I’ve been soaking up all the changes and speculation about what’s going on with Google+ and Google Places lately and have come to the conclusion that the widely-anticipated Business Profiles that Google is dangling out there will be a paid advertising product. Here’s my reasoning:

Why would businesses need both a Business Profile and a Places page, when the Place page is essentially already a business profile? Because Google’s always  made a big deal about Places being free, so if it wants to get revenue from them it needs to shift to a paid inclusion model, similar to Yahoo Local’s enhanced listings.

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Expertise is a beautiful thing when you are a small business. If you are in the right business, you have probably spent a long time building your expertise in whatever your industry happens to be. Whether you provide consultative services for your customers, or use your expertise to help sell retail products – the expertise can be what sets your business apart.
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Are you monitoring social media channels for mention of your brand, products and services? I still find in my digital marketing training that few organisations have established a process for listening for feedback about their online reputation despite there being many free tools available.
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