This is an addendum to the December 2013 post on Why Google+ Matters and How to Set up your Profile
We came across a new situation where the scenarios outlined in the article were not available to us.
Clicking Manage this page took us to the Google Places listing for the business, but none of the information was reflected on the Google+ page. A little research found that only some Places listings were available to upgrade to Google+:
“To use the social features of Google+ described above, just click the link at the Visit your Google+ page link.
…Your page must be in a category that is eligible for Google+. If these apply to you, you will see a Google+ widget in your dashboard inviting you to upgrade. Simply click Get your Google+ page to upgrade.
If you manage a previously verified page that hasn’t been upgraded, don’t worry. We’re working on getting a smooth upgrade process in place for you.”
The page we were updating didn’t have this “Visit” link so they weren’t eligible BUT a search for company name google plus still pulled up a Google+ page listing. What to do? We called the Google Places help line by filling out this page: Call Google Places Help.
After the rep took some time reviewing everything, we found that the Google Plus listing was set up through a different email address than the Google Places listing, but they were inextricably linked by the NAP. This linking is why we were sent to the Google Places page when we tried to manage the Plus page.
To fix this, we followed these steps:
1a. Ignore the info that pops up when you try to add for listing with the existing information.
2. (optional step) If there is information in your Google Places or duplicate Google Plus listing that needs to be saved, like Reviews, you must call Google Places Help to ask them to transfer that data over to the new profile. It will take up to 48 hours for all the information to be saved.
3. Finally, delete the old listing in Google Places and/or delete the old listing in Google Plus.
