A growing number of Winnipeg retailers are turning to the Internet's most powerful search engine to increase the visibility of their businesses.
With the popularity of the Yellow Pages on the decline, nearly 150 Winnipeg businesses have signed on to Google Maps Business Photos, an extension to Google Street View.
A Google-approved photographer comes to their door and shoots a series of panoramic shots, which can be woven together to enable an online visitor to take an online tour that's almost as good as the real thing, according to proponents (They can look up or down and zoom in or out on a computer or smartphone.)
The service has been launched across Canada, part of Google's $2 billion plan to work with local businesses around the world.
The search engine contacted Hart Macklin, owner of Macklin Business Photography, last year and asked him if he could take on its business in Winnipeg.
"I take the Google Business photos, stitch them into Street View, and they become an inside Street View tour," he said, noting a wide range of Winnipeg businesses have signed up.
from Western Investor April 2013
