A client with a new website recently contacted me with a question that frequently confuses many. When she typed her company search terms in Google, her business not only showed up in the natural listings, it also showed at the top of the page, with other like businesses in the Bigfork area, next to a map. Unfortunately, the information displayed when she clicked on that listing was incorrect.
This is a common question, and easy to fix. In fact, as a business owner you should check this yourself and see if your business info is correct!
What you are seeing at the top is a result from the ‘Google Local’ listings. Google, in its voracious crawl about the web, can find and index web information and store it whether you actually submit it yourself or not. This can be a good thing, but can also be a negative if the search giant indexes old, outdated information and you don’t find and update it. What you need to do to combat this is be proactive and get them to index and save your NEW information, and make sure you always have current info up on the web.
- First step is to create a Google Account if you don’t already have one.
- This is free and easy to do, just follow the instructions from the Google Home Page.
- You will need to then log into your Google account to proceed with editing your Google Local listing.
- Now enter a search term that applies to your business (like Bigfork widgets).
- Look at your listing in the Google Local results section at the top … not in the organic listings below.
- If it says ‘maps.google.com’ under your listing, click the name of your business to go to the Google Maps Info page.
- If it shows your website address under your listing, click on the ‘more’ link underneath that to go to the Google Maps info page.
- At the top of the page, or all the way down at the bottom of the page, click the blue link that says “edit this place”
- In the pop-up box over the map you will see options such as ‘Move Marker’ and ‘Edit Details’
If you have never updated this information before, you will likely need to choose the ‘claim your business’ option before you do anything else. Follow the instructions, verify the email when it arrives, and proceed with filling out all of your business information. Be sure your location is plotted properly in Google Maps – in rural areas we often find that we are plotted in the middle of a lake or on a logging road somewhere.
Finally be sure to optimize your Google Local listing as much as you can. There are excellent suggestions in this Search Engine Journal article.
And as always, if you need help feel free to call us!