Claim Your Listing on Google Maps & Places: Part 3

Okay, so you have completed part 1 and part 2 and are excited to finish. Here is the final tutorial to accomplish the task of claiming your listing on Google Maps and Places.

Step 13: Validate The Listing
Once the listing is submitted, there will be two choices on how to have it verified.

Option 1: Phone Call
If you choose the phone method, be prepared to receive an automated call within moments of clicking ‘Submit’. You will hear the PIN number spoken to you during that call. Make sure your business phone is close by as well as a pad of paper and pen for writing it down. Google recommends waiting a minute or so before entering it into the verification box while their database updates to recognize it. (Suggestion: They will call the number you submitted as your business phone number, so please make sure that phone is close by when clicking ‘Submit’!) If for some reason the phone call is missed, go back a screen and select the phone call option again, but sometimes Google may not give you the choice when you do that. If all else fails, you can always opt for the letter.

Option 2: Letter
If you choose to verify through letter, they will send a PIN number through the U.S. mail and it generally takes 2-3 weeks to receive it. It will come directly to the address specified as your business location. Once the letter is recieved, log into Google Places Dashboard and enter the PIN into the verification box next to the listing.

What You Need to Know About the Verification Process…
Both of these methods are intended to reach you while you are at your business location in order to verify it is legitimate, hence the need for Google to know your address and phone number. Whatever option chosen, there may be a waiting period after the PIN is entered while Google finalizes its review of the listing and it goes live for customers to access. Due to the sheer number of listings Google receives, it could take as long as several weeks or as little as a couple of days. I recommend periodically checking the listing’s status by going to the Main Dashboard screen after the verification process or logging into Google Places at a later time and clicking on Dashboard.

Step 14: Final step to verifying ownership of your listing…
After going to the dashboard you should see the listing appear. Under the red text that says ‘Needs Action’ enter the PIN received via the phone call or letter. Then click Go. If your PIN number is wrong or has been accepted you will see a notification message.

That’s it!
Now you just have to wait until Google reviews the listing and accepts it. As mentioned above this could take a few days or much longer.

Conclusion
Now that you have completed all the steps to claim your listing on Google Maps and Places don’t think it’s over. The next step ‘could’ include adding a coupon; but more importantly, you want your listing to appear on Google’s 7-Pack. Local search, through mobile devices such as cell phones, is skyrocketing and your Google Places’ listing is a vital tool for marketing your company. We’ll leave you one tip and that tip is…drum roll… Reviews, reviews, and more reviews. Ask your clients to leave a review on your Google Place’s listing.

Note: There’s much to discuss about reviews and will examine it in another upcoming article.