G+ Local Merging Performance

G+ Optimization for Hoteliers

By Emilie Alba, extract of thesis “The Online Competition Between Hoteliers and OTAs”, September 25, 2012.

Supervised by E.A.Craig, Oneglobe Network

- Guide 3 for Hoteliers -

✼ G+ Local consists in the merging of a business’ Google Places Listing with its Google + Business Page.

✼ Businesses present on Google Places before September 2012, automatically got a G+ Local Page generated (refer to next slide)

This G+ Local Page is temporary and need to be verified.

✼ After the verification, the G+ Pages merge and the G+ Business Page is no longer displayed online.

Only the Verified G+ Local Page (refer to slide 4) can be found !

A Few Reminders

G+ Local “Temporary” Page

To be compared with the Verified G+ Local Page

Not verifiedNot complete

G+ Local “Verified” Page

Verified

Steps before Launching the Verification Process

✼Decide How and When you can launch the verification of your hotel’s G+ pages !

✼Review your situation on Google and take the appropriate steps by following the graph next slide …

The graph requests to choose among three possible situations on Google Places:

• If the hotel has never created a Google Places listing (which is rare) or created a listing but never had it verified

You can create a G+ Business Page and a G+ Local Page.

• If the hotel has a verified Google Places listing and a G+ Business Page You can get your hotel’s G+ Business Page or Temporary G+ Local Page verified (if you are sure that you have no data issues on none of these pages)

• If the hotel has a verified Google Places listing with no G+ Business Page created, this hotel will have a temporary G+ Local Page that will be generated.

Until then (September 2012), it has been recommended in this particular case not

Source: http://www.virante.org/blog/2012/08/21/google-plus-local-places-page-faq/

to create a G+ Business Page nor get the Temporary G+ Local Page verified.

For the businesses that are recommended to create a G+ Business Page, they will have to create a G+ Local Page.

The latter won’t be automatically generated as it was the case for businesses:• having created G+ Business Pages before the launch of G+ Local• being present on Google Places before September 2012

Whatsoever, creating a G+ Local Page is only a matter of entering information about the business. Moreover, it is included in the creation of the G+ Business Page process.

To finish…

Only when it is certain that the G+ Business Page, the G+ Local temporary page and the

Google Places Listing of a hotel (or any businesses) have no data issues and are filled in with the same business information, then the hotel can launch the verification process.

Source: http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1713911

Getting G+ Pages Verified by Google

It consists of :

- 2 clicks

- 1 form to fill

Follow the Map

visit “G+ Page Verification Request” page

2 ways to start the verification process:• Either click the “Manage this page” button on the G+ Local Page• Or click the “Verify now” button on the G+ Business Page

Step 1

Step 2

Click “Continue”

Start with a 3 steps process

Step 3

You will be driven to this form

Make sure you are eligible

Fill in the form

Google will:• Either, send a Pin that will have to be

entered in the G+ Business Page• or, manually review the G+ pages and

automatically verify them (if they are eligible).

Once the pages have been verified, the G+ Business Page of a hotel (or any businesses) can no longer be found, only the G+ Local Page is displayed online!

After the 3 steps completed…

Sources: http://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/06/19/the-g-merge-has-started-google-now-processing-manual-merge-requests/http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/google-plus-business-google-places-merge.htmlhttp://www.virante.org/blog/2012/08/21/google-plus-local-places-page-faq/

From this moment on, the hotel should never update its G+ Local listing from Google Places! All the updates should be made directly on the G+ Local Pages.

Managing G+ Local’s listing problems due to the merging

After the verification process, many businesses never got their pages merged!

After 3 weeks, hotels should contact Google to solve the situation.

However, it is still important to understand where and what the problems are.

See the process map next slide

Clickable links next slide

Multiple Account Problem occurs when a same business listing has been created with different Gmail accounts.

This problem can show up:• Before the merging: the Temporary G+ Local Page displays data issues. Solution: edit the page before requesting its verification.• After the merging: Google Maps can display the same data issues listed on the graph. Solution: complete Google’s reporting issue form “Incorrect Data Troubleshooter”.

Once completed, Google Support comes back to you by email. It is recommended to ask Google to “UNverify” all the listings belonging to other owners of the accounts. The Duplication Problem can also be the reason why your G+ pages don’t merge after launching the verification process. Solution: contact Google by reporting your problem on the “Technical Issue” forum.

Google only will be able to solve this problem by gluing the duplicate listings together.

Sources: http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/missing-google-places-google-local-images.html, http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/missing-google-places-google-local-images.htmlhttp://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/business/YoBCFp7siWM/6zUrgk13qsUJ

For Every Problem, A Solution !

You can still find it on:FutureMKRS blog

My own blog “Market My Rooms”

Did you miss - Guide 2 for Hoteliers - ?

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