Google Virtual Tours
Google Virtual Tours - published to Google Maps (via Street View), are accessible direct from Google Search and can be embedded into your Website or Social Media... or emailed as a link...
Why Google Virtual Tours?
Google Virtual Tours offer a number of benefits and features to Business Owners, which have in the past been difficult (or expensive) to do :
- Add a virtual tour
Bring your business to life with Street View technology: create a 360-degree, interactive tour. Showcase all the details that your customers love. Perfect for restaurants, retail shops, gyms, salons, and more! - Engage with your customers
With a Virtual Tour your customers can walk around, explore, and interact with your business like never before. Customers will be able to truly experience your business – just like being there! - Share with the world
Not only will your Virtual Tour appear on Google searches, Google Maps, and Google+ Local, but you can easily embed Street View on your own website, social media pages, and more!
Business Views Explained
Business Views is a service originally initiated as a pilot by Google in 2010, but now available to all Business owners in Australia and many other countries.
Google Business Views is a paid service offered through Authorised, Google Approved, “Trusted Photographers”
Google Business Views provides your business with a virtual tour and 10-15 professional still photos that will showcase important aspects of your business.
Your virtual tour will appear in three important Google Products :
- On your Google+ Business Page (originally lnown as Google Places or Google+ Local). This will show up in two prominent areas
- in the upper right, below the map area will be a “Look Inside” Image encouraging your potential customers to take the virtual tour. When they click on it they will be taken to a point inside or in front of your business. They will be able to take 360° virtual tour by clicking and dragging the screen
- Still photos will appear in the photos section and will be tagged “from Google”
- In Google Maps search results
- In regular Google Search results – a map and photos with links will appear in the right sidebar of the standard Google results – allowing potential visitors to take a virtual tour within your business, see how it looks outside, or take them direct to your Google+ Business Page
Business Views allows your potential customers to see parts of your business they may not otherwise see, and helps them to decide whether they should continue by clicking thorough to your website, or by actually visiting your business in person.
Google StreetView | Trusted Program
The Google StreetView | Trusted program showcases your business in an entirely new way on Google and across the web.
Engage your Customers with a Google Virtual Tour
To get your own business listed, you simply engage a Google Trusted Photographer to create a 360-degree interactive virtual tour and set of “feature” still photos of your business that are featured on your Google+ Business page, next to your search results and within Google Maps!
Customers can use Google’s Streetview interface to virtually walk through and look all around seeing the best your business has to offer, and you can even incortporate the virtual tour into your website or social media profile.
As well as taking photos for your virtual tour, the photographer will also works with you to capture a set of “feature” still photos.
A Google Virtual Tour creates unlimited unique web content that can be utilized over and over again in your marketing, both online and in print. Your business will grab attention like never before.
Google Trusted Photographers are available nationwide (and select areas worldwide). Your selected photographer will charge a one-time fee for their services. There are no hidden costs or monthly hosting fees. Imagery can also be updated as often as you wish (great for showcasing new displays or designs!).
Google Trusted Photographers
To get your Google Virtual Tour published, you will need to work with a local Trusted Photographer.
Street View Trusted Photographers are trained to take a series of high-quality panoramic photographs that are then “stitched” into 360-degree views using special software. These Trusted Photographers are independent contractors who have been trained and certified by Google to produce high quality panoramic images.
Australian Trusted Photographers
As at October 2016 there were approximately 130 Trusted Photographers scattered around Australia (up from 80 in August 2015 and 25 in December 2012)
You can view the current list here.
Originally setup as a pilot program in 2010 with just a few countries (including Australia), Google StreetView | Trusted (previously called, Business Views , and originally known as Business Photos) has expanded to cover many other countries worldwide.
However, it is only since the introduction of the Trusted Photographer program early in 2012, that this service has become readily available to the average Aussie business.