Google My Business website builder is live

[Mike Friedman]

Google went live with its website builder in GMB.

I don't think this will have a big impact for many of us. It's really targeting countries that are just starting to get online more than most of the places we live in.

https://www.en.advertisercommunity.com/t5/News-Updates/Websites-with-Google-My-Business/m-p/1152806#

[Wirenut]

So instead of sending people to the company's Google+ page, they will send them to a webpage.  More moves to get rid of Google+?

[Mike Friedman]

1 minute ago, Wirenut said:

So instead of sending people to the company's Google+ page, they will send them to a webpage.  More moves to get rid of Google+?

No it is just a simple site builder for people who cannot afford a web designer and don't know how to do it themselves. Kind of like Wix or GoDaddy's site builder. 

That kind of thing.

Google+ is pretty much already dead. Google My Business will hang around though.

[HeySal]

15 hours ago, Mike Friedman said:

No it is just a simple site builder for people who cannot afford a web designer and don't know how to do it themselves. Kind of like Wix or GoDaddy's site builder.

Hmmm.  I thought that's what Word Press is. 

[Wunderkind]

6 hours ago, HeySal said:

Hmmm.  I thought that's what Word Press is. 

It really is nothing like Wordpress. This is not a self-hosted solution. It is a basic site builder on a domain you don't own, business.site.

Your URL will end up being businessname.business.site.

It is very, very limited in what you can do. Like Mike said, this is more an option for businesses in developing countries just starting to get online.

[HeySal]

7 hours ago, Wunderkind said:

It really is nothing like Wordpress. This is not a self-hosted solution. It is a basic site builder on a domain you don't own, business.site.

Your URL will end up being businessname.business.site.

It is very, very limited in what you can do. Like Mike said, this is more an option for businesses in developing countries just starting to get online.

I "get" what it is.  Basically what I was getting at was the third party nature of it (domain you don't own, not self hosted).  

I think third party is a really, really bad idea - and was pointing out that you can be pretty technologically clueless and put together a wordpress site, and it's all your own. No third party risks.  

[Wunderkind]

18 hours ago, HeySal said:

I "get" what it is.  Basically what I was getting at was the third party nature of it (domain you don't own, not self hosted).  

I think third party is a really, really bad idea - and was pointing out that you can be pretty technologically clueless and put together a wordpress site, and it's all your own. No third party risks.  

I think you are missing the point of who this is really targeting. This is not a product that is really targeting 1st world nations. It really is best suited for developing countries that are just starting to get online. They have no idea what hosting even is. It is to give them a simple solution to getting their business noticed online.

These people are going to get preyed upon by unscrupulous web designers looking to extort them for as much money as they can. This is a simple and free alternative for businesses that do not need a lot of bells and whistles. Honestly, there is probably very little opportunity for them to bring in business online in a lot of those countries, so it is not worth investing much time or money into it yet.

 

[HeySal]

1 hour ago, Wunderkind said:

I think you are missing the point of who this is really targeting. This is not a product that is really targeting 1st world nations. It really is best suited for developing countries that are just starting to get online. They have no idea what hosting even is. It is to give them a simple solution to getting their business noticed online.

These people are going to get preyed upon by unscrupulous web designers looking to extort them for as much money as they can. This is a simple and free alternative for businesses that do not need a lot of bells and whistles. Honestly, there is probably very little opportunity for them to bring in business online in a lot of those countries, so it is not worth investing much time or money into it yet.

 

I can see your point.  Still - I remember the first month I was online and I did one of those website built for you programs and it was such a sham that I hate to see people start like that when WP is available.  It will serve the purpose of getting them used to being online and time to learn a little bit, though, I guess. 

[Wirenut]

What about building one of these Google sites thru My Business just to link out to your real local site?  

[Guest]

Really, it's like setting up a Facebook page and aside from the zero cost, it makes sense for Google to get newbies into the product family. It is actually a little complicated to get started with it, but if you're basically looking for an initial presence online, it's not a bad option. 

For folks with zero technical knowledge/skills, it's a start...

[Mike Friedman]

8 hours ago, Wirenut said:

What about building one of these Google sites thru My Business just to link out to your real local site?  

It would be an extremely weak link. Not really worth the effort at all.