Google Says we do what??Using your Google Business Listing to your advantage

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

Google & You

Steps to ClaimingYour Google Business Listing

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.

Claiming Your Listing

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

Google & YouHave 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

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

Claiming Your Listing

On a mobile device, your

Google + Business Listing becomes your

calling card

Claiming Your Listing

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

Photos

Upload Photos from events & of your staff – show off!

Be Sure to add captions to your photo!

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!

Photos

Google My Business Insights now highlights the photo views

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

Google+ Badge

The Google+ Badge connects your website with the Knowledge Graph

https://developers.google.com/+/web/badge/

Google & YouHow to find duplicate listings

http://www.michaelcottam.com/google-business-page-finder/

Search by phone number/name/building address

Google & YouCan’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

Directory ClaimedNow what?

Directory Back linksClaimed the directory – add some back links!

Don’t over do it – same spam rules apply

Directory Back links

cadillac escalde springfield ohMarch ranking 18June Ranking 2

buick regal springfield ohMarch ranking N/A

June Ranking 5

Near MeNow what?

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

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

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