Google My Business FAQ: 5 Burning Questions, Answered

Google My Business has been around for quite some time, helping users find information about businesses they’re interested in. You can definitely take control of what’s going on your own Google My Business. Wondering how to work with this powerful tool? Our Google My Business FAQ will answer your questions!

Google My Business listings are essential to give your brick-and-mortar location the attention it deserves. It can look challenging to get your information across on this platform, but it’s not nearly as complex as it looks. Plus, having an optimized Google My Business increases your chances of being on Google’s “local pack.” These are the three top businesses in the area.

Over time, Google has added many new features, prompting questions from business owners. We cover some of the most common ones on our Google My Business FAQ:

Google My Business FAQ

1. How do I Claim a Google My Business listing?

Follow these steps:

• Sign in on the Google account where you want to receive notifications of My Business.
• Google your business name and city to get precisely your place of business, no confusions.
• On the right-hand side, click on “Maps” from the search options.
• Click on your business name, which will appear on the left side of the page.
• Click on “More info” on the location box that appeared on the map.
• Here, you’ll face your entire My Business listing. Go to the bottom right section and click on Manage This Page.
• Go to “Edit my business information.” This will require Google to validate you as the business owner.
• You’ll get to a page where you can edit your business’ basic information. Some of this includes the proper name, specific address, phone number, etc.
• Google will send you a pin code to verify you’re the owner. This will happen either through a call to your business phone, a postcard email or text message.
• Once you’ve verified you’re the owner, the updated listing will appear on Google.

 2. A Former Employee Claimed my Google My Business Listing but I don’t have the Login Information. How Can I Get it back?

The first thing you should do is try to get the login information. Contact former employees or any digital marketing agencies you may have worked with in the past. Ask that they either give you the login information or make you the primary owner. if that's Bright Vessel, be sure to drop by our website!

Can’t reach the person who claimed your Google My Business or they lost the login information? Here’s what this Google My Business FAQ recommends:

• Google your business and see if the right-hand side knowledge panel allows you to claim it. If you don’t see that option, it means the listing isn’t eligible.
• Enter your business name on Google My Business Create. Here, Google will partially show you the email address used to create the listing. If you recognize that email and have the login information, get into Google My Business through it. Otherwise:
• Click Request Access and fill out the form. Google will proceed to send you and the listing owner an email. They have seven days to respond to your request. Google will send you a link where you can change the status of your request.

If the current owner approves your access request, you’ll be able to manage the listing. If your request is denied, you’ll receive a notification and sometimes even the possibility to appeal. If the owner doesn’t respond after a week, Google may allow you to claim the My Business listing. Log into Google My Business and see if there’s a Claim or Verify button of your dashboard; if so, you’re eligible.

3. Can others Change the Information on my Google My Business Listing?

Yes, they can. This might not make a lot of sense for business owners with active My Business accounts, but it is what it is. Anyone can make suggestions for edits to your business’ information, including where you’re located. Even worse: you might not receive notifications when someone makes changes to your info. Google should notify business owners of any suggestions, but often these go unnoticed or plainly unsent.

Because of this, the best thing you can do is check your My Business dashboard frequently. This will help you keep on top of things, fighting off any trolls or competitors looking to make things harder for you.

Here’s how to check for changes to your info:

• Log into your My Business dashboard.
• Go to the classic view (“Back to GMB Classic”).
• Go to the “Review Updates” section under “Google Updates.”
• If you find updates here, it’s because Google found them from another directory or a change on Google Maps. This may also happen if Google edited something from a trusted user's suggestion before you could get a notification.

 4. Can I Get Fake Reviews Removed from My Business?

If they are fake reviews and not just bad ones, yes, you can. The steps to take are:

• Read the Google Review Policies to know if the ones giving you trouble apply.
• Politely respond to the reviewer. This way your potential customers can see you’re truly concerned with improving your business. Be short and sweet, keep it professional and thank them for their review. Even if Google will eventually delete this review, it shows others that you play nice with bad reviews.
• From your My Business dashboard, flag the review as inappropriate, as it’s more effective than doing it from the browser. You’ll receive a confirmation email from Google.
• Wait for a second email from Google. After three days, you should receive a response in which you’ll be able to explain why the review is fake. Be as detailed and as dispassionate as you can, talking about why Google should remove this review.
• If all else fails, head to the Google My Business forum. Here, you can explain your situation, and a Google Top Contributor can assist you in finding the right Google worker to help you.

 5. Should I Use Hashtags on My Google Business Posts?

No. There isn’t really any point to doing this, as Google won’t be reading hashtags and they won’t help SEO. Google My Business offers up to 1,500 characters for posts, but ideally, you should only use between 150 and 300 of those. Google cuts off the rest and users have to click on the post to read the whole thing. It’s wasteful to use such little space on hashtags! You should also make sure you have all the important information near the top.

What this Google My Business FAQ definitely recommends to promote:

• News about your business.
• Upcoming events. Don’t include calls to action, advertising language or pricing.
• Any special offers you’re currently running.
• Products.

Each post will stay on for seven days and then go off the spotlight unless it’s an event or a dated post. Those disappear after their expiration date. Users can review the rest of the past posts by clicking on the current one.

To learn more about how to rank better on Google checkout "SEO and How Google Indexes High-Quality Content".

Did our Google My Business FAQ fail to answer your questions? At Bright Vessel, we’re happy to clear all your doubts about this wonderful platform. Contact us to find out how we can help you!