Google Streetview Trusted program brings visitors inside businesses virtually

An increasing number of Lincoln businesses are putting their business interiors on the map – the Google map that is.

Businesses find that putting a Google Streetview Trusted virtual tour on their business pages lets people see what they are all about. It also improves their presence on the search engine.

“I know that having a Google virtual tour of our facility has significantly increased our presence in search engine rankings,” said Jodi Freeman, outreach coordinator at Roper & Sons Funeral Home, which had a virtual tour done last fall.

The tours are photographed and put together by Lori Black, owner of MIT Images 360. Black is also owner of MIT Images 360’s sister company, Moments in Time Images. She became a Google certified photographer about a year ago. She is the only Lincoln-based certified Google Streetview Trusted photographer.

Streetview Trusted is the Google’s rebranded business interior virtual tour program. The program started in 2010 as Google Business Photos. Google rebranded the program in 2014, calling it Google Business View. Last fall it rebranded again to Streetview Trusted. It is now a worldwide program.

Google uses the same technology for this program as it uses for its outdoor Streetview photography. Most business listings have see a 360-degree views of the outside of the business. The Streetview Trusted program brings that technology inside. It gives business owners a 360-degree walking tour of their interior.

The tours are published on search pages as well as Google+ Local pages and maps. Viewers navigate the tours by following arrows on the floor.

Google research has shown that having a tour can increase visits to websites and increase interest in visiting the business. The cost of doing a tour varies on the size of the facility. Cost typically starts at $300 and also includes standalone photography of the business interior.

Black has completed about 20 virtual tours at a variety of businesses, including medical and dental offices, retail stores, funeral homes and even arenas.

In December Black shot three floors of the Pinnacle Bank Arena, allowing viewers to see what the arena looks like inside before they even step inside.

SMG Lincoln General Manager Tom Lorenz said the tour moves seamlessly through the event level on the first floor, the main concourse on the third floor and the premium level on the fourth floor.

“The 360-degree virtual tour will certainly give visitors a rich view of what they can expect to see before they arrive,” Lorenz said.

Black also recently shot and published a tour of the Baxter Arena in Omaha. Businesses don’t have to be large, however, to have a virtual tour. Nor do they have to be inside. Black recently published a virtual tour of Pinewood Bowl and the Holmes Lake dog run.

Freeman said Roper & Sons hired Black to complete the tour to give the public a more welcoming view of the funeral home.

“A funeral home often has the perception of being a dreary and sometimes frightening place. Thanks to MIT Images 360 and Lori Black, some of the mystery has been lifted,” she said.

Pioneer Greens Dentistry owner Chris Haag booked a virtual tour as part of a new marketing plan. He felt a tour would increase customer confidence in his dental office.

“It is so important for people to have a level of trust and comfort with your business,” he said. “The Google tour creates just that – trust and comfort.”