14 DAY TRIAL // Google Places is a great way of getting your business online. For a small restaurant or store, it means that people are going to be able to find them easily online and it also means that they'll be able to leverage Google's brand to make people more comfortable with the info on Google Places.
But local business owners aren't often web gurus or SEO masters and they need help setting up shop in Google Places.
Google is not exactly known for its customer service, though that is changing, but it is making it easier to get help with a new easy to understand section in Google Place's help pages, "Fix a problem."
"We want to make it easy for you to get found on Google. The best way to do that is to add your business information to Google Places for business to make sure all your information is up to date," Joel Headley, Consumer Operations at Google, wrote.
"But sometimes, you need a little help along the way to ensure that you can be found on Google," he said.
"Now when you visit the Help Center homepage, you’ll notice a new section called 'Fix a problem.' Click the problem that applies to you," he explained.
The "Fix a problem section" contains obvious help topics like "My listing has incorrect information" and "I'm having a problem verifying my listing(s)."
These are exactly the kind of problems most local businesses are facing and exactly what they need help with.
Clicking on any of the topics will lead to a number of questions to help narrow down the problem in a natural way. Depending on the issue, Google will provide a detailed help page containing all of the steps necessary to help fix the problem.
Of course, if it's a more specific issue, you can send a note, describing the problem and Google will get back to you.