How to keep your Google My Business listing active

Google My Business listings power the results for Google Maps, which is a vital way for customers to find you. If you sell to customers at a physical location, you need to make sure you can be found by them. Especially if they might be just round the corner checking their phone for a business like yours. How to keep your Google My Business listing active.

There's growing evidence that customers are twice as likely to trust companies if they have a complete Google My Business listing alongside a quality website. So if you've taken the time to fill in details and go through the verification process - or a company like us has done it on your behalf - it's something you don't want to lose.

Google is now contacting business owners who haven't logged into their account in more than 12 months. So if you haven't checked your account, or had someone log in on your behalf, you may receive an email asking you to sign in and confirm your details are still correct. If you choose not to log-in, you may find your account becomes unverified, and in some cases gets removed completely.

Overall this is a good thing. It means people searching via Google Maps and Google My Business are less likely to be disappointed by a business moving, changing opening hours or being closed. And active companies aren't going to potentially be losing customers to rivals who may have ceased trading months or years ago.

Lost your Google My Business and Google+ Page Details?

If you haven't logged into Google My Business for more than a year, there's a good chance you may not have the email and password details. It may be the person who set up the account has now left the company, which is why it's always good to have a formal and secure process for maintaining profiles and passwords.

If you do need to regain access to a page which has been created or verified by someone else, there is a 4 step process.

1. Visit 'Google My Business'
2. Follow the steps to verify your business.
3. You'll then be informed someone else has verified the business and be given the option to choose 'Request Admin Rights'.
4. You'll then need to answer some questions about your business. The current owner will then get an email asking them to get in touch with you, and if you don't get a response in a week, you should then contact Google.

There may have been some uncertainty regarding the future of Google+ as a social network, but it's clear that Google My Business and Google Maps have a secure future. So there's no excuse not to be maintaining your listing and ensuring you can access it, unless you're letting us handle it for you, of course.