Local Pages Vs. Brand Pages on Google Plus

Local Pages & Brand Pages – What’s the Difference?

There are two types of Google Plus pages: Local and Brand. These pages can be difficult to differentiate visually, but the differentiation is important.

Local Pages on Google Plus

1. Google permits each business to create one Local page per location
2. Each Local page connects to a Google Maps listing.  A business listing on Google Maps boosts local search rankings.
3. Customers can post reviews to a Local page.  4- and 5-star reviews increase local search rankings.
4. You must verify you own or manage a business to publish Local pages.

Brand Pages on Google Plus

1. Google permits each business to create as many Brand pages as they wish
2. Brand pages don’t appear in Map results
3. Brand pages don’t contain reviews
4. Brand pages typically don’t rank as well in search results as Local pages do
5. Anyone can create a Brand page for any business.  For example, any of Taylor Swift’s fans could create one or more Brand pages about Taylor.

How to Tell If Your Page Is a Local Page or Brand Page

1. Log in
2. On the Google Plus page, select the About tab
3. If you see a Map showing your business location and a Review Summary box, you’re working with a Local page
4. Or, select “My Business” from the left drop-down menu
5. If you see a green check mark adjacent to the word, “Verified,” it is a Local page. There is no verification option for Brand pages.
6. If you see an alert (usually on a red background) indicating the page is not verified, it is a Local page.  And yes, you’ll want to fix that.
7. If none of these are visible, you’re working with a Brand page.

Businesses with Multiple Locations

Sadly, posts and reviews that appear on the Local page for one geographic office or branch will not appear on the Local page for other sites owned by the same business.  Until Google makes it possible to display posts and reviews for multiple places on the same Google Plus page, business owners who want each of their locations to appear in Google Map listings must maintain a separate Local page for each business location.

 

This information pertains to Google Plus Local pages and Google Plus Brand pages as of February 16, 2015. It may have changed by the time you read this because Google business services change often.