SmallBusinessNewz

Back in April, Google changed the Local business Center to Google Places, while also introducing some new features. Among those changes was the addition of Google's tag advertising.

For $25 a month, businesses (in certain cities) could use Tags to highlight their listings on Google.com and Google Maps. These are yellow markers that let you promote important aspects of your business. They can be used for things like coupons, photos, and other select features.  They don’t affect the rank of search results, but they give customers more information.

Google has now announced that it is expanding the initial trial of the feature to the entire United States. They have already been available in California, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Washington, and Colorado, and will soon be available across the country.

Businesses can use the tags to promote coupons, videos, websites, menus, reservations, photos, and other custom messages.

In addition to increasing the availability of Tag advertising, Google has also added features to it. For one, Tags now appear on mobile web searches, which is a huge addition. Local searches are often most useful when the user is on the go. For brick and mortars, that means the customers likely already out and about, and that much closer to stopping by your location. The tags will help them identify what's unique about your business while they're on the go, as Google says.

Another new feature is Posts, which is actually a new kind of Tag that lets business owners create custom messages. The messages can be changed as often as the business owners wants to, which can obviously be helpful for limited-time promotions.  Or a restaurant for example, could highlight the day's specials.

"We hope you find Tags to be a useful and easy way to find and connect with your local customers," says Google's Shalini Agarwal.

Businesses who wish to participate are still asked to speak with a sales representative, and Google gives the phone number here. Still, it's important to note that the feature is expand-ING - as in has not been fully expanded yet. The company intends to keep businesses updated on the availability via this page.

The $25 a month fee for tag advertising will not change based on how often it its clicked. More information about payment can be found here.