Google+ Local Page Wrong Categories
-
The "new" Google+ Local page for one of my clients is not showing the correct Business Categories. Seems like it reverted to an old Category before we revised. I looked in my Google Places dashboard and the correct Categories are there. They do not have a Google+ Profile yet. Any suggestions?
They also seem to have disappeared for those categories we used to rank in the top three in Google Places results.
-
Hi Kevin,
Actually, you can see all of the categories if you click on them. Lots of changes, huh?
Miriam
-
Same thing for only 2 categories showing?
-
Hi Kevin,
You're very welcome! Yes, there is currently no sign of verification showing on the new Google+ Local pages. Google is aware of this and says they are working on it. Right now, it's best to expect things to be wonky. There are a lot of issues stemming from the changeover. Hang in there. I expect most of them will settle down over the next couple of months.
-
I can't believe I do not know this now, but how do you tell in the new format if a Google Places+ page has been claimed. I do not see the old "owner-verified" check mark anymore. Thanks for all your help
-
Hi Kevin,
If you can, I'd recommend using the same email address, just to simplify things for yourself. You can send Google your email through this form to be notified as to when the merge takes place:
http://support.google.com/places/bin/request.py?contact_type=verification_address_collection&&rd=1
Regarding the other issues you are having, don't give up on the Google 'Places' Help Forum. If you haven't used it in awhile, Google has recently really upped volunteer staffing in the forum and many more questions get attention thanks to the Top Contributors. It's a much more helpful environment now.
Good luck!
Miriam
-
And do you think it makes any difference if you set up the Google+ Profile with a different email than the Google Places? I assume you will be able to combine/share as in Analytics?
-
Thanks for the reply.
The listing in my Google Places admin is the same as it was before change and has the correct headings.....worked hard t prevent any duplicate listings but who knows if they pulled something from years ago.
I can send a fix request to Google but that hardley ever worked for clients even during normal times.
And there is no workd yet when we can combine the + and Places pages yet or how to admin them from a single area?
-
Hi Kevin,
Because categories are additive, is there a chance that the client had a duplicate Place Page out there and Google is pulling the old categories from it? In any case, you can edit the Google+ Local page through the traditional Places dashboard. Have you tried this yet?
-
"If It aint broke, change it anyway and force businesses in Google+" seems to be the deal here. More wasted time spent relearning, researching, resubmitting etc.
-
Google is going through a lot of growing pains right now as they transition Places to Google+ Local. You may have also noticed that reviews have disappeared, pictures and videos have changed - or like your listing, the categories and/or address might have reverted to old listings.
The advice given on the Google product forums is to "bump" your listing by going in to edit the places listing and just clicking submit at the bottom. This might trigger the correct listing to appear. However, if this doesn't work the answer is to submit a problem with the listing using the report a problem link inside the new places page. Google will look at it, but given the huge backlog of issues right now, it might be a few weeks.
I'm going through this myself with several client listings.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
why google never shows Coursera or Udemy videos in the SERP?
I work for a website pretty much like Coursera, and google never brings up our videos in the SERP. It has been indexed and Search Console URL Inspection tool identifies it as a video object. is it a technical issue or just google doesn't like to show us in the SERP? Is there any way to fix this?
Image & Video Optimization | | semrtaz0 -
High Domain and Page trust link building
What is the best way to build backlinks from high domain and page trust sites?
Image & Video Optimization | | WeissToyota0 -
Is there an index of local blogs somewhere?
I'm trying to find (and evaluate) blogs in my area, but searching for them via google has been pretty tedious so far. Does anyone know of a website where I can locate blogs in my area? For example, ideally, I'd like to go to something like www.blogfinder.com, type in Tampa and get a list of all the blogs dedicated to this area. Anyone know of anything like that? Thanks, Ruben
Image & Video Optimization | | KempRugeLawGroup0 -
How do you handle local SEO when a business has had multiple names?
Hi, Here is a quite simple question... that comes from a real life example. When a local business, with one phone number and one business location, has been promoting itself with up to 4 different names over the years. How do you handle local SEO? Do you try to update all pages (and directories) on the Web to the new name? Do you keep the existing records as they are and find some ways to show Google - and people - that those are all the same business? Thanks, Adrien O'Leary
Image & Video Optimization | | AdrienOLeary0 -
Better ranking for google places
Hi, What can i do to rank better in Google for local listings? im already ranking number 1 for my keywords after local listings, but i really want to improve that, because im loosing a lot of traffic, I do have my business listed in local.yahoo.com, yelp citysearch.com etc.. and i constantly build my link to google places plage. Thanks
Image & Video Optimization | | vladraush990 -
Videos impact on SEOmoz On Page Analysis
For several years we've heard that Google rewards pages that include videos with significantly higher page ranks, however I do not see video incorporated into the On Page Analysis. One of our competitors ranks 1st-3rd on a several keywords while the On Page Analysis tool grades them as an F for the same keywords. This competitor uses video more than any of the others, and has far more YouTube subscribers. I suspect video plays a role in their excellent SERP. Is there a video evaluation tool within SEOmoz? If not, is one coming, or is there a reason why it would not be appropriate? Does anyone have suggestions for incorporating the use of videos in SEO evaluations and recommendations? Thank you, Michael
Image & Video Optimization | | XLAB0 -
Why do seomoz rankings not match mine in google for the same keyword?
SEO moz lists my site http://holmesbailbonding.com as listing 2nd for raleigh bail bonds but when I search I am getting different results even with a cleared cache. Just wondering what factors contribute to this and what I need to be doing more of to get my site to rank for Raleigh Bail Bonds in raleigh, nc. Thanks,
Image & Video Optimization | | MaddDogg0 -
Local SEO - our company is in 2 very different locations
Hi, Our company nlpca.com is in 2 locations. It's doing really well in San Francisco, California But we've opened a 2nd location in Salt Lake City, Utah The problem is that our site is all about San Francisco, California. Utah is just as important as San Francisco to us and we need to start tailoring to both. People from Utah say they are confused because our site is so tailored to California. Even our domain name is the keyword "NLP" combined with the state initial "CA" for California. A new domain is not an option. One thing we are thinking of doing is changing our header to say "The NLP and Coaching Institute and the NLP Institute of California". It would say both of our company names and hopefully the first would catch the Utah people. But I don't think it's just our banner. Can you take a look at our site and tell us how to tailor to both locations and keep our current working optimization for San Francisco, California? Thanks!
Image & Video Optimization | | BobGW0