NOT Junk Mail

The What:
If you happen to receive something that looks like this in the mail, DO NOT throw it away! It is a verification letter from Google. Have you ever typed your companies address or name into Google Maps and nothing was listed that linked it to your company? Well that is because your company has not been listed in Google’s directories.

The Who & Why:
Maybe someone in your company or maybe your web designer registered your company to prove your existence to Google. So why prove you exist to Google, well once you input the pin that is inside into the original listing in the Google account, it will verify your address with Google and so it earns a place in Google’s business directory and on Google Maps.

The How:
Google has come up with a unique and pretty effective way of making businesses prove that they in fact are located where they say they are. So when you input your company’s address into Google’s directory, this triggers an automatic event that sends this letter via the postal service to the address you listed as your business address. The letter like the one above has a unique code that links it back to your company so once inputted into the original listing in the Google account, it will verify your company’s location thus adding you to Google’s business directory and maps.

The Listing:
Haven’t verified your listing yet? Claim your listing now by going to https://www.google.com/local/business/ and search for an existing entry for your company. If it shows up, claim it and update the information if needed; if nothing shows up, enter your information and submit it to Google right away. After submitting you should be receiving a letter from Google to verify your information.

Hope this helps some local businesses get recognized online easier.