How to Verify Your Google+ Page for Business

There are two key obstacles that may prevent B2B marketers from moving forward with a Google+ Page for Business. Towards the end of last year, Google removed one of those obstacles, the ability to add multiple administrators to the company’s Google+ Page(s) for Business.

The second, less distinct, but slightly more complicated obstacle (at least in initial perception), is the ability to verify authenticity of a Google+ Page for Business. For example, while anyone could create a page about KoMarketing Associates (potential online reputation nightmare?), only site administrators can properly confirm ownership.

The process is really quite simple.

Via Google Webmaster Support, confirming ownership can be done when the site administrator enables two things:

• A rel=”publisher” link from the main page of your website to your Google+ page.
• A reciprocal link back from your Google+ page to the main page of your website (love that it is a “reciprocal link” :-))

Adding the rel=”publisher” Link

The rel=”publisher” link “tells Google that the Google+ page represents the publisher of the site”. The simplest way to do this is as follows:

Add the following HTML code to the section of your home page:
<a href=”https://plus.google.com/[yourpageID]” rel=”publisher”>Find us on Google+</>

Google’s Rich Snippets Testing Tool can help site owners verify the whether Google can correctly parse the HTML code and attribute information appropriately.

Site owners can add a Google+ badge to their website, which could help drive +1’s. The tool for adding this can be found here and these “pluses” become visible on the Google+ Page for Business. Ideally, site owners should have +1 buttons on individual blog posts and content designed to be “rated” (such as news items or case studies), since Google will take into account “pluses” across the domain.

Search Engine Land reported that according to Google, “the +1 count will change to show all +1s to a particular site. For the moment, it only shows +1s to a page.” That was supposed to be corrected a few weeks after the article postscript was added, but certainly has not been integrated yet (based on “pluses” our site/individual pages have experienced)

Google also points out that having this publisher link also creates an opportunity for the site to be found via Google+ Direct Connect. This allows users to “quickly navigate to a Google+ page when using Google Search”. Personally I don’t know how much impact this will have, and that impact is largely based on the adoption of “Google+ terminology” and relative effectiveness when using the query.

Linking from the Google+ Page to Your Site

Fortunately, linking from the Google+ Page is pretty self-explanatory. When logged into the Google+ page, simply add the requisite link within “Recommended Links” on the right-hand side of the “About” information.

Screenshot: Location for Adding Link to Google+ Page for Business

Screenshot: How to Add the Link to Google+ Page for Business

I would also recommend adding relevant social profiles and any additional, pertinent information and resources about the organization in this section as well.

In summation, verifying ownership may feel complicated at first glance, but is fairly simple in practice and can be easily tested for accuracy. What are your thoughts on Google+ Pages for Business? Have you seen your Google+ Page begin to appear for relevant search results? I would love to read your feedback and perspective via comments below.