Google Business Photos Program Now In Chicago

Feb. 28, 2012 - PRLog -- Google has added Chicago to a multi-city business photos program.  Specially trained “Google Trusted Independent Photographers” provide 360-degree interactive panoramas of interiors of businesses. The panoramas are seen with business listings on Google Maps and Google Places.  Businesses get higher visibility when consumers search on Google maps for a particular type of business in a geographic area, since the Google Places listings are found at the top of the results page.

There are three Chicago Google Business Photos photographers for Chicago: Karen I. Hirsch, Steven Johnson and Yvette Marie Dostatni.

Potential customers get a virtual tour of a business, so that they can imagine themselves being at the location to determine if they want to visit in person.  This new program can be found in selected cities and countries.  Other cities in the U.S. where the program is running are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bay Area, Miami, Denver, Tampa, Orlando, Austin, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, Washington D.C., Boston, Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, and Phoenix. Photographers are also documenting businesses for Google Places in t Australia, New Zealand, France and the UK.

To be eligible, a business must have a Google Place page listing which is free. Businesses that can participate in this program include restaurants, retail stores, beauty salons, auto dealerships, small dental and medical practices and health clubs such as a yoga facility. Any interested business should ask its local Google photographer if it is eligible to be photographed.  This is a paid service provided by the photographers.

More information about this program is provided on the Google site http://maps.google.com/businessphotos.

Google business photos photographers also provide a set of “Point of Interest” images pertinent to a business such as store hours, menus, awards, and interesting decor.  Owners of the business may upload their own photos in addition to the ones provided by the Google photographers.  

Google photographers are accomplished independent professional photographers who are participating in this program.  They have been specially trained to produce 360-degree panoramas.

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Karen I. Hirsch is an award-winning professional commercial, editorial and fine art photographer based in Chicago. Her photos have been published internationally in books, magazines, newspapers, calendars and online. She is a Google Trusted Photographer.

http://www.businessphotoschicago.com
http://www.karenihirsch.com