The info below describes the Local Business Center, the free tool from Google that helps businesses appear on Google Maps.  By encouraging businesses in your region to use Local Business Center, your whole town will benefit from better content on the map, and individual business owners will benefit from free exposure on the world's #1 online map.

Here are a variety of resources we encourage you to share with your business community:

1) Introductory video explaining Local Business Center and how to sign up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lviDz8fUMTE

2)  A printable PDF postcard for distribution to business owners.

3)  An online resource center with FAQs and step by step sign up instructions:

http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=143059

4)  A written description of Local Business Center to customize and
include in your next newsletter (below):

"How does free, no-strings-attached promotion on Google sound to you? Sign up right now for Google's Local Business Center.  Local Business Center allows business owners to control their online listing on Google Maps, the #1 online mapping service in the world.  By visiting Local Business Center onlinez: 

http://maps.google.com/localbusinesscenter

and claiming your business, you will be able to edit details, like opening hours and services, upload photos of your business, and much more. If you have a website, you can link to it. If you don't, think of this as your first spot online!

We'd love to hear about your Local Business Center experience. To provide feedback and share success stories of businesses in your town, reply directly to this email (localbusinesscenter@google.com).

Enjoy,

The Google Maps team