When you find a business on Google Maps and click “more info”, you will be taken to that business’ “Place Page.” These are the pages that Google introduced a while back that essentially gather content related to that particular business in one place. One might find photos, coupons, reviews, etc. on the Place Page.
Businesses can tell Google if they want specific things there, but if you don’t claim your listing, Google will put whatever it wants there. Now, however, Google is letting users know when owners have verified their Place Pages. If it is verified, there is now a link with a checkmark beside it at the top of the page that says “owner-verified listing.”
If the listing has not been verified, users are now greeted with links that say “Edit the place,” or “Business Owner?”. The latter give you an opportunity to verify the listing if you are indeed the business owner. The former lets users make edits to the page. Obviously, you’re going to want to verify your listing to prevent any reputation-tarnishing information from appearing.
As we discussed recently, the local search landscape continues to change dramatically, and paying attention to things like this is only going to become increasingly important, not only from a reputation management standpoint, but from simply a visibility standpoint as more people gravitate to the Internet (especially with mobile) to find local business listings.
A hat tip goes to Mike Blumenthal for pointing out the changes to Place Pages.
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