Google+ Local vs. Google Places

What Are Google+ Local Business Pages?

Google+ Local for Businesses is all about the social aspect of search. This is where you connect with customers and/or others in the industry by putting them in your circles (similar to "friends" on Facebook or "followers" on Twitter).

Those who have your company in their circles will be able to see updates from your company, whether it be blog posts or just a general comment on the feed, as well as see reviews for your company.

Your general business information and photos are also visible to give social users the full picture of your company. You are in control of adding in all of this information as well as updating your feed as you wish (just like the way if works for Facebook).

What is Google Places for Business?

Google Places is the information that a search engine receives and uses when listing your business. A search engine will probably already have your business listed in results, but your Google Places page allows you to control what information Google has and presents to searchers about your business. You can fill in your Places page with information like a description, images, hours of operation, and contact information.

You manage all of this information in your Google Places dashboard, so you can change it anytime you wish. You have to sign up for Google Places here, fill in your information, and then verify your account – you have to verify either by phone or by mail, which Google will walk you through, and then you're set to go and start taking control of your brand.

Do Local Businesses Need Either?

It's very important for businesses to get involved in Google Places as well as Google+ Local for two major reasons:

First, it helps to put you in control of your brand. Whether you like it or not, your company is going to be mentioned somewhere on the Internet, either by clients or customers. You want to make sure that the right information about your company is displayed, and Google+ and Google Places allow you to do that. You can update your contact information, images, etc. and you can connect with customers and answer their questions or respond to their online reviews.

Second, it helps you to increase your brand visibility. As discussed above, Google is beginning to move to a more holistic approach to search results. Link building is still important, but social (amongst others) is starting to become just as much of a ranking factor. The more information you can give Google, the better.

In the end, both are free to set up and easy to use. At last count, some 100 billion searches are conducted on Google every month, so visibility and control of your online presence is a must.

Google Places vs. Google+ Local Business Pages: What's the Same

Before diving into the differences between these three terms, it helps to know what's the same. A few things that fall into this category include:

• Business Information: Your general business information – name, description, location, hours and content information – is going to be the same on both of these different pages.
• Photos: Both pages allow you to upload photos.
• Comments and Reviews: Readers can comment and review your business on both of these different pages.

The similarities between the two pages are pretty basic and what you would expect. So why do they still look so different? Not only do they have layouts that differ, but there are a few features that differ as well.

What Makes Google Places Unique

• Listing Appears on Google Maps or in Google Search: It's the information you add into your Google Places listing that will show up on a Google Map, which will show up on a Google search. In the past this was the page that would show up if you typed in a Google search for a local business (e.g., "pizza in Collingwood"), but the Google local carousel has now brought Google+ pages back to the forefront.
• Pages Verified on Places for Business Dashboard: You're used to seeing your Places for Business dashboard complete with all of the information from your Google Places listing. This is ultimately where you manage all of your business information that is seen on Google as well as your AdWords efforts.

What Makes Google+ Local Business Pages Unique

• Designed to Look Like Google Places: A Google+ Business page is designed to look like a Google Places listing, which is different than your traditional Google+ account page. This was an effort to make things easier, but ended up being very confusing. Now you have two pages, Google Places and Google+ Business pages that look similar.
• Social Features: A Google+ Business page is where you find all of your social features. This is where you can share your articles on your Google+ feed so all of your followers can see what you're sharing. It's where you connect with others in the industry as well as consumers and then interact.
• Quick Identification: Posts, About, Photos, and Videos Tabs. You will see all of these tabs on a Google+ Business page. If you're missing a video tab or a tab for posts, you're not looking at a Google+ business page you're looking at a typical Google+ account page.

Combining Google Places & Your Local Google+ Page

You can now manage your Google+ Business page within your Google Places dashboard, which means both are somewhat combined from a management standpoint. You will only see this tab if you have a Google Places dashboard and have verified your Google+ Business page account.