Connect Your Website to Your Google Business (Google Places) Listing

One of the most important steps in optimizing your website and your business to show up in Google Search and Google Maps results is to connect your Google My Business Listing (a.k.a. Google Places / Google+) with your website.

Follow these steps to get listed on Google and to connect your Google listing to your website, so that they’re in sync:

Step 1:  Setup your Google My Business / Google+ Profile:

(Only you can do this step, because it requires you to verify your business’ location via phone or postcard in the mail)

  1. Visit google.com/business and click “Get on Google”
  2. It will ask you to sign into your Google Account (it’s same as your Gmail account), or create one if you haven’t already.
  3. It will guide you through verifying your business’ location on the map — or, if you’ve previously created a Google+ page or registered through Google Places, you’re already good to go.
  4. Through this process, you will create (or you may already have) a Google+ Page for your business.

Step 2:  Connect your Google+ profile to your website:

(We can do this step for you, if you prefer.  Let us know!)

  1. After filling in the relevant info on your Google+ Page (like your location, contact info, hours, photos, logo, etc.) go to the “Links” section of the page.  Add a link to your website URL.
  2. Log into your Restaurant Engine website dashboard by going to http://restaurantengine.com/login
  3. Go to Website Options > SEO
  4. Paste your Google+ Page URL here.  It should look something like:  https://plus.google.com/+Restaurantengine
    (replace +Restaurantengine with your actual page)
  5. Click the blue “Save” button

Done!  Now your website and your Google listing are connected.  You should begin seeing improvements in search rankings over the next few weeks.

FAQ

What is “Google My Business”?

Google My Business is Google’s listing platform for local businesses.  It provides you with a local business profile, which helps make sure your business shows up when people use Google Search or search on Google Maps, when looking for a place to eat in your local area.

Learn all about this program by visiting google.com/business

What happened to “Google Places”?

Google updated “Google Places” and it is now known as “Google My Business”.  This happened in June, 2014.  If you’ve previously registered your business on Google Places, then you’re already registered for Google My Business.  Same goes for your Google+ profile, if you’ve created one.  Google+ and Google Places have been converted to Google My Business.

What happens if I don’t complete the steps above?

Your website is still optimized for search engines — to an extent.  But we highly recommend completing the steps above, because it really helps Google (and the people searching for you on Google) find your business.  Plus, there’s no extra cost to any of this, so why not?

Why can’t you do all of the steps for me?

If you already have a verified Google Places listing, then we can take it from here!  However, if you have not yet verified your business’ location on Google, you’ll need to do that.  It involves confirming via telephone call or a postcard in the mail.  You’ll be guided through the steps at google.com/business.