to get your customers to share their great experiences by rating and reviewing your business on Google. If you don’t receive a kit within the next few days, any Charlotte area business can also request one for free through the Google Places Catalog.

And, for businesses that are already “Recommended on Google,” we’re also including our NFC-enabled window decals that allow anyone with an NFC-enabled device, such as the Nexus S, to tap their phone against the decal and see all the relevant information about that business.

We’re excited to be in kicking things off in Charlotte and look forward to working with its great business community over the next several months.

Posted by Sameer Mahmood, Local Marketing Team

Google Canada offers SMBs a 'net'

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the heart and soul of the Canadian economy. There are over 2 million SMBs in Canada; And even though more than 80% of the Canadian population is online, we estimate that only 1.2 million of these businesses have websites. What’s more, our research shows that of the small businesses that are not yet online, 70% would consider establishing and developing a website if it was easy to do and free of charge.

We have seen firsthand how SMBs grow and flourish when they maintain an online presence -- and we firmly believe all Canadian businesses should benefit from online technologies. So, we want to help ensure that all Canadian SMBs have access to the tools and resources necessary for creating websites and marketing online.

Today we’re announcing the ‘Canada Get Your Businesses Online’ (GYBO.ca) program. GYBO.ca is a joint effort by Google, RBC, The Globe and Mail, Rogers, CIRA, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Silver Lining Limited, and Yola.com, to help SMBs create websites and understand the vast opportunities of online marketing. Over the next year, we hope to help 100,000 Canadian businesses build websites and reach customers online.

If you’re a Canadian small-business owner, you’ve got some good news coming your way. Starting today, you are eligible -- and encouraged! -- to take your first step toward enhancing your online presence. To help Canadian businesses get online, the GYBO.ca team will provide the following resources:

• Free and easy website hosting

• Free web address

• Free online marketing advice and tools

To read more about the GYBO.ca program and about how you can take advantage of these tools, please visit our website.

Posted by: Chris O'Neill, Managing Director Google Canada

Next Up: Madison, Wisconsin

[Cross-posted from the Hotpot Community Blog]

We’ve been focused a lot over the past few months on raising awareness and spreading the word about how Google Places and Hotpot can help people discover great places and help businesses get more customers in the door. Today, we’re excited to announce a new addition to our quickly growing group of cities taking part in this campaign: Madison, Wisconsin.

With its large student population, growing tech community — including the Google office that opened in 2007 — and rich heritage surrounding small businesses, the capital of Wisconsin is an exciting addition. We’re really looking forward to working with the more than 15,000 local businesses in the area, helping them to get noticed on Google using our free suite of tools as part of Google Places.

In addition to having a dedicated team that will work with local businesses throughout Dane County, we’ve also begun mailing Google Places starter kits to thousands of local businesses in the area. These kits include instructions on how any business can claim their free Place page, as well as some samples of materials to help business owners encourage their customers to rate and review them on Google.

For those businesses who are already “Recommended on Google,” we’ll also be distributing our NFC-enabled window decals. These allow users with NFC-enabled devices, such as the Nexus S, to tap their phone against the decal and see all the information about that business.

As part of this launch, we’ve also partnered with the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce to offer a series of workshops beginning in early April that are open to all chamber members and will focus on step-by-step instructions and counseling on how Dane County businesses can make sure they are effectively managing their presence online. If you’re interested in attending, please contact your Chamber of Commerce representative.

Posted by Jeff Aguero, Local Marketing Team