Best practice for multiple businesses

[seoWest]

Hello everyone!

Part of my services include Local SEO for businesses in my area. The issue I am running in to, is many sole proprietors do not have the time or inclination to establish a Google account and/or G+ profile. Therefore, they desire that I "take care of everything."

If I am to understand correctly, a Google Plus (personal) account is required prior to establishing a Google Local business page. It appears the best approach would be for me to establish a separate Google account on behalf of each of my clients. Or... would "claiming" and/or establishing Local pages under my Google Plus profile be a viable alternative?

Things certainly have become convoluted on the local seo landscape as of late...

Thanks for your input!

Dino

 

[Eric Rohrback]

Are we talking about Google Places pages (places for business) or are we talking about the Google+Local social business pages?

Has Google officially decided on a standard name for these things? I don't think i'm alone when I say I sometimes get confused at which product people are talking about sometimes

 

[TonyIsSocial]

Dino,

In the same situation. This is similar to Facebook Pages if you're familiar with that. I do the client's G+ Page under my Google account which makes me a manager. I can assign "Manager" to anyone after that, which could be the client if they're interested in maintaining it.

Here's a great resource:
Complete User Guide: Google Plus Pages for business and brands

Advanced Tip:
If you want to get fancy, you can create a Google (gmail) account from a business plus page and then when you're logged into the browser, and find something to "+1", it'll be Plus'd as that Page instead of your Google+ account. Then you can setup a separate Google Chrome browser saved to the desktop that's logged into that account so you don't have to manually switch around. Elaborate, I know...

-Tony

 

[Linda Buquet]

I was going to ask for the same clarification and yes it's so murky even trying to help folks due to not only all the different products and names but upgrades. Just makes my head hurt.

Has Google officially decided on a standard name for these things?

Mike has said G appears to be doing away with all the branding. I think he's said going forward it will all just be called a Google+ page and then is just a matter of whether you've added the social features or not. I'm not so sure that's where it's heading but where it's heading is not clear. They still call pages by different names so it's still murky to me.

So yes, Dino, are you talking ONLY the G+ Business page alone? The one that has the social features BUT is not merge/verfied - therefore does not rank in search???

Or are you talking setting up a Place page (the page with the reviews) then merging with a G+ page so it's a single page that ranks in search and has both reviews and social features?

Try to explain in more detail as best as you can because there are several different scenarios.

 

[seoWest]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the response. I am referring to creating Google+ Local pages for various clients in lieu of them having a Google account or Plus profile.

I recently attended one of the InsideLocal webinars and had the good fortune of gleaning some of the latest thoughts on Local SEO from brilliant minds (e.g. Linda Buquet, Phil Rozek, etc.) and was able to re-gain a bit of clarity on certain levels.

Thanks!

 

[TonyIsSocial]

Are we talking about Google Places pages (places for business) or are we talking about the Google+Local social business pages?

Has Google officially decided on a standard name for these things? I don't think i'm alone when I say I sometimes get confused at which product people are talking about sometimes

Places for Business can be considered the dashboard that recently replaced the previous dashboard. There you can maintain:

• Google Listing (NAP, Hours, Category, Description, Photos)
• Google+ Page (social stuff)
• AdWords Express
• 360? Business Photos

 

[seoWest]

Hi Tony,

Yes, I do the same thing for clients in FB, somehow it seems far less confusing.

So... given that you create the G+ Local page under your Google Plus profile - you haven't experienced any indication of Google confusing you as the owner of the various businesses you manage for your clients? Not that I have seen this happen, rather, just curious.

Thank you for the resource - much appreciated!

Dino

 

[TonyIsSocial]

I believe using JUST the Places for Business interface will tie all the Google products/signals together into one place. I recommend starting there and following its steps.

 

[seoWest]

Hi Linda,

Yes... "murky" is nice way of describing the convoluted naming conventions!

Ultimately, I would like to follow whatever the current best practice in order to establish setting up a Place aka Local page (with review & social features) with the purpose of ranking in search. However... you added a yet a new twist I wasn't aware of (i.e. the necessity of merging with a G+ page) - I assume you mean G+ profile (the one a user receives when creating a Google account)? Please elaborate at your convenience.

I have been so busy working on large projects, I have lost touch with what's going on - yikes! That's why I am here now... to stay in touch and learn from my peers

Thank you!

Dino

 

[Linda Buquet]

It's even murkier than you realize!

We're going to have to break down in stages cuz I don't have time to explain it all now. Way too convoluted.

If I am to understand correctly, a Google Plus (personal) account is required prior to establishing a Google Local business page. It appears the best approach would be for me to establish a separate Google account on behalf of each of my clients. Or... would "claiming" and/or establishing Local pages under my Google Plus profile be a viable alternative?

So 1st off there are 2 DIFFERENT pages with the words "Google+" and "Local" in them and they are different. BUT since you mentioned setting up a G+ Profile it sounded like you were talking one thing, but in reality I think you are talking another.

Re claiming - ABSOLUTELY need to claim the Google Place page AKA Google+ Local page in different accounts. IF you claim them all in a master account you can end up getting all clients suspended and there is no easy way out. Also no easy smooth way to transfer listing to client if you part ways.

Hi Linda,

Yes... "murky" is nice way of describing the convoluted naming conventions!

Ultimately, I would like to follow whatever the current best practice in order to establish setting up a Place aka Local page (with review & social features) with the purpose of ranking in search. However... you added a yet a new twist I wasn't aware of (i.e. the necessity of merging with a G+ page) - I assume you mean G+ profile (the one a user receives when creating a Google account)? Please elaborate at your convenience.

Let's back up and start here to try to help you understand the different pages and options and see if that helps.

Crazy Google Local Page Name Conundrum - Clearing the Confusion

Then to cut to the chase - there are 20 other REALLY important things you need to know, but here are 3 I want to be sure you are aware of...

With the PLACE page. The page that shows in search and has the reviews... most businesses already have one, even if they never created one. So you need to know how to search and find and if there is more than 1 need to know how to pick the BEST one. So you should not create from scratch if there is already one out there. OR if the client already created a listing you need to get their login and use the existing account.

Point 2 is you should NOT create a separate G+ Business page (the one with social features) and manually merge them right now. Google suggests waiting until you get the new dashboard which is rolling out. With that dashboard there is a one button upgrade option. That's what Tony is referring to.

So if you are sure they don't have anything yet. Create new Google account with their profile. Create new listing in the Places for Business dashboard. If it's a brand new listing you should get the new dash, then can upgrade to Google+ if it gives you the option.

And last of all, some types of businesses don't even qualify to merge yet and are not supported.

It's super complicated and keeps changing. Doing it wrong for a client on Google can be like tying them up in knots and can be very hard to untangle. Lots of answers here that explain all the issues. But sometimes you have to dig a little to find the info.

 

[seoWest]

Re claiming - ABSOLUTELY need to claim the Google Place page AKA Google+ Local page in different accounts. IF you claim them all in a master account you can end up getting all clients suspended and there is no easy way out. Also no easy smooth way to transfer listing to client if you part ways.

That's exactly what I thought; but with all of the conflicting perspectives flying around now, I allowed my confidence to shaken a bit. Thank you for clearing up that point.

Let's back up and start here to try to help you understand the different pages and options and see if that helps.

Crazy Google Local Page Name Conundrum - Clearing the Confusion

Absolutely! Great post, Linda. I wish I had seen it before now - a huge help!

It's super complicated and keeps changing. Doing it wrong for a client on Google can be like tying them up in knots and can be very hard to untangle. Lots of answers here that explain all the issues. But sometimes you have to dig a little to find the info.

The crux of my current dilemma: My client's previous web development company created a G+ Local page (review button), and I can say with confidence, this company had no clue (nor cared) if Google had previously appointed a Place page. Actually, they are creating the G+ Local pages for their clients under a master account.

It would appear I will need to establish a Google account for my client and re-claim the G+ Local page under the new account as you mentioned earlier. The thing is... it's a corporation and as you know, Google wants a name and b-day when setting up a Google ID, profile, personal profile or whatever it's called now. What do you suggest in this case? Let the company pick a "manager" for the account whose name I can use?

Thanks again Linda, and to all who have responded to the thread, I appreciate your input and assistance.

 

[Eric Rohrback]

It would appear I will need to establish a Google account for my client and re-claim the G+ Local page under the new account as you mentioned earlier. The thing is... it's a corporation and as you know, Google wants a name and b-day when setting up a Google ID, profile, personal profile or whatever it's called now. What do you suggest in this case? Let the company pick a "manager" for the account whose name I can use?

Have the client give you an @clientdomain.com email address... something like localmarketing@clientdomain.com. Use that as the Google account rather than creating a Gmail account. Gives Google a little more trust that you're actually with the company and will make working with support a lot easier. Use someone from their marketing team, or whoever your point of contact is. That's what I usually do in situations like that.

 

[seoWest]

It's even murkier than you realize!
So if you are sure they don't have anything yet. Create new Google account with their profile. Create new listing in the Places for Business dashboard. If it's a brand new listing you should get the new dash, then can upgrade to Google+ if it gives you the option.

So I have established a Google account using a contact email associated with their domain and reclaimed their Google Places for Business account. I see the check mark and review button and +1 button.

They really don't care to have a Google+ public profile and get involved in the social aspect. That being said; does it look like Google will make this a requirement or leave optional? In other words, can we simply stop here if the primary goal is to have a local listing with ranking and review potential?

Thanks!

 

[Linda Buquet]

You can stop there but it does not look like Google will stop there.

She's starting to upgrade all local pages to G+ pages it looks like, but you can just not use the social features if the client does not want to use them.

It's a brand new update that's just starting to roll out. Here is the announcement.
Google Begins Auto-Upgrade of G+ Local Listings to Google+ Business Pages

 

[seoWest]

It's a brand new update that's just starting to roll out. Here is the announcement.
Google Begins Auto-Upgrade of G+ Local Listings to Google+ Business Pages

A very informative post, and this is what I was attempting to gain some clarity on:

Basically if you wait until you are automatically upgraded, no personal profile needed. If you want to manually upgrade before then, one is needed.

Thanks, Linda, I appreciate the assistance!

Dino

 

[Linda Buquet]

Ya so the advice I gave you earlier in this thread was best advice at that time, just a few days ago.
Now it's all changed again.