14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Google Places Citation Question

by mraffiliate
11 replies
I applied for a Google places listing today for a clients local business, But before doing this I got her 3 citations from major business directories that verified her location by phone but when I applied for Google Places, Google did not find these listings by her phone number even though they are showing as being indexed in Google when I type her web address in Google search.

So I was presented with the post card verification instead of the phone. How would I get Google to find her citations?
#citation #google #places #question
  • Profile picture of the author VegasGreg
    Google will find them over time.

    But citations have nothing to do with Phone or Postcard validation.
    Signature

    Greg Schueler - Wordpress Fanatic... Living The Offline Marketing Dream...

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3537940].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author mraffiliate
      The reason I did that, I read somewhere that if you had citations already that may convince Google to let you do a phone verification but I guess not. Thanks for your post




      Originally Posted by VegasGreg View Post

      Google will find them over time.

      But citations have nothing to do with Phone or Postcard validation.
      Signature

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3538149].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author jbounce
        I think you need to wait for Google to create an un-claimed/un-verified places place for the business based on the citations in order for the phone verification to work.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3541627].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author mraffiliate
          I signed this person's business up on major directories and three have already been verified and indexed in Google. When I started the process of applying for a Google Places it asked for the country and phone number of the business. It immediately checked for anyplace that had the phone number that I input but nothing was found even though it shows as being indexed by Google.

          I was only presented with a post card verification which can take up to two weeks and the places page will not show up in Google until the verification takes place.



          Originally Posted by jbounce View Post

          I think you need to wait for Google to create an un-claimed/un-verified places place for the business based on the citations in order for the phone verification to work.
          Signature

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3541647].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author lynn100days
            I'm a newbie looking to put my business on Googe Places. Where are the best places to get citations? Or how does one apply for citations?

            Thx!
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3555306].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author kharrison
              Citations are mentions by 3rd parties - reviews, comments, etc. People write a review of your business in Yelp, Insider Pages, etc. That is a citation.

              You can do a search of your business and see if you already have some. If not, ask for them. If you have any clients who would help you out, send them a link to a review page and ask them to place a review of your business.

              List your business in directories with exactly the same NAPW (name, address, phone, website). List in Yahoo Local, Bing, Yelp, Super Pages, Merchant Circle, etc.
              Signature
              Nika Bleu Marketing
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3555488].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Amir Luis
    It's only a couple of weeks to get the postcard....

    I have heard of other people trying to list and index citations first.. hoping to bypass the postcard and move forward faster with a phone verification...

    Some it works for... Some it doesn't...

    Either way...

    Why not wait a couple of weeks... Go get more clients in the meantime... and come back to it later...

    I am pretty upfront with my clients about the possibility of 6-8 weeks before page one. The reason why is because there are too many variables with Google CONSTANTLY making changes...
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3555574].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Dillinger411
    I built citations for a client months ago and they did not show up until someone wrote a review in the citation directory. Yelp being the biggest one right now.
    Signature
    Atlanta SEO Company | Atlanta Web Design | Atlanta SEO
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3557600].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Amir Luis
      Yelp is pretty big right now... They are fairly new... only about a year or two old... So they are pushing harder for recognition.

      Every time that I manually do a citation... I always add a review or two...

      It helps out a LOT....

      It is quite possible for Google to recognize the citation yet not add any additional information on your GP page.
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3560643].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author srtyker
    In order to avoid verification by mail / post, you must make sure you dont change any of they key elements when claiming the place page, i.e. business name, tel number, address, website. You can change most of these elements once you have claimed it (be warned: re-verification by post may get triggered if you do), however never change these at the time of first claim. For new place pages, it will always be verification by mail/post.

    About citations, they will get picked up over time, however just keep making them and get the reviews within the citations.
    __________________________________________________ _____________________

    Google Local Citation Finder Software
    Find Google Places citation sites for all your target keywords in one go. Outrank your competition by finding authoritative citation sites that the competition is using in your business category and country.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3597272].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Catalyst eMarketing
      3 new citations won't help you avoid postcard verification. Plus citations sometimes take months before G picks them up. Google now only does phone verification on business listings that have LOTS of long term trust factors.

      Google has a sophisticated algo that determines how much TRUST it has in a business listing. If the business has been around for years and has not changed name, address or phone, it likely already has 5,000 or more references in Google. In this case if you don't change NAP it MAY offer phone verification. But sometimes even with long term businesses it still only offers postcard. It's a little hit and miss.
      Signature

      Linda Buquet :: Google+ Local Specialist and Google Top Contributor
      ADVANCED Google+ Local Training :: Also offering White Label Local SEO
      Latest Google Local News, Tips & Tricks

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3597341].message }}

Trending Topics