Google Places or Facebook Pages : What suits my business best? 

If you are a business owner trying to figure out how can the internet help you drive sales and marketing then probably you are spoilt for choice between Google Places and Facebook Pages. Both the giants are doing their bit to woo the business owners to use their services. However none of them emerges a clear winner and both work well in their own spheres. Your choice to go with one of them would depend on a lot of factors like the nature of your business, kind of audience you are catering to, amount of resources at your disposal etc. However once you know about the advantages of both the tools you would probably want to settle for both

Engagement

Facebook Pages definitely take the lead over Google places when we talk about the potential engagement quotient from potential customers. Facebook with over a billion active users gives a great edge in having an interactive interface with your customers.

Resources

Maintaining a facebook page requires a lot of hard work compared to Google Places. Where even a basic content on Google Places will start appearing in google search results and fetch you enquiries; facebook pages require a more consistent and pragmatic approach to content and user behavior. If you are a running your business individually and do not have a team to spare on digital media then probably Google Places is the safest bet for you.

Search-Engine Friendly

Naturally Google Places have a greater probability of being ranked higher by Google search. However, Google indexes facebook pages also. So by updating your page regularly and posting relevant content you can neutralize that advantage to a considerable extent.

Google Places : A great deal for local business

If you are operating a saloon or giving some services in a local area, you might want to go only for Google Places. Primary reason being that while Facebook is great for purposes of branding, Google places is the best thing to help your customers find you when they need you. For example, If you are a car repair shop then a listing on Google places will quickly help someone in need find you. However as your sphere of influence increases and you may want to build upon customer loyalty concentrating on Facebook pages might seem like a better option. In short, Google Places is great for local businesses but Facebook is appropriate for the more ambitious ones.

This is a quick word on Google Places Vs Facebook Pages. Both have their pros and cons but given the fact that both are free to try, there is no harm in learning from trial and error and carving out your own strategy.