Spellmann

Does Google Call Businesses?

Description

Have you received a call from someone claiming to be from Google? If you have a website, chances are, you have. In this video, Eric Spellmann debunks this scam used by unethical companies attempting to get into your wallet. He also shows how you can do what these companies claim to do without paying them anything. Eric gives the one web address you need to use to get started. So, what are you waiting for? Claim your business on Google by watching this video!

Transcript

Note from Eric: Below, you will find a word-for-word transcript of this video. I provide this as an aid for the hearing-impaired and for those who might just want to read it rather than watch the video. This conversational style is not reflective of how I write.  Be nice!

Hey, I am Eric Spellmann. And today’s topic is a good one. Does Google Call Businesses? Now, I get this call quite a bit from not only my customers but from random people who watch my videos. And they say “Eric Google called me!”. And the first thing I say is “No they didn’t!”. Let me explain.

Basically there is a scam going on. And there’s a lot of companies out there who want to make you think they’re with Google. Usually it starts with something like this. You’ll get a robo call or they may even call you in person and read from a script.

And they’ll go something like this “It is extremely urgent that we speak to the business owner. We’ve tried to reach you numerous times. Our records indicate that your Google Business Listing has not been claimed. We’re from Google and we’re here to help you.

We want to make sure that someone else doesn’t take your business listing or claim it as their own!” Now keep in mind, this generates a lot of fear. And a lot of business owners think “Oh well if Google is telling me then I ought to do it”. Well, here’s the facts. Basically Google does not call you. Let me say this again. Google does not call you! They won’t! They’ve even said so. You can claim your business yourself, and I’ll show you how in just a second.

Google is actually filing lawsuits against these companies who are claiming to be with Google, or partnering with Google. They aren’t from Google! They’re just trying to get you to pay for something that you can do for FREE! And that’s the key. FOR FREE! There’s no reason for you to do that.

Basically here’s how you do it. Simply go to google.com/business. That’s it! And they will show you exactly how to claim your listing or to see if your listing has already been claimed or even if you need to. I recommend every business owner do this at least once. Keep in mind whoever claims it, uses their email address to claim to be the admin, to be the owner of that business.

When you allow one of these other companies to do it, many times they will put it in their name. Basically they’re forcing you to keep paying them over and over and over again. Coz if you leave them, you lose total access to that! It must be in your name and it must be tied to the email address (in my opinion) of an owner of the business or someone who’s gonna be there a while.

Because if you ever need to make changes to it, that’s where you do it. Now, you can give other people the ability to do this as well, you can have multiple admins. But if you only gonna have 1, make sure it is someone who is gonna be around, like the owner.

When you go do this, Google is gonna want to verify that you are the actual owner. Coz they don’t want some random person claiming to own the company. And the way they do it is 1 of 2 ways.

They’re either going to call the phone number they have on record, like in Google Maps and they’re going to give a PIN Number. And you have 5 minutes to enter that PIN Number into a blank to verify that you are the one who picked up the phone at that business and answered. So therefore you’re probably qualified.

The other way that Google does it is kinda harder. And it kind of depends on which way they go. But they’ll send you a past card in the mail to the mailing address of that business. And on the post card will be a PIN Number. And you’ll have a couple of weeks to enter that PIN Number in to claim the business as your own.

That’s harder because a lot of times that post cards gets mistaken for junk mail and is thrown out by your Front Desk Person. So hopefully you’ll get the phone call. But keep in mind that is how you actually verify a business on Google. And you’ve got to do it. Before you change anything about it, that’s what you do.

The next thing you need to do once you’ve claimed your business is you need to correct any mistakes that are over there. And I’m talking anything. From the address to where you are on the Google Maps (where it’s showing you on the map). You can put photos up there, you can choose the categories of business you want to be in (which is key to make sure you show up in certain searches), you can put descriptions of what you do, all sorts of things.

I guarantee if you fill it out completely, you’ll be very happy. And some of you really only have to do it once. So claim your business. Go to google.com/business. Claim it and then give it all the info it wants so that Google can understand what your business does. Not just your website. Keep in mind this is not your website, this is like a separate phone book listing, but it belongs to Google. And that’s how Google can understand who you are.

Well, even though google.com/business, they try to make it easy. Some people may be uncomfortable and nervous about going through that process. And so in that case, if you need help with it, let me know.

But if you go with a company or if someone is gonna help you through it, the key is to make sure that they put it in your name, not theirs! Always verify that it someone offers to help you do this process. I’m Eric Spellmann; I’ll see you in cyberspace.