Tag: Google My Business

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New Visibility Services for Local Businesses

Small business visibility services.

We’ve just introduced a new service for businesses located in Fredericksburg and Harrisonburg, Virginia. Check out the details or view on our website.

Our unique local business visibility program allows you to choose the services and level of engagement you need to grow your business. Choose from services like drone photography, drone videography, video creation for ad and website use, Google My Business management, and Google Ads Express advertising —all with an eye on driving more local traffic to your store or to increase sales of your local services.

Flexible Local Business Program Options

You get to choose what makes sense for your business*, but having a professional recommendation can make all the difference in your results.

Drone Shoot Package

Our experienced FAA Licensed, insured, and supremely experienced drone pilot will work with you to create a custom drone package based on your needs. Prices start at $489 for 20 minutes of fly time and the creation of a custom 2 minute video using drone video and still aerial photography. (There is an additional charge for longer fly times based on the area to photograph, travel outside our two service areas, and the addition of music to the video.) Our pilot will provide a custom quote based on the review of your location and unique needs.

Google My Business (GMB) Account Set Up and Management

You may already have a Google My Business account and just need a review and monthly management or you may need help with the full set up. We can assist with GMB verification, verbiage for your page, add monthly posts or events on your schedule, and even mentor you on how to manage it all yourself after et up. GMB set up prices start at $289 or just buy our services by the hour for what you need, when you need it, on your own unique schedule or on-demand.

Google Ads Express Set Up and Management

Google My Business makes it easy to get started in a junior automated version of Google Ads called Google Ads Express. We can set up your first ad program and budget and teach you how to manage it. Or, test out Google Ads with Express and then move to the full professional version of Google Ads for results that are an investment in your business’ growth. Management prices start at $189 to get started with Google Ads Express through the Google My Business portal and help with Google Analytics tracking and conversion goals. (Your webmaster may need to install code on your website for Google Analytics.) We recommend starting with a $300 a month click budget. Clicks are billed separately to your credit card by Google Ads. We do not make a margin on clicks.

Move to the full professional Google Ads version with professional set up and monthly account management within 90 days and get a $150 credit from us on your set up service.

Monthly Management Options

If you need help managing your Google My Business page with monthly posts, event creation updates, or periodic introduction of new images, ask us about our monthly Google My Business management service. Monthly management of your GMB page starts at $189 for one event creation, one small 150-word post, and help with responding to most comments.

*Please note: our local business visibility program is tailor-made for businesses located in our service areas of the Fredericksburg and Harrisonburg, Virginia. Ask us if we can help you with a streamlined version of this unique program in your location.

 

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Why Is Google My Business Verification So Hard?

Building Exterior
Building Exterior that Google does not like!

Google My Business verification should not be so hard! For owners of a single business verification is a snap – complete your profile, ask for a letter to be mailed to you, confirm the PIN number Google sends to you. But if you are an owner of multiple businesses that you run out of separate offices, brace yourself for the run around from Google when you try to verify a second business.

Just this last week, a supervisor at Google My Business finally told me that Google would never verify my client’s second account. We had been working diligently since October 11th to provide all the information and documentation pictures the Google staff said it needed for review. I have to say I was nearly foaming from the mouth when I heard that final response!

It is unthinkable that Google has such vague standards when it comes to business verification; rules that are not in step with small businesses located in the USA. Additionally, add a language difficulty , as the staff appears to all be located in India, and the difficulty grows exponentially.

Ridiculousness at Its Best

I was told to supply a photo of both suite doors and signage on each but as there was a wall between the two, Google did not like the image. I could not knock down a wall in order to provide the photo.

I was told to take a picture of exterior signage for the business, but as the client is in an office condo park, no businesses have exterior signage unless they own a whole floor. Another fail!

I was told to take a picture of the reception desk with the large company sign behind the receptionist. Okay let’s get real, this was a small business, they have an office, but not a glitzy reception area and no need for an inside sign, they know who they are! A fail again.

Finally, I was told that the font on the second business sign did not match the font on the sign on the first business. Wow, that was an eye opener!

Then I was told that due to the history of requests and images sent as we tried to give Google what they wanted for over a two month period, that they did not believe the client ran two businesses. So, the history of what I had sent to Google based on the account reps requests totally worked against the client.

Nothing should be this difficult to resolve, but it’s Google! Understand that on Google My Business verifications, Google does run the world.

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Google My Business Verification Problems

Building Exterior
Building Exterior that Google does not like!

Google My Business verification should not be so hard! For owners of a single business verification is a snap – complete your profile, ask for a letter to be mailed to you, confirm the PIN number Google sends to you. But if you are an owner of multiple businesses that you run out of separate offices, brace yourself for the run around from Google when you try to verify a second business.

Just this last week, a supervisor at Google My Business finally told me that Google would never verify my client’s second account. We had been working diligently since October 11th to provide all the information and documentation pictures the Google staff said it needed for review. I have to say I was nearly foaming from the mouth when I heard that final response!

It is unthinkable that Google has such vague standards when it comes to business verification; rules that are not in step with small businesses located in the USA. Additionally, add a language difficulty , as the staff appears to all be located in India, and the difficulty grows exponentially.

Ridiculousness at Its Best

I was told to supply a photo of both suite doors and signage on each but as there was a wall between the two, Google did not like the image. I could not knock down a wall in order to provide the photo.

I was told to take a picture of exterior signage for the business, but as the client is in an office condo park, no businesses have exterior signage unless they own a whole floor. Another fail!

I was told to take a picture of the reception desk with the large company sign behind the receptionist. Okay let’s get real, this was a small business, they have an office, but not a glitzy reception area and no need for an inside sign, they know who they are! A fail again.

Finally, I was told that the font on the second business sign did not match the font on the sign on the first business. Wow, that was an eye opener!

Then I was told that due to the history of requests and images sent as we tried to give Google what they wanted for over a two month period, that they did not believe the client ran two businesses. So, the history of what I had sent to Google based on the account reps requests totally worked against the client.

Nothing should be this difficult to resolve, but it’s Google! Understand that on Google My Business verifications, Google does run the world.

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What Exactly is a Google My Business Account?

Several pushpins on a road-map of a tourist
Get on the map with your Google My Business account.

If you have been using Google Places or Google+, Google has a new property call Google My Business that you need to be looking at and migrating to.

First notice that even if you have been posting on Google+ pages you may not have a Google My Business site. For that matter if you’ve had a Google Places or Google Maps page, you may still need to re-verify to migrate that page to Google My Business.

Here’s what I’ve found out. I have a number of Google+ pages that I routinely post to as well as a personal Google+ page. I even had one Google Places page. When I set up my own Google My Business page, it was a different URL than any of them. Sigh… that means I had to start all over in building a fan base as any of my existing pages did not migrate into the new Google My Business page.

The Google My Business pages even look different. You’ll know you have one if over the cover image you see things like your office hours, your address, and website URL. You can see the cover image of my own in this post and view my site online.

Google is really pushing the Google My Business pages. My Google AdWords account rep even told me this past week that Google AdWords will be doing away with the ability to add business addresses manually in AdWords and using only the Google My Business  page for locations in the near future. This means that it is time to get going on embracing this new Google product.

Personally I hate that the migration did not allow me to pick up one of my existing pages about my business that had a nice number of followers, but this is Google, it is their way all the way.

So, better get prepared for the future, as it is clear that Google will want to only deliver Google Maps and Google organic results pointing to a verified Google My Business page in the very near future.