1. - Guide 3 for Hoteliers -

G+ Local Merging Performance
G+ Optimization for Hoteliers
By Emilie Alba, extract of thesis “The Online Competition Between Hoteliers and OTAs”, September 25, 2012.
Supervised by E.A.Craig, Oneglobe Network

2. A Few Reminders
✼ G+ Local consists in the merging of a business’ Google Places
Listing with its Google + Business Page.
✼ Businesses present on Google Places before September 2012,
automatically got a G+ Local Page generated (refer to next slide)
This G+ Local Page is temporary and need to be verified.
✼ After the verification, the G+ Pages merge and the G+ Business
Page is no longer displayed online.
Only the Verified G+ Local Page (refer to slide 4) can be found !

3. G+ Local “Temporary” Page
To be compared with the Verified G+ Local Page
Not verified
Not complete

4. G+ Local “Verified” Page
Verified

5. Steps before Launching the
Verification Process
✼Decide How and When you can launch the verification of
your hotel’s G+ pages !
✼Review your situation on Google and take the appropriate
steps by following the graph next slide …

7. The graph requests to choose among three possible situations on Google
Places:
• If the hotel has never created a Google Places listing (which is rare) or created a listing
but never had it verified
You can create a G+ Business Page and a G+ Local Page.
• If the hotel has a verified Google Places listing and a G+ Business Page
You can get your hotel’s G+ Business Page or Temporary G+ Local Page
verified (if you are sure that you have no data issues on none of these pages)
• If the hotel has a verified Google Places listing with no G+ Business Page created, this
hotel will have a temporary G+ Local Page that will be generated.
Until thena(September 2012), it has been the Temporary G+ this particular case
to create G+ Business Page nor get recommended in Local Page verified.
not
Source: http://www.virante.org/blog/2012/08/21/google-plus-local-places-page-faq/

8. For the businesses that are recommended to create a G+ Business Page, they will
have to create a G+ Local Page.
The latter won’t be automatically generated as it was the case for businesses:
• having created G+ Business Pages before the launch of G+ Local
• being present on Google Places before September 2012
Whatsoever, creating a G+ Local Page is only a matter of entering information about the
business.
Moreover, it is included in the creation of the G+ Business Page process.
To finish…
Only when it is certain that the G+ Business Page, the G+ Local temporary page and the
Google Places Listing of a hotel (or any businesses) have no data issues and are
filled in with the same business information, then the hotel can launch the verification
process.
Source: http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1713911

9. Getting G+ Pages Verified by Google
Follow the Map

10. visit “G+ Page Verification Request” page

11. Start with a 3 steps process
Step 1
2 ways to start the verification process:
• Either click the “Manage this page” button on the G+ Local Page
• Or click the “Verify now” button on the G+ Business Page
Step 2
Click “Continue”

12. You will be driven to this form
Step 3
Make sure you are
eligible
Fill in the form

13. After the 3 steps completed…
Google will:
• Either, send a Pin that will have to be
entered in the G+ Business Page
• or, manually review the G+ pages and
automatically verify them (if they are eligible).
Once the pages have been verified, the G+
Business Page of a hotel (or any businesses) can
no longer be found, only the G+ Local Page is
displayed online!
From this moment on, the hotel should never update its G+ Local listing from
Google Places!
All the updates should be made directly on the G+ Local Pages.
Sources: http://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/06/19/the-g-merge-has-started-google-now-processing-manual-merge-requests/
http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/google-plus-business-google-places-merge.html
http://www.virante.org/blog/2012/08/21/google-plus-local-places-page-faq/

14. Managing G+ Local’s listing problems
due to the merging
After the verification process, many businesses
never got their pages merged!
After 3 weeks, hotels should contact Google to solve the situation.
However, it is still important to understand where and what the problems are.
See the process map
next slide

15. Clickable links next slide

16. For Every Problem, A Solution !
Multiple Account Problem occurs when a same business listing has been created with different
Gmail accounts.
This problem can show up:
• Before the merging: the Temporary G+ Local Page displays data issues.
Solution: edit the page before requesting its verification.
• After the merging: Google Maps can display the same data issues listed on the graph.
Solution: complete Google’s reporting issue form “Incorrect Data Troubleshooter”.
Once completed, Google Support comes back to you by email. It is recommended to ask Google to
“UNverify” all the listings belonging to other owners of the accounts.
The Duplication Problem can also be the reason why your G+ pages don’t merge after launching
the verification process.
Solution: contact Google by reporting your problem on the “Technical Issue” forum.
Google only will be able to solve this problem by gluing the duplicate listings together.
Sources: http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/missing-google-places-google-local-images.html, http://marketing-
blog.catalystemarketing.com/missing-google-places-google-local-images.html
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/business/YoBCFp7siWM/6zUrgk13qsUJ

17. Did you miss - Guide 2 for Hoteliers - ?
You can still find it on:
FutureMKRS blog
My own blog “Market My Rooms”
Follow us @futuremkrs
Follow me @em_nicolas