Google Plus for clients

[SCW]

Hi folks,

I am coming to the realization that most of my local business clients simply do not have the time, desire or knowledge to establish a Google Plus personal profile and business page. Therefore, I have been contemplating the best approach to establishing Google Plus business pages for multiple clients.

It would appear that information attached to the personal profile for the primary Google Plus account is not revealed when a business page is viewed, and a single personal profile can establish multiple business pages, would it be safe to assume this may be the correct approach?

For example: I have a personal profile and a page for my SEO business. Could I simply create additional business pages for my clients under my account - even though I am not business owner? Are there any adverse ramifications to this approach (e.g. ownership transfer, local SERP issues, etc.)?

Thanks!

[jennita]

You're definitely on the right track. Unfortunately since Google is forcing us to use personal accounts, that's the best way to do it right now. You can transfer ownership of the account if that's ever needed.

If you do have the login/pass that was used to create the places page, you could then add your personal account as another admin as well.

This question/issue is sadly all too common when trying to set up a G+ page. I think you're going about it the best way possible!

[SCW]

Thank you for the suggestions. And, I agree with the approach of using an existing Google Places user/login (if applicable) to establish the personal account - then the page. However, in recent cases where I am dealing with post Places/Plus merge and the client did NOT have an existing Places account - things become a bit trickier

I don't know about you guys, but I have encountered several clients that simply don't want anything to do with establishing or managing Places or Plus accounts - siting that's part of the reason they hired me. They are also resistant to having their personal name/information being visible. I attempt to appease their concerns by explaining the various privacy settings G provides, but resistance typically prevails.

[TheeDigital]

Google+ now allows you to set-up multiple admins, so that might help your main issue of who should set up the account.

Saying that though, since you're dealing with local businesses, I would suggest that you use the login info/password that they used when they created their Google places page(now google local) if that's applicable.  That will allow you to go continue without going through the headache of having to contact Google and claim the place.  If you do use this login/password, you will be able to create a personal account for the client which they then can use to share the businesses' page updates and links.

Basically, you can now use this personal page to help promote the business.  For instance John is the owner of pizza King, he can not only share Pizza King's page info but +1 it on occasion and also add value to the conversation going on, within Pizza King's page.  
Using John's page will also allow you to +1 and share the information in case you're worried about it being associated with you(the marketer).

For easy access, you can also set up your Google+ page as an admin, to the business page for quick updating and messages.

I hope that helps.

[SCW]

Thanks for the response. I just added  a page for a client under my personal account. During the process, I was not required to enter my personal name, so I am not sure what you mean by, "quite a few Google+ profiles with my name..." did you establish multiple personal profiles using your name for clients?

It appears there can be only one "owner" of a page - personal profile information is not visible to visitors of the page, however, there can be multiple "managers" of the page and ownership can be transferred to an existing manager.

I am sure Google did not intend for SEO or Social Media companies to establish and manage multiple pages upon the behalf of various clients in this fashion, but I don't see any other viable method at this point.

[MalcolmGibb]

I do the same, I have a personal account and just set up pages for clients under that. In my mind it is really not the best solution as I am unaware what will happen when it comes to transfer. Possibly there is a solution of adding an admin and then letting them control it.

The other problem I find is having many Google account and having to use your real name! There are probably quite a few Google+ profiles with my name