Google My Business & Google+ For Businesses

Some of our clients have been confused by all of the offerings from Google regarding their business. In this blog post we hope to explain the differences between Google My Business and Google+ for Businesses, and what you should be using.

Google My Business

If you haven’t already read it, check out our detailed blog post on Google My Business. For a quick overview, Google My Business is the information Google uses when listing your business in search results and other places such as Google Maps. Google My Business was previously known as Google Places and some or all of your company information may already be listed without you doing anything at all.

Google+ For Businesses

Google+ pages are similar to other social media presences such as Facebook or Twitter profiles. Businesses can post news, photos, videos and more and people can follow or share that information.

Businesses can set up one of two types of Google+ pages:

1. Google+ Local, for businesses that have a physical storefront or service a particular area, or
2. Google+ Brand, for businesses that want to promote their brand and don’t need to include a physical address or service area.

So What’s the Difference between Google My Business and Google+ for Businesses?

Think of it this way, your Google My Business listing is the information that will display when someone searches for you. You can always add/edit your information, but for the most part, it will stay the same. Your Google+ Plus page is used by you to promote your business in the same way you might use Facebook or Twitter. People can follow and share the information and updates you post to your Google+ page.

Which one do I need?

You should be using both. Google is by far the number one search engine used today and controlling your brand on Google is important for the success of your business on the internet. Google My Business, combined with a Google+ Local or Brand page gives you total control over your brand on Google and will help you with brand exposure and visibility and ranking in search results. The importance of controlling your brand on Google can be summed up using the screenshot below. In this example, we searched for “Virginia MN web design” and you’ll notice that W.A. Fisher Interactive is the #1 organic search result (red section)… way down at the bottom of the page. The most prominent listings are paid advertisements (yellow sections, which we can help with as well) and Google My Business listings (blue sections).

What do I need to do?

You should either set up, or take control over your Google My Business information and set up, and update, a Google+ Local or Brand page. If you’d like help with either, please don’t hesitate to contact us online or give us a call at 218-741-9544.