For better or for worse, Google is the place people start to see your business. Take the time to make sure your information is verified, correct and you are telling the story
Google says we do what? #LocalSEO tips and best practices
1. Google Says we do what??
Using your Google Business Listing to your advantage
2. Google & You
• Google is where people look for information on your non-
profit – the wrong information with Google means the wrong
information with clients and volunteers
• Google displays a “Knowledge Graph” on the right hand
side of the search results, which pulls information from the
map listing, website, and data you upload, for searches
5. Google & You
How to tell if it’s your map listing?
• If you can get directions or leave a
review, it’s your map listing and
should be the one you claim.
• Any other page is only found on
the Google Plus environment, and
not worth going after.
7. Issues and Problems
Postcard never comes
Visit the Google My Business support
https://support.google.com/business/?hl=en#topic=4539639 and click
“Contact Us” in the right hand corner to get a representative from
Google to call you
Page shows as verified (and not by you)
https://support.google.com/business/?hl=en#topic=4539639 Contact
Google, telling the support specialist that answers you need the page
unverified so you can verify it – ask if it’s been over 6 months since
the previous owner was active
Duplicate Pages
https://support.google.com/business/?hl=en#topic=4539639 Have the
URL and ID number (the 21 digit number in the URL of a listing) for
each duplicate and ask for them to be merged
8. Google & You
Have you logged in in the last 6 months?
We may contact Google My Business users via email to confirm that they are still actively
managing a business page. If a user is unresponsive to our attempts to contact him or her and
has not logged into Google My Business for a significant length of time, then we may unverify
pages in the account. We're doing this in order to continue to provide users with the best
experience when they’re looking for local businesses like yours. If you find that a page in your
account has been incorrectly unverified, please contact support to get assistance restoring
verification.
What this means for the small business?
• If you haven’t logged in in 6 months, there’s a chance a listing can become
unverified and you have to re-claim it.
• To show activity, it’s best to login into the dashboard edit and “poke/nudge”
with a null submit of data
• On the flip side, claiming a verified ghost listing is much easier
9. Photos
Studies have show up to a 30% increase in click throughs with photos
How to Add Photos
Log into : http://www.google.com/business and head to the dashboard
Click Manage Photos
10. Claiming Your Listing
On a mobile
device, your
Google +
Business Listing
becomes your
calling card
12. Photos
The top 3 photo here are for your profile/logo and cover
Clicking on the 3 grey dots
will allow you to select
which photo you want
Google to show in the
search results
Clicking on the
14. Photos
Photo Categories
✔ Identity photos –
3 Sub-categories: Profile | Logo | Cover
✔ Interior photos
✔ Exterior photos
✔ Product photos
✔ Team photos
✔ Additional photos
Google will add exterior/interior photos of your space to the
Knowledge Graph!
16. Photos
When you upload photos – add captions! Mention other companies, specific
products. Use the captions to tell the story
Add links to individual product
pages
17. Google+ Badge
The Google+ Badge connects your website with the Knowledge Graph
https://developers.google.com/+/web/badge/
18. Google & You
How to find duplicate listings
http://www.michaelcottam.com/google-business-page-finder/
Search by phone number/name/building address
19. Google & You
Can’t find a Google+ Link?
http://www.whitespark.ca/blog/post/66-google-maps-to-google-page-
bookmarklet
Bookmark Whitespark’s
“Google Maps to
Google+” tool
Converts map listing to the
Google+ page
24. Near Me
Google Says “Near Me” Searches Have Doubled
This Year
“Search queries that contain a location qualifier
such as “nearby” or “near me” have doubled in
the past year, according to Google Trends data
from March. Eighty percent of those searches
come from mobile devices.”
http://searchengineland.com/google-says-near-me-searches-have-doubled-
this-year-221771
25. Near Me
Near Me – Case Study
Hours and Directions page optimized
for “Make Dealer Near Me”
• Updates to Title/Description
• for half the set, also H1
26. Near Me
First Month – Results & Observations
• Average Position for “Make Dealer Near Me”
rose by 3 (in mobile search)
• Impressions for all the “near me” searches
rose 27% (mobile only)
• Click Through Rate up to 20-25% - in larger
metro areas