Checking Out: Getting Right With Google
[ cross-posting from my humble little ecommerce site ]
We all want to stay on Google's good side right? Duh. Right? That's a no-brainer! And Google wants to stay on ours. Wait. What? Yes. Yes they do. We rely upon Google for all sorts of information, and we trust them to provide us with authentic, authoritative links. That's where we come in. As online merchants with ecommerce sites, we need to prove to Google that our sites are real, and we're who we say we are. That helps them provide people with great information. Total win-win!
In response to recent concerns regarding the quality of Google's information, the online giant put a number of things in motion within their ongoing efforts to keep the good information flowing, especially about online products and merchants listed in their systems. That's us! In order to do that we're being asked to verify and claim our online ecommerce presences. So that's what this quick article's about.
If your ecommerce site is listing your products with Google, you may have received a message similar to this:
Here's how to verify and claim (both steps are required) your web address through Google:
1. Go to the Google Merchant Dashboard (http://www.google.com/merchants/merchantdashboard)
2. Fill out the General Settings and save the changes.
3. Be sure to enter the exact address of your online store's homepage in the Website URL field. See below
4. Verify the site using Google Webmaster Tools
5. Important: Come back to your Google Merchant Dashboard and claim your listing by clicking the "Claim" link beneath your web address.
Hope this helps and good luck! Here's Google's official instructions on getting verified and claimed. Please feel free to contact me if you've got any questions or need assistance. I've done a few of these for clients already, and I'm happy to help.
