Google Provides Local Business Center User Guide

Google just improved the documentation for how to add your business to the local business center on Google Maps.

In addition to this nice video introduction to Google Local Business Center:

They provide a much more complete set of documentation to help you set up your business in the Google Local Business Center. The new docs include guidelines such as:

• Which countries the Google Local Business Center is available in
• Every business listing must have a mailing address
• You shouldn’t have more than one listing per physical location (I’ve seen this really mess up some businesses in the rankings…)

And much improved documentation covering:

• Getting started
• Adding or claiming a listing in the local business center
• Verifying your listing (via phone or postcard)
• Editing or removing your listing
• How to check the number of impressions and clicks your local business listing is getting
• Other features such as adding coupons, adding photos and videos, and handling reviews for your business

If you aren’t already familiar with the Google Local Business Center, adding your business to there is how you get here:

Note: If you are a small business owner, it is super important to claim your listing. See Look What Happens if you Don’t Claim Your Google Local Listing! for an example of what can happen if you don’t.

Thanks to Mike Blumenthal (Google Maps guru) for bringing this to our attention in his post: Google Maps adds new Local Business Center User Guide. In his post, Mike talks about some of the ambiguities in the process the new docs still do not address.

The documentation is definitely improved, however, and this feels like progress for the many business owners who were having trouble with their listings.

Tagged as: google maps, local business center, Local SEO