Google Deleting Unverified Business Listings

Right now you’re probably asking yourself, “do I have a Google My Business listing?” Or even more likely, you’re asking yourself, “what is a Google My Business listing?” If you know the answers to both those questions, kudos. But for those who don’t, we’ll explain. The answer to the first question is probably yes, even if you have no idea what a Google My Business page is. Essentially, it is one business page that allows you to manage how all the information about your business appears on Google. That includes Google Maps, Google+ and good, old-fashioned Google search. Customers looking for your business will be able to find everything from pictures and reviews to hours and driving directions to your business on your Google My Business page. If you’ve ever created a Gmail or Google+ account for your business, chances are you have a Google My Business account. And customers are seeing it when they search for your business or search for local businesses like yours. This is a great, free resource for local business owners to make sure their customers have easy access to all their relevant business information.  Sounds good, right? Two small problems here. One, if you didn’t even know you have a Google My Business account, you’re not managing it. That means the information on your page is probably out of date and may not be correct anymore. Two, Google is shutting down Google My Business pages that have not been verified. So even if you do have best, most frequently updated page out there, if it’s not verified it could be gone with little to no warning. They are also going to “unverify” pages that are inactive. And then they will delete the unverified pages. Google says this is part of their effort to provide their uses with only the highest quality, most reliable content available. And since a majority of customers rely on Google as their search engine of choice, you want to make sure you perform as well on Google as you possibly can. One of the best ways to keep your Google My Business page active and with a fresh supply of content is to keep on top of managing your Google+ page. Google+ might not seem like the most appealing social media platform to dedicate your time to—we know it’s not as fun as Instagram or Pinterest and that not as many people use it as Twitter or Facebook—it is important. It increases your rankings in Google search, which is still by far the most popular search engine in the world. Your customers are going to be searching for you with Google—and prospective customers are more likely to stumble across you in a Google search than any other way. You need to make sure you can be found quickly and easily and that all the information that comes up is completely accurate. Nothing frustrates a customer more than finding out the hard way that the address or hours listed on a business’ page are incorrect. Or even worse, not being able to find information online about a business they want to use. We discuss all of this and much more at the GYBO events we host with our partners at REI Oklahoma. We’ve been travelling all around Oklahoma hosting these events to help local business owners like you better understand things like map listings, search rankings, analytics and how all of these can affect your business. We’ll also discuss how to ensure your Google My Business listing is verified and doesn’t get deleted. We are hosting more of these GYBO events in the coming months, so keep an eye out for more information! You can check the events section of REI Oklahoma’s websitefor dates, times, locations and registration information, as well as other event information like topics covered and important statistics about why your business should be online. In the meantime, you can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your business listing, website development, marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’s best year yet. You can fill out our online contact formon our website. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+and LinkedIn!