Satellite maps are a great resource to use when advertising a location or determining what a location’s neighborhood and street will look like. Is it a direction you’ve never been before? Do you want customers to know what the front of your building looks like? Is there parking nearby? This is how to use Google Maps to your advantage.

The first step is to open a web browser and go to Google, then click the link at the top of the page labeled Maps. Next, type a company name or address into the search bar at the top of the web page. Be sure to include a city and state if possible, to help narrow down your results. You can also type a business name and address at the same time to find a business near that location.

Once you’ve opened a map of a business, address or place of interest, you’ll have the options to read and write a review, learn more about the location, get directions, find a nearby location, zoom in, save the location to My maps and send information. There will also be information such as the address, phone number, and website of the location you searched for.

Google Maps also allows users to view traffic, a simple map, a satellite map, and a terrain map. While viewing a satellite map, it is possible to view the map from a street view by dragging and dropping the little stick figure at the top of the zoom in/out bar, or by clicking on a specific address to view the road at that stage of your trip. Feel free to drag the street view photo as this will rotate the photo so you can face the street and back! It is also possible to move up and down the street to see what the neighborhood looks like, just click on the arrows in the center of the photo (on the white line where the street name is provided). From street view, you can also zoom in by double-clicking on the photo.

At the top right of your map you will always see three options: Print, Send and Link. Print will allow you to print a basic map of the location you entered. Send will allow you to send emails or send to a phone, car or GPS. You can send to multiple destinations and include a personal message. Link will provide you with a link that can be used in an email or instant message, or with HTML that can be used for a website.

Using the Print, Send, and Link features, as well as the zoom and street view features, is a powerful tool for both marketing and personal use. Google Maps (http://maps.google.com) is an easy-to-use, free, and useful tool.