I have been using the Google Local Business Center (LBC) for quite some time now.
Setting up your account and adding business locations is really easy, that is, if it’s only a few.
What happens when adding multiple listings using the bulk-upload method? For me this is the preferred method. It’s lightning fast, it tells you which errors to correct (if any) and you see your business listings appearing in a jiffy. Waiting for approval (takes up 2-6 weeks or even more).
So what’s the problem? Well, we want to flavour it up a bit. Add some pictures & videos. But where is the bulk upload feature for this thing? I want to have a branded icon or my company logo added to all the 200 listings I just uploaded using the bulk-upload feature. Not possible! So the next few hours you are busy doing hard labour work, manually adding images and videos per business location using an almost antique photo upload system. Where is the usability on this one Google? It might be good to pay some attention to the local business center.
Suggestion: just add some fields to the upload form with img src destinations to be used.
Instead of adding new features, try to improve the ones that already exist. Speaking of which, when is that category updating coming in Europe?
So hereby, I’m compiling a list of features I would like to see or updated in the Local Business Center.
the list of updates:
- category update (in Europe!)
- Interface redesign / usability upgrade
- Photo upload form
- Bulk-upload photos / videos
- statistics (define impressions / views ) , integrate with Google Analytics!
- insight in (trusted) sources used to gather my information (so I can contact them if something is wrong/missing or incomplete! )
- history on status of business listing (pending, awaiting approval, flagged, awaiting next update, marked as inappropriate, etc )
Feel free to leave a comment if you think something is missing!
Hi Martjin, nice new post… you are becoming martijn-maps faster than expected…
What about Google providing LBC users with the code to include a review form in their site.
It would be an easy way for visitors and costumers to send you feedback that could feed the reviews database at the same time. Right now you can only leave a review within Google Maps (or trusted sites)
Keep on writing… think global act local
Have you used the bulk tool to upload a file of independent companies? Such as 10 non-related pizza restaurants? I do design for a particular industry & seems like the bulk upload tool would allow me to update several hundred at once instead of doing one at a time. But all help text refers to use for a single business with multiple locations.
@Ross
Thanks for visiting my blog!
I haven’t done that but I do not see why it shouldn’t be accepted.
I will checkout the help pages if it states anything about this kind of ‘protection’ for bulk uploads.
i can e you the spreadsheet xl and you can jus change the guts..address name description tel num webpage etc
but im workin on a foto tool to bulk upload one foto to 100 map locations at once..or 10 fotos to 100 locations at once.
why not use picasaweb where you plant the pics then use that url to insert them into the map. in reg 1 by 1 g map add my bus I can do that with url…
hi steve. thx for dropping by.
How do you mean adding pictures to several map locations at once? whats the general idea behind the tool you are working on and what API’s or anything do you use?
Hello
I am in the process of bulk uploading at Googl Map.. . I must your inform help me..
thanks
Hi there can I quote some of the information here in this post if I link back to you?
Sure. What i post is share-alike licensed. A link back would be great. Thanks for reading my blog.