Popular Internet sites like Facebook and Amazon track use of their Web services to better target advertising.
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Now local businesses, even those without Web sites, can monitor customers’ online behavior, too.
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This month, Google launched its online Local Business Center to help small businesses manage their Google search listings and track information about their customers.
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The free company listings show up in relevant search queries at the top of Google search results, often accompanied by a business address, contact information and sometimes reviews. They also appear in Google Maps.
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Companies can now monitor how often their business listings appear within Google results, how many times users click through to their Web sites and the most popular search words that lead users to their listings.
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The free tool also lets local businesses see where customers are coming from by giving the ZIP codes of origin when people search for directions using Google Maps.
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With people using Google to find out where to eat and who’s the most reliable mechanic, companies could have a lot to gain with the new business tool.
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A lot of these companies that are going to be using the Local Business Center don’t have Web sites, said John Zajac, a spokesman for the Better Business Bureau of West Florida. It doesn’t mean that they could not benefit from the exposure and from search engine optimization.
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Not only will they be able to customize their listings and provide more information about their services businesses can also use search data to attract new clientele.
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I don’t think anybody uses the Yellow Pages anymore, said Charlie Urbizu, owner of Charlie’s Scooter Depot in Tampa.
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Everyone is going to the Web, even the old guys like me. In fact, they delivered the Yellow Pages to the house, and I just threw them in the garbage.
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Urbizu opened his store in 1983, and…