For most small local businesses, the Internet is game changing. It used to be that most businesses won or lost based upon the size of their yellow pages ads but given the increasing prevalence of the Internet in peoples’ lives, even the smallest shops can compete against the largest of firms. In today’s world, the smartest shops leverage the power of the Internet.

You might notice that when searching for say, a dry cleaner in your city in Google, that a map and the names and addresses of a number of nearby companies appear near the top of the listings. You might have also noticed that some of these listings have a link that says something like “8 reviews” or “place page.”  If you click on that link, you’ll be taken to a page that Google has created with information about the business such as a description, their phone number, business hours and a link to their website.

Businesses that do not manage their Google Places page run the risk that their Google Places information may be out of date or incorrect.  A story published by The New York Times in September 2011 notes several businesses that were inadvertently marked as closed, which cost those companies thousands of dollars in business.