Marketers now have a new tool to mange their Google Places for Business listing while on the go with Google’s new Android app.
The new app will let users update business information such as hours of operation, contact details, and description. What SEOs and search marketers will love about this app is the ability to add posts and photos to Google+ Local Pages, respond to comments and +1’s and almost everything else that comes with maintaining a Google+ Local page.
Anything done within the app will be updated across all Google properties including search results, Google Maps and Google+ Local. Best of all you will be able to track how those changes affect engagement since the app also has basic analytics data built into it.
It doesn’t have all the functionality of the desktop version though. At this time the app doesn’t let you respond to customer reviews or create new listings. It’s also only available in the U.S. and exclusive to the Android operating system, so that may exclude a lot of people from being able to use it.
You may be thinking this sounds very similar to using Page Identity in the Google+ app, but the new Google Places for Business app does have slightly more functionality like the ability to update business information. If you maintain an active Google Places listing as part of your SEO strategy this app will no doubt prove to be quite useful.
As an Android user myself I will definitely be downloading it and using it to manage my clients’ Google Places listings. For iOS users, unfortunately there is no time frame for this app being released on your platform.
