Tag Archives: local seo company

How to Determine Whether a Google+ Local Page Has Been Claimed and Verified

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Local SEO, , , , ,

Ever since Google made the transition from Google Places to Google+ Local it’s been hard to determine whether a business page has been claimed and verified. Local Splash’s tech team looked into this and discovered how to tell if a page has been claimed and verified.

It doesn’t matter whether a business has been claimed of verified, it always contains the “Is This Your Business?” section with the “Manage this page” button:

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The way to tell whether the page has been claimed and verified is to click on the “Manage this page” button. The page you see after that determines whether the page is claimed and verified.

If the page is claimed and verified, clicking “Manage this page” will take you to the Phone Lookup page:

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If the page has not been claimed and verified, after clicking the “Manage this page” button you’ll arrive at the Place Page Claim page.

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Exception to this rule: The above is true as long as the Google account you are signed into has not claimed any prior Google+ Local pages. If you have previously claimed (claimed, not verified) any pages, then clicking the “Manage this page” button will take you to your Google Places dashboard.

Google+ Introduces Vanity URLs

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Search Engine News, , , , , , ,

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According to Mashable, Google+ recently began rolling out its new vanity URLs. These URLs let users customize their profiles and make it easier for the user to direct others to their page or profile with an easy-to-remember web address.

Currently, each user has a long string of numbers as the link to their profile. (Ex: https://plus.google.com/u/0/106309878296259417958/posts) It’s impossible to remember and makes it hard for businesses to direct customers to their Google+ page. The new vanity URLs will allow users to choose a shorter, memorable URL that they can easily tell customers to visit.

Vanity URLs are only available to popular brands and celebrities on Google+ now (like Britney Spears, Toyota and Delta), but soon the company will make these available to everyone.

Will vanity URLs encourage you to use Google+ more often and send more customers to your page?

5 Local Search Tips to Start Using Today

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Local SEO, , , , , , ,

local search marketingLocal search matters. According to Google, 97% of consumers search for local businesses online. A study by comScore stated that 61% of searchers consider local search results to be more relevant and 58% think they’re more trustworthy. Eyetrack studies prove that users’ eyes go straight to the Maps results in Google when viewing the search results. These are just a few reasons why your business should have a local search campaign. Here are 5 local SEO tips you can start using today to help your business get found:

1. Track your rankings. Use software or reporting tools that allow you to monitor your rankings on different search engines and compare. Check out which cities are working best for you and concentrate on them. Also see what people are typing in to find you and focus on those keywords.

2. Create local-targeted landing pages. This allows you to optimize for searchers in a specific location or those searching with that location name in their query.

3. Claim your business listing on multiple directories including Google Places, Yahoo Local, Yelp, Merchant Circle, Superpages, About Us. Make sure you fill out your business profile completely on each of these sites.

4. Get active on social media. Combining social media with local search efforts with increase the time in which you see success. If you don’t have a company blog, start one! 57% of businesses have acquired a customer through their company blog. Link from your social media networks to your website to drive traffic.

5. Enhance your listings and landing pages with coupons. Give your potential customers an incentive to try out your business rather than your competitors’.