Why wouldn't you?

You run a small business and someone offers you an opportunity to get a little bit of a competitive edge and some extra exposure to the public.  Better yet, it might get a few more customers through the door.  It's free and it takes about ten minutes (especially if you've already got a little bit of copy promoting yourself).  Even if you've "already got a website" (words I've actually heard as a reason to ignore this offer), why wouldn't you take it?

It looks to me like a lot of businesses are missing out on this offer from Google Places.  And yet, many of these same businesses are still paying for Yellow Pages ads.  Ask yourself: when was the last time a customer said, "I found you in the phone book."  That's becoming a rare event these days.  On the other hand, a lot of people look to the Internet as their first resource for finding services. Google Places (and some of the other opportunities out on the Web) would seem to be a no-brainer.

Hey, if you want to know more, I'm available to help. And, if you want to take it even further than just that (important) listing, that's my business.