They’re not, in all likelihood Google is NOT calling your Carlsbad business.
The more likely situation is, those scam robocalls you’re receiving are from (rather unscrupulous) marketing & advertising companies preying on unsuspecting business owners.
Earlier this month – on December 2nd – Google rolled out another major update to their Google My Business guidelines.
OK, maybe guidelines should be titled, “never concrete and subject to change suggestions we can possibly penalize you for,” but that’s another argument – one none of us will win.
As stated by Google,
Following these guidelines helps avoid common problems, including changes to your information, or, in some cases, removal of your business information from Google.
So what’s the story, what do Carlsbad businesses need to know in order to secure their Google My Business page(s) ranking?
Basically it’s a name recognition thing, but first a little background.
Google had always suggested (read: mandated), that the business name with regards to the Google Places, Google+ Local, or Google My Business listings, always be consistent with the real-world business name.
For example, something like John Q. Public, D.D.S. was the suggested business name under Google My Business guidelines if in fact the dental practice was on the books (corporate entity name/DBA) as such.
Then earlier this year, (February 2014 to be exact), Google announced that business with Local pages (ones that appear in search results & maps – as opposed to Brand pages which do not get indexed in maps or “local pack” results) were allowed to use what they called descriptors in their business name.
An example of a descriptor for a dental practice Google My Business page would be something like, Dogpatch Family Dentistry: John Q. Public, D.D.S. – with Dogpatch Family Dentistry being the descriptor.
Fast forward to December 2014, and we have witnessed yet another flip-flop by Google with regards to their guidelines for local business pages. At this time, Google only deems solo practitioners as those worthy of still using the descriptors attributes in the business name.
This is how they lay it out for all the solo Carlsbad practitioners out there to play it out…
According to the guidelines you can review here, solo practitioners’ Google My Business pages should be titled using the following format: [brand/company]: [practitioner name].
So say if yours is a mutli-doctor practice (or real estate office, law office…), each “practitioner” is still allowed a specific Google My Business page – given they actually maintain office hours that jibe with what their listing communicates.
Here’s exactly what Google has to say on the subject: (more…)
It’s 2014; any local business that has not yet taken control of their Google+ Local presence by verifying their listing is out of touch at best, and soon to be not doing any business at worse.
Local search optimization (Local SEO) is not expensive, and if done right it can continue to pay significant dividends in the form of new customers, more reviews, and boosted search engine rankings.
The tasks begin with verifying & optimizing local search engine listings on Google, Yahoo, & Bing. A relatively straight-forward process that should be as important to a local business owner as improving cash flow and paying the electric bill.
This claims process soon progresses to sniffing out any inconsistent or incorrect business name, address, or phone number information across numerous local search sites, internet yellow pages sites, and specialty niche (healthcare or travel review, attorney search, industry associations…etc.) sites.
Local seo for your Carlsbad business may start with Google but it sure as shinola doesn’t stop there.
Local business owners can boost their ranking factors in those foundational search engine environs through leveraging their name, address, and phone data by disseminating it through various local search directories, IYP sites (internet yellow pages), and niche dental health portals.
And what is the end result of improved rankings on the search engine results pages? (more…)
Google+ Local, Google Places, Google Maps…why can’t Carlsbad business owners simply have one unified dashboard to manage their presence across all of Google?
According to Google…Now you can!
Image courtesy of Blu-ray.com
Let’s hope this one sticks, is bug free, easier to manager for business owners, and helps clean up the spammy listings polluting the local search ecosystem.
Remember, you can have both a Google+ Business page AND a Google+ Local page… (more…)
In today’s digital world business owners must incorporate some type of online review strategy in order to effectively communicate and amplify the all-important digital word of mouth communication that drives their new customer acquisition efforts.
Doesn’t matter if you’re a mobile dog walking business, local Mom & Pop retailer, or a multi-national franchise, your business NEEDS a constant stream of authentic customer reviews, particularly on Google.
Why?
Because reviews are a local ranking signal Google uses in determining your prominence & authenticity.
Eliciting, capturing and broadcasting online reviews for the average business is not rocket science…and it’s not expensive. (more…)
