Great news! Business owners that created a Google+ Business page, with the category set as Local and have a Google+ Local page, you can now merge them as one. This is not available for businesses that are a service area business with a address hidden. For more on service area businesses, checkout the “Business Location” section of the G+ Local Quality Guidelines.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Mike Blumenthal did a great job providing step-by-step instructions on how to merge your Google+ Business page with your Google+ Local listing. The blog post is Step by Step Guide to the Google+ Business/Local Merge Verification Process. Don’t forget to checkout the comments that people made. There may be answers to questions you have on the process.Google and Your Business Forum
Jade Wang from Google posted “What should I do during the upgrade to local Google+ page?” on the Google and Your Business forum. There are some helpful tips and answers to questions you might have about the merge.
Google+ Your Business
We follow Google+ Your Business on Google+. They posted the following on the merge. Basically, the same as everyone else!
Social business owners, verify your Google+ pages!
Are you a storefront business who loves connecting with your customers through the Google+ page that you already created through Google+ for Business (google.com/+/business/)? Now you can verify your Google+ page in the Local Business or Place category. This will unify your business’s online presence across Google Search, Maps, and Mobile and ensure that your customers get the right information about your business, wherever they are looking for you! Verification will enable you to update your business address and hours, respond to reviews, and more — from the the same Google+ page where you currently share posts with your customers. And stay tuned — we’re working on extending the full benefits of a verified Google+ page to more local businesses soon. Learn more here (http://goo.gl/0yHbS).
Wrap-Up
That’s it for now. We will keep you updated on the merge, especially for all of us that are a service area business like a Plummer, Electrician, Construction Company and Home Based Business. We are patiently awaiting our turn! In the meantime, elSue uses our Google+ Business page – the Hangouts are great for face-to-face meeting!
