Google have recently published a video to help take business owners through the process of adding or claiming their complimentary business page. It’s good if you’re just starting out. Personally I found it missing a few really important details that would be useful for a beginner.
0:40 – the “are you the business owner link” – doesn’t show an example of where you’d see it, so here’s a screen shot of where to find it:
1:08 – in the example, they show someone signing in using a gmail account. For Local Business listings, always use an email account from your own domain – not a gmail one. It’ll save you endless headaches in the future.
2:00 – also add phone numbers to the list of things not to make changes to while you’re waiting on the verification postcard. Any change, even adding an additional phone number will invalidate the code that’s on its way to you.
3:04 – see 1:08 above.
3:22 – I don’t see a “are you the business owner” link anywhere on the page, only the business itself. Click on the business, and you’ll see a box where you can confirm you’re the business owner. At 4:01, that’s what she’s showing too.
Of course, read the guidelines first. We all hate to “read the manual” before we try to put that new gadget together, but trust me. This is one “manual” you want to read. Not because doing a page is difficult, rather because one simple, little mistake can keep your page from being published. And Google seldom tell you what that little mistake is – because you’re supposed to read the guidelines first…
