In the last two posts I looked at how TomTom and Google are engaging users to contribute or refine map data. Today I came across the news that Google has started a program to pay independent contractors to capture the details of local businesses like stores, restaurants, and service providers. Google’s intention is to not only index where on a map local businesses are, but also more detailed information like opening hours, payment options, the various offerings, and a couple of photos of the store, storefront or building.
While local businesses can already sign up themselves , this is clearly a move by Google to actively become tomorrow’s Yellow Pages. Clever as Google is, they encourage the contractors, which may refer to themselves as “Google Business Referral Representatives”, to introduce Google’s advertising opportunities while talking to store owners.
And there is really a lot more to this.

I think this is particularly interesting because by sending out swarms of contractors to catalog small and medium businesses and convert them into advertising customers Google may be able to kill two birds with one stone.
First of all they offer businesses a free listing in today’s de facto number one online shopping portal – and by that increase their superiority when it comes to local search results too.
And second, they offer an advertising opportunity, which may be soon directly geo-tied to local search results. This gets even more interesting if you think about the possibility of Google Maps becoming the users’ first choice on portable devices like map enabled smart phones – which again will make it the primary business listing for store owners. By creating this network effect Google sets out to dominate not only web, but also local search.

Google has always been very smart at leveraging its content and tool offerings to sell advertising in their rather discreet “sponsored links” fashion.
So when local businesses are given the opportunity to hyperlocalize their advertising with self-service tools like Google AdWords (or AdLocal?) the really clever ones will soon start including up to the minute special offers, let’s say a low price on an overstocked item, a special lunch deal around noon, umbrellas when it starts raining, or whatever they think will help them convert searching passersby to customers. And to encourage just that Google is happy to once again hit it twice. Once business owners review the details online for accuracy that have been collected by the contractors, they can get a free US$25 credit to spend on AdWords. This ensures a proper QA and drives Google’s AdWords business – at least when the business owner has a website to promote. If not, well then Google might need to come up with an idea around how to measure conversion of consumers to a store visit rather than a website visit. I’d say with mobile couponing just around the corner, a solution is in sight already.

What do you think?