Claim Your Google Places Business Listing

Claiming your business listing or “Place” page through Google is something every business should do. Your Place page is a hub of information about your business that you’re able to edit and configure.  Place page listings show up in various forms, from direct searches for your businesses name to Map searches and topic searches for a particular region.

Claiming your listing won’t guarantee you a better ranking, but it can certainly help. The more Google knows about you, the easier it is for them to classify your listing and determine where you should appear for certain search terms. Also, beyond the search value, a completed and up-to-date listing is also a helpful resource for your customers.

Claim Your Google Places Listing

1) Go to http://www.google.com/places and select “Get Started” underneath Google Places for businesses.

2) Sign in to your account. If you don’t want to link your personal Google account to the listing, set up a new account that you can use and share (if needed) for the business. 

3) Select “list your business” and then fill in your Country and phone number. 

4) Complete your listing, filling in as much information as you can. This will include items such as pictures, a business description, store hours and payment options. (Click the image below for a full size view.)

5) Finally, verify your listing by phone, SMS or mail. Once verified, you may want to check out some additional options to promote and monitor your page such as Tags, Boost and Google's Business Center Dashboard. More information on these resources are linked below.

Additional Information and Resources

• Google video on local search rankings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1ONMavPX2o
• Check to see if/where your business is currently listed: http://getlisted.org/
• Google Places FAQ: https://sites.google.com/a/pressatgoogle.com/googleplaces/faq
• Google dashboard blog post: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/local-business-center-dashboard-opens.html
• Google Places support: http://www.google.com/support/places/