Did you know Google now lets you turn your Google+ brand page into a local page. Why might you want to do this?
- If your page was set up incorrectly (as a brand page instead of a local page)
- If you have changed from just being online to having a local presence
- If you want a map to show up on the search engine results page when your brand name is searched for
Too many local based business set up a brand page instead of a local page when they started out on Google+ so Google have finally decided to help those businesses out!
Google allows you to create a brand new local page then merge some of the features of the local page to your brand page.
What changes?
So reviews, verification, location and map will be moved from the local page (which you create if you don’t already have one) to your old brand page. All these things move to your brand page because they are all features of local pages not brand pages.
Although this allows you to turn your brand page into a local page this is not the merging of two pages it is essentially movement of data from a local page to a brand page. Two pages will still be present.
So essentially…
New verified local page with no followers + Old brand page with followers
becomes
Back up no local page with no followers + Verified local page
To turn your brand page into a local page all you need to do is:
- Create a local verified Google+ Page for your business if you haven’t done so already
- Go to the Page settings of that local Page
- Under the Profile section next to ‘this Page is connected to Google maps’ click on ‘Connect a different Page’ (you will only see this if you are owner of the page and the page has been verified)
- Select the Page you would like to turn into a local Page
Your former brand Page will now:
- Show the name and be verified like your former local Page
- Show the business information and reviews from the former local page
- Keep it’s followers from the brand Page as well as all the activity that was on the brand Page
Your former local Page will now:
- No longer be shown on Google maps
- No longer display local business information or reviews
- Will be named to “Backup of <Page name>”
- Still be visible on Google+
- Still have it’s followers, posts and managers from the former local Page
- Will still have any photos from the former local Page
I hope that is all clear! Any questions on the above, just let me know in the comments below! 🙂
That’s all for now! I hope you found this useful.
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