If you have a Google business listing, give yourself a (virtual) pat on the back. It’s estimated that over 80% of local searches for businesses, services, and information are conducted online, so it goes without saying that if your website isn’t showing up in local search results, local customers probably aren’t finding you.
However, if you don’t verify your account, you are leaving it vulnerable to the competition. Unclaimed listings are essentially up for grabs, so if one of your competitors wants to get a little more competitive by claiming a listing with a name similar to yours and you haven’t claimed it, well, you can see where this could lead. If your listing remains unverified, it is essentially up for grabs, and anyone can edit it.
How do you verify your Google local listing? When you create it, you can elect to have the verification done over the phone, or you can verify it by mailing back the postcard that Google will send to the address that you provide. It only takes a few minutes, and it can make a dramatic difference.
If we’re handling your Google business listing then don’t worry – we handle all of this for you.
About the author: Jeune Ortiz is VP of Marketing and Creative Director at future-ink. With more than 20 years of experience in graphic design and marketing, Jeune brings extensive knowledge and creativity to each website and internet marketing solution to grow your business.
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1 Comment
Melih Oztalay | February 28, 2010
Hello Jeune,
I agree with you that it is very important for a business to claim, verify and update their local business listing at Google. Certainly this it the first time the Internet is going to help the local business with a marketing tool to reach the local consumer.
Local business listings help get you ranked to the top of search results next to the maps and also show up on mobile searches in your geography.
Don’t just look at Google as they are not the 800lb gorilla in this space. Also, don’t get fooled by “get listed” services, that won’t help you much either. You need to claim, update, monitor and manage your local business listing at multiple local listing websites.
Something we recently read at KillerStartUps are companies that are offering a low cost service to update then manage these listings for companies. You can read about this at KillerStartUps here:
http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/smartfindslocallisting-com-be-found-online
It is a changing world and the local business will benefit. Hope this was helpful.