Local Businesses Need a Google+ Local Page

As a part of your marketing strategy you need to have a Google local page. Google Local (formerly Google Places) is the web equivalent of the phone book. When Google translates a search as local in nature, these listings appear near the top of the search results.

Local Listings are now part of Google Plus, enabling people to comment and vote on your business through their Google+ profiles. If you haven’t done so already, you’ll need to sign up for a personal Google+ account to create your  Google+ Local page.

Google wants Google+ accounts to be ‘real’ with a recognizable photo (no logos). You can see mine here. The local Google+ page is your business page, you should have your company logo on this page. You can see the one for Marketing on the Web here.

Haven’t made your page yet?

1. Click the Pages icon on the left-hand navigation in Google+. It could be hidden under the More icon.
2. Pick Create a page.
3. Choose Local Business or Place.

Local Business Pages must be in this category to be address verified (you can’t change your page category after its set).

4. When prompted, enter your phone number. If you already have a listing on Google Maps be sure to enter the same phone number on your listing so we can easily match you. Choose your listing from the possible maps and continue, or, if you do not have a listing already, you can create a new one.
5. Choose a category, agree to the terms and conditions, and click Create.
6. Upload a profile photo you want to be associated with your listing, and click Continue. If you want, you can share your new page with your circles on Google+.
7. Once you are done, click Finish.

After you’ve created your page, you’ll need to verify it:

1. Hover over Unverified at the top of your Google+ page. Click the Verify now button when it appears. Or, click Verify now in the Is this your business? section below the map.
2. Confirm your address and click Request postcard again. Your postcard should arrive within a week or so.
3. Once it’s arrived, go to the website listed on the postcard, www.google.com/local/verify.
4. If you’ve requested a postcard for multiple Google+ pages, make sure to click on the name of the business that the postcard is for.
5. Enter the PIN listed on the postcard and click Submit.

If you have and existing Google Maps (Google Local) listing that information will now be merged with your new Google+ Local listing.

In the lower right hand corner in gray text (it’s easy to miss) is a link to “Settings” if others in your company need access or your working with an Internet Marketer like us, you can add “Managers” at the top of the settings screen.

One last thing, Google heavily relies on “citations” to determine how your business will appear in the listings. For this, I recommend Googling your phone numbers to be sure that your business name, address are uniformly listed across the internet.

Related Posts:

• Where do you Stack up in local Results?
• Local Ranking factors
• Google Places becomes Google Plus Local