Google – Local Business CenterSet-up Instructions

September 2010

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Purpose

• The following provides a step by step outline for adding/updating your Local Business Listing on Google

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Outline of Steps

• Step One – Access Local Businesses• Step Two – Claiming or Adding Listing• Step Three – Signing In• Step Four – Add New Business• Step Five – Filling Out Business Information• Step Six – Verifying• Step Seven – Coupons

Step One – Access Local Businesses:

Click on the link to access local business results

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Step Two – Claiming or Adding Listing :

Search for your business listing. If there, click on listing to claim* and update. Once claimed, verification of business is needed (refer/skip to step six).

If listing does not appear, you must go to www.google.com/places

*To claim a business please see slide 12

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Step Three – Signing In:

Sign into your Google Account. If you do not have an account, you must set one up.

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Step Four – Add New Business:

Click on “List your business”

You will then be asked to put in your business’s main phone number. Then you can move to Step Five

Step Five – Filling Out Business Information:

You will be instructed to fill out your business information. See next slide for further details.

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Fields To Be Filled Out When Adding a Listing

• Company/Organization• Fantastic Sams Hair Salon

• Street Address/City/State/Zip• Main Phone Number

• Additional phone numbers can be added if needed• Email Address and Website

• Either the salon’s individual site or the corporate site• Description

• Highly trained hairstylists that perform a variety of haircare services, including haircuts, hair styles, hair color, highlights, perms, updos, facial waxing, conditioning treatments and more.

• Categories• Barber Shop, Hair Salon, Beauty Salon

• Hours of Operation• Payment Options• Upload Photos

• Upload up to ten images• Upload Videos

• Upload up to five videos• Additional Details

• Products carried, parking available, etc.

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Step Six - Verifying:

Verification of business is required prior to listing appearance in Google Maps. This will prove that you are in fact the owner of the business, and that the information we’ve submitted is correct.

There are two ways to verify – by phone or by mail

If verifying by phone, an immediate automated phone call will be made to the phone number listed for the business. During this call, you'll be given a unique PIN that Google displays in your account whenever an add or change is made to the basic business information for your listing.

If verifying by postcard, the PIN will be sent to you within 10 - 15 business days. You will then need to log back onto the Google Places and enter the PIN before your listing will appear. Please note, postcards will only be sent to the address submitted to Google Maps.

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Step Seven - Coupons:

After the salon has been verified, coupons can be uploaded. Utilizing the Google Coupon form, the following information needs to be filled in:

• Business Name

• Headline

• Sub Heading

• Details

• Image

• Expiration Date

• Offer Code

Coupons will need to be updated as expiration dates occur

Be Careful With Discounts10

Steps for Claiming an Existing Listing

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Claiming an Existing Business Listing:

• Click on the name of the business in the search results

• Click more in the white info bubble that will appear

• Click “Edit Details”. On the next page you are taken to click “Claim your business”. This will allow you to edit or suspend a listing.

• After information has been submitted, you will need to verify your business (step six)

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Important Notes, etc.• Local Business Center is a free service, so there's no way to request or pay

for a better ranking.– Additional details about Google’s ranking algorithm cannot be

provided in order to keep the ranking system fair to everyone• Google Maps ranks business listings based on their relevance to the

search terms entered, along with geographic distance (where indicated). – You need to populate each listing with words that are searched

frequently, such as the ones below.• Beauty Salon, Haircut, Hair Color, Facial Waxing, etc.

• Google users will find and connect better with businesses that:– Make sure their listings are complete and accurate– Choose the most appropriate and specific categories

• You need to update the listing on a quarterly basis in order to keep your listing as high as possible.

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Fantastic Sams“Google Reviews”

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Reviews via Google

• The following will provide a step-by-step on how to encourage customers to write reviews regarding Fantastic Sams services on Google.com

• Why get reviews posted?– People value reviews higher than any form of

advertising– Frequent reviews are a way to update listing and

improve your salon’s ranking

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Reviews via Google

• Step #1– The first step is that the person must be registered as

a Google user, with a Google login• If they do not have a Google account, they cannot post

a review on Google (but Google could pick up their review from other review sites such as epinion.com

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Reviews via Google• Step #2

– Assuming the person has an account, they first must find the business posting on Google (most likely found via a search of the business)

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Reviews via Google• Step #3

– Next, the simply click on ‘Write a Review’ to come to their login page

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Reviews via Google• Step #4

– Post the review, provide a ‘rating’ and hit “Save”

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