Of the recent and rumored changes at Google, many have one thing in common: they are designed to entice Google users to remain on Google sites rather than click through to non-Google sites.

The reason is straightforward enough: Google is in the business of promoting Google products in addition to being the leading search engine (and online advertising seller).

Let’s break it down:

Google Direct Answers

Ask a question and get a direct answer from Google.

Google acquired this technology from the Squared software of its own Google Labs and from an acquisition of Metaweb Technologies, both in 2010, and have slowly rolled out these direct responses to questions entered into Google search.

The direct answer from Google to the query for "age of Barack Obama" appears above the organic results and is only superseded by an ad purchased by the official website.

Direct answers  to questions appear below the ad row (if applicable) and above the organic results.  They cite their sources, but they don’t link to them directly in the answer, you have to click to reveal the sources.

Sure, direct answers don’t apply to a whole heck of a lot of queries related to bed & breakfast inns and other small businesses right now, but some queries for events in specific areas do get direct answers, so it may already impact chambers of commerce and visitors bureaus.

The acquisition of Metaweb’s Freebase was made specifically to get software that will increase the sophistication of analysis of questions and supply of answers, so the burning question is this: How will Google evolve their direct answers to keep users on Google?  Google is playing this close to the vest, so stay tuned.

"Let's see...Google personal results, Google Ads, Google map markers, YouTube videos...where the heck are the website links?!"

Google-owned Products in Their “Everything” Search Results (or “Search Plus Who’s World?”)

Google Maps, YouTube (owned by Google) videos, Google+ posts via Search Plus Your World, Picasa photos, and other Google products are increasingly showing up in the “Everything” results for queries.  This makes it more and more difficult to get first page placement for terms and less and less likely for users to ever leave Google by clicking through to “non-Google” results.

The Danger of Google Dominating Google Search Results

Google users spending more time on Google sites mean they are likely to spend less time on your own website.  If Google takes an aggressive approach with the above, than can mean a moderate to dramatic decrease in traffic via Google search in a very short time.

The Dangers to Google

Google is coming under fire from several directions for giving preferential treatment to their own products in search results.  Should they continue to grab an increasing percentage of search results, they run the risk of lawsuits and closer scrutiny and possible legal action by government agencies.  Worse, this endless chasing of money might turn off its user base.  Google+, for instance, might be ad-free now, but how long will that last?

How to Deal with Changes at Google

Google is promising to provide tools such as specific tags, etc., to help websites stay viable in organic search.  Make sure you stay up to date with Google’s announcement and work on your website (or with your webmaster/SEO service rep) to keep your website competitive.

Participate in Google products to keep grow your presence there.  We’ve recommended in this blog that businesses create and maintain an active Google+ profile, a Google Places listing and start marketing via YouTube.  If the competition for first page placement for terms you want is high enough, you will want to consider Google AdWords.  You might find it distasteful to play the game under Google’s terms, but the reality is that they still own the lion’s share of search queries.

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Put yourself -- and your local attractions -- on the map, and put that map on your blog.

Are you surrounded by world-class hiking trails, ski resorts, or trout streams? Is your business in the midst of a museum or historical district? Do you want to show the world how close you are to a famous monument or national park?

Put yourself—alongside these amazing local attractions—on the map.

Using Google Maps, you can create custom maps, using your own map markers and driving or walking routes, which you can add to your blog posts. Your map can be as simple as a single scenic drive or as detailed as a collection of your favorite area wineries, complete with routes and scenic overlooks along the way.

To help get your creative juices flowing, here are some ideas for blog posts that could benefit from including a map:

• Scenic driving tour
• Birding hotspots
• Art walk
• Historical walking tour
• Wine trail
• Day trip itinerary

Here’s how:

Create a custom Google map

1. Go to Google Maps at maps.google.com.

2. Sign in to your Google account by clicking the “Sign in” button in the upper-right corner of the page.

3. Click the “My places” button in the upper-left corner of the page, then click the red “CREATE MAP” button.

To create a custom Google map for your blog, go to Google Maps and log in with your Google account.

4. Give your map a name and description, then make sure the “Public” option is selected.

Give your Google map a title and description.

5. Click the “Save” button above your map’s title. If the button says “Saved” instead of “Save,” Google has automatically saved your map. It does this at regular intervals.

Add map markers

There are two ways to add markers to your map. You can either use the search bar to find businesses or locations that appear on Google Maps, or you can add your own custom locations. It’s almost always a good idea to add your own business to your maps along with surrounding attractions.

Add markers for existing locations

1. Use the search bar to search for a location on Google Maps. You can search for a business (“Purple Haze Lavender”), a natural feature (“Mt Olympus, Washington”), an address (“436 S Sequim Ave, WA”), or other locations.

2. Click on the red map marker for your location. When the info bubble appears, click “Save to map” at the bottom of the bubble. Choose your new map, then click “Save.”

Look for businesses on Google Maps and save them to your own map.

3. To add another location, do another search. Otherwise, you can view  your map by clicking the “View map” link in a yellow box that appears at the top of the page.

Look for the orange box at the top of the screen to view your map.

Add markers for custom locations

If Google Maps can’t find the location you have in mind, or if you simply want to mark a particular spot, you can add custom locations to your map.

1. Click the marker icon at the top of the map between the hand icon and the line icon.

Choose the map marker icon to add your own locations to your map.

2. Your cursor will become a map marker. You can still scroll across the map and zoom in and out. Click on the map to “drop” the marker onto the map. If you drop the marker in the wrong place, drag the marker to correct it.

3. When you drop the marker, an info bubble appears. Give your marker a title and a description.

Edit your markers

No mater whether you’ve added a custom marker or used an existing location, you can change the marker’s title, add a description, and change the shape of the marker icon.

To edit the title and description of a marker, click the marker. When the info bubble appears, type your own title and description. If you want to use bolding, links, bulleted lists, or other formatting in your description, click the “Rich text” link. When you’re finished, click “OK.”

Add links, bulleted lists, and other formatting by clicking the "Rich text" link above your marker description.

To change the shape of the marker icon, click on the marker. By default, the markers are blue upside-down raindrops. In the marker info bubble, click the marker icon in the upper-right corner. Click on the icon that best depicts the location, then click the “OK” button at the bottom of the info bubble.

You can change the shape and color of the map marker.

Google offers several dozen icons to choose from.

Delete map markers

To remove a map marker, click the marker. Click the “delete” link in the bottom-left corner of the info bubble.

You can also delete a map marker.

Add lines, routes and shapes

In addition to map markers, you can also add lines, routes and shapes to your map. Lines and routes might come in handy to describe how to get to an attraction or where a hiking trail leads, and areas can indicate a broad area like a national park or historic district.

Click on the line icon to the right of the marker tool in the upper-left corner of your map and choose a tool.

Draw a freehand line, draw a line along roads, or outline a shape.

With the Draw a line tool, you can draw a segmented line freehand across your map. To begin drawing, click on the map. Click on a different place to “anchor” the line and continue drawing. To end the line, either click on the last anchor point or on the very first point.

Draw a line to indicate a hiking trail, walking tour route, or other off-road excursion.

With the Draw a line along roads tool, the line you draw will “snap” to the nearest roads. You can click on the map to add anchor points so that the line follows a specific route instead of the shortest possible route.

Use anchor points to specify your route along roads.

You can also use the search bar to save driving directions to your map. Search for directions in the search bar as if you were looking for driving directions, then scroll down to the bottom of the directions. Click the “Save to My Maps” link, then choose your map and click “Save.”

Instead of drawing a driving route, you can search for directions and save that route to your map.

With the Draw a shape tool, you can outline a many-sided shape to indicate an area.

Indicate an area using the Draw Shape tool.

Edit your lines and shapes

You can give a title and description to each of these lines and shapes in the same way as you do with map markers.

You can also choose the color and transparency of the lines and shapes. To do this, click the line or shape. In the info bubble, click the color swatch in the upper-right corner.

You can change the color, width, and transparency of lines and shapes.

In the “Edit shape style” bubble, click the color swatches to choose new colors. You can also choose the width of the line and the opacity of the color. A low opacity number makes the line more transparent, and a high number makes the line more visible. For shapes, you can also choose the fill color and the opacity of the fill color.

The higher the opacity number, the darker your line or shape will be.

Add your map to a blog post

Ideally, you’ll want your map to appear in your blog post as an interactive map instead of as a static picture of a map or as a link.

It might not always be possible to paste your map directly into your blog post. For security reasons, some blogging platforms like WordPress (and therefore Inndx) are picky about the type of code they allow in blog posts. A Google map can look like malicious spam code, in which case your map might be removed from your post. Fortunately, WordPress offers workarounds that allow you to include your map. (Inndx clients, please ask us at InsideOut about the best way to add a map to your blog.)

If you aren’t able to add an interactive map to your post, another option is to take a screenshot of your map and add that picture to your post. You can then link the picture to your map on the Google Maps site.

Here’s how to add your map directly into your blog post:

1. Click the chain link icon above your map title. In the pop-out box, click “Customize and preview embedded map.” The Customize window shows you a preview of what your map will look like on your blog page.

Set the size of your Google map.

2. Choose the map size. Your map should be big enough so that your readers can easily see all of your markers, but make sure the map fits within the width of your blog.

3. Below the map size options is the map preview. You can zoom in, zoom out, and drag the map around.

4. When you’re satisfied with your map, copy the HTML code at the bottom of the window and paste it into your blog post.

Copy the map code and paste it into your blog post.

Happy mapping!

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As an Innkeeper and business owner, you are undoubtedly familiar with the fact that Google allows you to claim your local business listing, and to customize the information people see when they conduct a search for lodging in your area. Through the Local Business Center, claiming your “Google Place” page allows you to add photos, video, hours of operation, highlight some of the special features of your Inn, and add custom description. In addition, you can create coupons, perhaps offering a bottle of wine with a two night stay in June, or theater tickets to the local production with a three night booking.

These days, one out of every five searches is location related, so having your local listing up to date and accurate is of the utmost importance.

And now, once you’ve claimed your local listing, you can download a “QR” (aka bar code) customized for your Inn from your Google Places dashboard. This eye-catching graphic can be placed in the window of your Inn or Restaurant, on business cards or other marketing materials. Customers scan the QR bar code with their mobile devices, and view the mobile version of the Place Page for your business.

Your Guest or Potential Customer Can:

• Read reviews to see what other users have to say about your Inn.
• Find a coupon that you’ve posted to your Places Page.
• Star the Inn to remember to check it out later, or to visit again.
• Leave a review of the Inn.

On a peninsula in Lake Hamilton, the Estate as a breathtaking view of the Lake and surrounding area. We were so delighted to create a design for the Estate that would give visitors an impression of what it was like to really be at the inn.

We used cool colors and gentle florals to make the site feel appealing and approachable. The old design was rigid, and we wanted the web site to convey to potential guests and brides that Hamilton House is committed to their guests’ comfort and enjoyment on the lake.

Hamilton House Estate, Hot Springs Inn & Wedding Facility

Adding a Google map to the directions page allowed users to instantly access driving directions, reviews and other information about the property and the area from Google maps.

We re-vamped their wedding page to include all new and relevant local services and vendors that a bride may be looking for. Their Hot Springs Wedding packages are listed clearly, and there is a downloadable PDF for brides or event planners who want more details.

The Hamilton House website now optimized and designed to current web standards while giving the visitor a better and more accurate impression of this exceptional property.

Garden House Map

Google Maps gives users of your website access to interactive content that you would otherwise not be able to provide them. Giving a visual representation of your business’ location and activities nearby is a powerful way to get users interested in staying at your destination.

More than just driving directions, a Google Map with local restaurants and things to do can really sell your property. The Garden House Inn, a very fun Key West Lodging has a great example of a map displaying proximity to local businesses. They are close to downtown and this map shows the many opportunities for guests to have fun and enjoy their time in Key West.

Inn at Cape Cod Map

If your business is not as close to the action, a Google Map can show the surrounding region as well. Maybe show all of the great golf courses nearby or lakes and rivers in which guests can fish and boat. Also, your map could show potential customers travel routes to and from your business like the the map we built for Inn at Cape Cod, a Cape Cod MA bed and breakfast.