{"id":888,"date":"2015-05-21T12:29:13","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T16:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/?p=888"},"modified":"2019-08-17T15:43:08","modified_gmt":"2019-08-17T19:43:08","slug":"claim-your-google-local-business-listing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/claim-your-google-local-business-listing\/","title":{"rendered":"Claim Your Google Local Business Listing"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Most Local Businesses Have Not Claimed Their Free Google Listing<\/h2>\n<h3>What is a Google Local Business Listing?<\/h3>\n<p><strong>First and foremost, your listing is free!\u00a0<\/strong> I will charge to do this for you, but you can do it yourself &#8211; for free!<\/p>\n<p>If you are a local business, with a fixed address, odds are that Google has cobbled together a business listing,\u00a0from various sources on the web,\u00a0for your business. This information shows up in a Knowledge Card, on the right side of Google Search, This listing is probably mostly accurate, but may contain old, or wrong information. \u00a0The listing will also not be complete, it will certainly not have any pictures associated with it, nor business hours.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v3sUnYER2KM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Advantages to verifying your listing<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>80% of consumers use search engines to find local information\u00a0<sup>1<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>At this time about 63% of the listings are unclaimed\u00a0<sup>1<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>Consumers are\u00a038% more likely to visit a business with a\u00a0complete listing\u00a0<sup>1<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>Consumers are 29% more likely to consider a purchase from a business with a complete listing\u00a0<sup>1<\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup>1 \u00a0<\/sup><a href=\"http:\/\/googleblog.blogspot.ca\/2015\/03\/its-time-to-put-americas-small.html\">http:\/\/googleblog.blogspot.ca\/2015\/03\/its-time-to-put-americas-small.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>If you claim and complete your listing, you will gain a competitive advantage.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you wish to update, change or add any information, you will have to verify your listing with Google. \u00a0By claiming the listing you will be able to ensure the information is accurate. you can also:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>add pictures<\/li>\n<li>add a virtual tour<\/li>\n<li>add your logo<\/li>\n<li>add a business description<\/li>\n<li>update contact information<\/li>\n<li>connect to your website<\/li>\n<li>choose a business category for your business<\/li>\n<li>have some control over the reviews left for your business<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You will also have access to other Google properties like\u00a0<em>Google Analytic<\/em>s and <em>Google Insights<\/em> which will help you to know and understand behaviours of people who visit your website. \u00a0<em>Google+<\/em> which is a social layer where you can share information and updates about your business and build a following. \u00a0You will use this account to access <em>Google AdWords<\/em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/static.techspot.com\/images2\/downloads\/topdownload\/googlehangouts-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"145\" height=\"145\" \/>.<\/p>\n<p>You will also have access to <em>Hangouts<\/em>,\u00a0a robust video conferencing and messaging tool that will allow you to connect with\u00a0customers as never before. \u00a0The value of <em>Hangouts<\/em> has been barely tapped when it comes to business. \u00a0The list of third-party applications that are being built around it grows daily.<\/p>\n<h2>Disadvantages of an unclaimed Google Business Listing<\/h2>\n<p>If you are not convinced by the foregoing that you should verify your listing than consider this&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Some nefarious person (maybe even a competitor) could claim your listing and do nasty stuff on the internet in your business name before you get around to stopping them<\/li>\n<li>Some nasty person could leave hateful reviews of your business and you would not know it, and could not ask Google to take them down<\/li>\n<li>Your competitors could be out there gleaning dozens of great reviews and when you finally do claim your listing, you will be playing catch-up<\/li>\n<li>Some not-so-nice internet firm could claim your listing and hold it for ransom<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All the foregoing can be overcome if it happens to you, but, it is easier to just claim your listing.<\/p>\n<h2>How to verify your local business on Google<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Google offers support documents on how to verify your local business here:<\/strong> \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/business\/answer\/2911778?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/support.google.com\/business\/answer\/2911778?hl=en<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There is a step-by-step guide, with pictures below the video<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R0ijgeltHPI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Step-by-step Guide<\/h2>\n<h4><strong>1. To ensure you have a listing, go to Google Search and search for your business by name or category. \u00a0It should look like the image below.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Inside the blue box you will find local business listings and as you hover over each and knowledge card for each should show on the right. \u00a0If the listing is unverified, &#8220;Are you the business owner&#8221; will show up under the listing. \u00a0I have highlighted this in a yellow box. \u00a0Click the\u00a0 &#8220;Are you the business owner&#8221; link.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/001-has-your-listing-been-verified.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-894\" src=\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/001-has-your-listing-been-verified.png\" alt=\"001 has your listing been verified\" width=\"720\" height=\"494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/001-has-your-listing-been-verified.png 720w, https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/001-has-your-listing-been-verified-420x288.png 420w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4><strong>2. Confirm your business<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Upon clicking the link you will be taken to a page that looks like the one below. \u00a0Here you need to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>verify the business address, be sure it is correct<\/li>\n<li>check the box that authorizes you to manage this business and agree to the terms and conditions.<\/li>\n<li>click continue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/002-confirm-your-business.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-897\" src=\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/002-confirm-your-business.png\" alt=\"002 confirm your business\" width=\"722\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/002-confirm-your-business.png 722w, https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/002-confirm-your-business-420x223.png 420w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 722px) 100vw, 722px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>3. Request a Postcard<\/h4>\n<p>Now you should be on a page that looks like the one below. \u00a0Once again check your address and click on &#8220;send a postcard&#8221;. You may be given the option to verify by phone, if you wish to do this, be certain you have access to the phone number listed and click that option, otherwise stick with the postcard option.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/postcard.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-907\" src=\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/postcard.png\" alt=\"postcard\" width=\"722\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/postcard.png 722w, https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/postcard-420x280.png 420w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 722px) 100vw, 722px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>\u00a04. Entering Your Verification Code<\/h4>\n<p>You will have an intermediate page where you just click continue before being taken to a page that looks something like the one shown below. \u00a0You should bookmark this page so you can return to it easily once the postcard arrives. \u00a0The postcard you receive will have a code printed on it. \u00a0Inside the yellow highlight box below shows the button you click to enter the code, once done, your business will be verified as a local business and you will have access to the Google properties listed above in the &#8220;Advantages&#8221; section of this post.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/google-my-business.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-908\" src=\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/google-my-business.png\" alt=\"google my business\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/google-my-business.png 720w, https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/google-my-business-420x280.png 420w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Troubleshooting &#8211; When Stuff Goes Wrong<\/h3>\n<p>Stuff does go wrong with this process and many of the screens can be confusing, but the Google support document is very informative and covers off many of the problems that might be encountered during this process. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/business\/answer\/2911778?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google support Document:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/support.google.com\/business\/answer\/2911778?hl=en<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>If it is all just a bit too confusing&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>Or you just want to be sure it&#8217;s done correctly, contact me to find out about my<em> local search optimization<\/em> services my contact information is here:<a href=\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/website_design.php\">\u00a0http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/website_design.php<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most Local Businesses Have Not Claimed Their Free Google Listing What is a Google Local Business Listing? First and foremost, your listing is free!\u00a0 I will charge to do this for you, but you can do it yourself &#8211; for free! If you are a local business, with a fixed address, odds are that Google [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58,20],"tags":[24,21,52],"class_list":["post-888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-web-development","category-website-design","tag-google","tag-seo","tag-website-design-considerations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1455,"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions\/1455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}