After months of uncertainty surrounding the transition from Google Places to Google+ Local, Google seems to have completed what I like to call "stage 1" of the transition. You can now verify your existing chiropractic Google+ Local listing and link it to your Google+ chiropractic business page. What this will create is a unified presence for all organic Google search, Google Plus Local, and Google+ pages.
Jade Wang, Google+ community manager, announced on the Google Plus product forum the change, and what I would like to say affects the most simple cases for Google+ Local. Chiropractors that have only one listing on Google+ Local, and one Google+ page can verify their listing through their Google+ business page.
How to Verify?
- You can verify your G+ Local listing by going to your G+ business page (assuming you have one). At the top of the screen there will be a verify listing tab, at which time you will again be prompted to receive a verification postcard. The post card, which will have a verification code similar to a Google places verification, will be sent to your office with a projected arrival time of one week. After you receive the postcard, follow the steps on for verifying your listing on your Google+ business page.
Why Verify?
- By merging the two listing you will add a whole new dynamic to your listings. Because the listing show up on both organic Google search and Google+ search, merging adds big time SEO benefits. It also gives your chiropractic practice much more tools to interact with your patients, increasing your social presence. This gives your practice increased viability, by putting emphasis on photos, videos and social media.
- Also, you will be able to manage both Google+ Local and Google+ business from one admin dashboard. Simplifying the process will make it easier to maintain, leaving you more time to deal with patients and less time battling Google.
Keeping up with the all the changes to Google+ Local, while receiving little help from has caused plenty of headaches. Now that the initial process for merging your Google+ Local and Google+ page are behind us, focusing on utilizing this tool for your business should become much easier.
