FAQs About Your Google Business Listing
What is the Bermuda Tourism Authority doing with Google?
The Bermuda Tourism Authority is excited to announce that we have embarked on an initiative to improve Bermuda’s visibility and engagement in Google’s search and travel exploration products. BTA and Google have an aligned mission: To help travelers decide where to go by providing complete, accurate and quality information about our destination.
What does this mean for my business?
Central to these Google products are the individual listings for each business – that is where you come in! BTA is supporting the industry by providing educational materials and resources so that you can get the most out of your Google Business Profiles listing – expanding your exposure within Google’s products and improving your engagement with customers.
How is BTA helping my business?
BTA has created this page to provide you with educational materials including Fact Sheet PDFs, this FAQ and a webinar about Google’s products. Many of you were able to join us for our Google session at the Bermuda Tourism Summit in November, where we also covered and distributed these materials.
BTA is also able to offer instant verification of your Google Business Profile listing. Connect with BTA directly to get your business verified with Google. Please reach out to April Reynolds, Digital Marketing Manager for BTA, at 212-916-3136 for questions regarding the Google Programme.
What is Google Business Profiles?
Google Business Profiles is the platform that provides the tools for you to update your business’ listing on Google, engage with your customers and learn how they are interacting with your business listing. Learn more about Google Business Profiles.
How do I get my business listed?
Unless your business is brand new, chances are it is already listed on Google – even if you have not yet claimed and verified the listing. To view your business listing, go to Google and search the name of your business + city. You should see your business listed in the Knowledge Panel in the right hand panel on desktop or at the top of search results in mobile. Refer to our fact sheet on Accessing your Dashboard for more details and visual examples.
Business not already listed? Visit the Google Business Profiles site and look for the “Start Now” button, which will walk you through the process of setting up your new business.
What does it mean to claim my business?
Google allows a business owner to manage the content of their Google Business Profiles listing, but first the listing must by “claimed” by verifying that you are an official representative of the business.
How do I know if my business has been claimed?
If your business has not been claimed, you will see a link to “Own this business?” in the Knowledge Panel for your business on Google.com or Maps.Google.com. If that link does not appear, the business is already claimed.
How do I claim my business?
If you need to claim your listing, contact the BTA office for instant verification options. Also refer to our fact sheet on Accessing your Dashboard.
How do I edit my profile on Google?
If you have already claimed your business, access Google Business Profiles and log into your Google account via the “Sign In” link in the upper right. For details on what you can do within your Google Business Profiles account, download the presentation from the 2017 Bermuda Tourism Summit.
My Business has been claimed by someone else. How can I fix that and how is that allowed to happen?
Frequently Business listings have been verified by previous employees or other managers or owners. To learn who the business is currently verified to, when you try to verify the business a dialog comes up which shows a portion of the verified email. If you can recognize the email from that portion, proceed to login with that account. Otherwise, if you don’t recognize the email address, you can proceed to “Request Ownership.” This process of requesting ownership can be lengthy, so it will be much preferable for the business owner to locate the email and password another way.
There are images on my profile that are incorrect. How can I edit them?
Sign into your Google Business Profiles account and select “Photos” from the menu. Click the image you want to remove and then click the trash can icon in the top-right corner.
To flag an image you did not add, navigate to Google Maps. Search for the business and select it from the results. Click on the photo to pull up the photo gallery image panel, and click on the three-dot menu icon in the top left corner. Select “Report a Problem.” Complete the information on the form about why the photo should be flagged and then click “Submit.” You can also request that the BTA support your concern by asking them to also flag the image.
Also check out our Photo Best Practices Fact Sheet.
How often should I be updating my listing?
We recommend logging into your Google Business Profiles account at least once a month to review your listing and insights data. Google users will sometimes suggest edits to your listing data, such as hours or services, and you
will be able to accept or decline these changes from your account. It’s also recommended that you update images and posts frequently to keep your listing current.
Who is the contact person at BTA for Google programme questions?
Please reach out to April Reynolds, Digital Marketing Manager for BTA, at 212-916-3136 for questions regarding the Google Programme.
