Google+ Local vs. Google Places for Business

It's easy to be confused about whether your business needs Google+ Local, Google Places or both. Google hasn't always made it easy for local businesses to understand which Google products are appropriate for them, but that's why I'm here to clear this up. What is a Google+ Local Page? Google+ Local is the local business version of Google+ Pages. Here you can connect with customers in a similar way you can connect with customers with a Facebook Page. You can share updates, photos, videos and more. Also noteworthy is that Google is now offering personalized searches based on Google+ connections. Google+ Local Pages are designed to look like Google Places, which is different than a traditional Google+ for Businesses Page. The easiest way to identify the difference is the Posts, About, Photos and Videos Tabs. All of these tabs appear on a Google+ Business Page, whereas if you're missing any of these, you're not viewing a Google+ Business Page, you're viewing a Google+ Local Page. What is Google Places for Business? Google Places allows business owners to better control the information Google provides to users that search for your business. You can provide hours of operation, contact information, a description of your business and more. This information is manageable on your Google Places dashboard and you're able to edit it as you wish. It is necessary for you to verify your business existence either via phone or mail which Google will walk you through during setup. This listing can appear both on Google maps as well as Google search. Combining your Google+ Local and Google Places Pages You can now manage your Google+ Business page within your Google Places dashboard, which means both are somewhat combined from a management standpoint. You will only see this tab if you have a Google Places dashboard and have verified your Google+ Business page account. Here's where things get tricky. You can verify a Google+ local page and your existing Google Places listing for your business will be merged with that Google+ local page. You then have one local page for Google that combines the features of both of the two different kinds of pages described above (reviews, scores, social sharing, etc.). This page is then called simply Google+ Local – complete with features from Google Places as well as an option to manage your Google+ Business Page Combining your two pages won't do much for your SEO, but will rather just help make things easier to manage. I suggest doing this if you fulfill the following criteria:

• You are able to receive verification postcards.
• You already have a Google+ Business page.
• Your Google Places listing and your Google+ business page were claimed by the same email address

If you just have a Google+ Business Page and not a Places page, sign up for a Places listing and you should see your Google+ Business Page already rolled into the dashboard. What is the Value to Setting Up Both? The idea behind merging these two pages was to make things easier and less confusing. However, not all Google Places pages have seen this upgrade. The integration between the two pages has only been in full swing since around April of this year, so it will take some getting used to for users. A Simpler Solution: Create a Google Places listing first, and then create a Google+ Local business page. Verify that Google+ Local page so that you have one combined page, and never look back. New users that go about the setup this way automatically have the combined interface for easier management. Still confused? Contact Ecreative to learn more about how we can help you set up your local business presence on Google's platforms correctly.