Map Your Billboards

Google has a new mapping system called community maps. It allows the users to input their own information onto a community map and save the map. This is a valuable free tool for the billboard owner to map and locate his property with interactive mapping. With this tool the billboard owner can create for free, unlimited amounts of information about billboards that need to be sold, rented, or even maintained by the billboard company. The results of this information can be made viewable by the public or kept private. The map links created by the user can also be saved and then the link to the map can be placed into an email or embedded into the users’ website. See BillboardSpace.com for an example. This user generated information saved onto the map shows up with a blue marker instead of the typical red used for their normal mapping system. If you do not have a Google account it only take less than a minute to create one and get started with interactive mapping. You can use this link to log in and get started from BillboardSpace.com: “Map Your Billboards” After logging in, go to the top left hand corner of the map and click on “My Maps” which is just to the right of the Search Results button. If you are not logged in click on “Create new map” which will bring you to the login page. You will again click “Create new map” after you have clicked the link you will notice below that you now have a Title and Description block ready for you to input your information and below that you can choose you privacy settings. n the Google map itself you now have some new buttons at the top left of the Map. Click once on the blue marker that looks like an upside down tear drop. You can now drag and drop this place mark where your billboard location is on the map. You should now see a new window open with another Title and Description block for you to edit. You can use plain, rich text, or html. I have found the rich text as easy as composing an email. You can insert a picture and link to it also. I have linked my billboard to my BillboardSpace.com site that has all the pertinent info for would be renters to see. When you are finished click ok at the bottom then click the “Done” button above the title you created to the left of the map. Congratulations! You now have linked your billboard to an interactive map which the whole world can see! About the Author: Loy Ripple was inspired by the good people at OutdoorBillboard.com to create his own site at: BillboardSpace.com which is a free classified ad service for the outdoor advertising media industry and operated by his company at: FreewayBillboard.com