On the 2nd of April 2019 Google+ was officially switched off and anyone clicking on your websites G+ social Icon is greeted with a “Google+ is no longer available” message.
What to Do With Your G+ Icon
You have two choices now:
- Have your developers remove from website
- Link the G+ icon to your Google My Business Listing
For local businesses I always recommend having a link sitewide to your Google My Business Page, its good for Google to understand the connection and great for customers who want to know where you are located.
So why not switch out your old G+ url direct to your Google My Business page using your CID link (ludocid).
Find your Google My Business CID Number
Easiest way is to log into your GMB Dashboard. Find the View on Maps link in either Home or Info Sections.
Get ready to capture the URL in search bar as soon as the page opens >> https://www.google.com/maps?cid=1008335387778298790
Failing this, you can open the business listing in Maps >> View Page Source
Ctrl + F and search for ludocid >> u0026ludocidu003d1008335387778298790#lrd
Then strip out after d and # >> then add to the maps url >> https://www.google.com/maps?cid=
Don’t Forget your Structured Data
Don’t forget to update your local business structured data if you have included your social media profiles within sameAs and hasMap.
<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "LocalBusiness", "image": "Image URL", "priceRange" : "Price Range", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "First Line Address", "addressLocality": "Town", "addressRegion": "State ", "postalCode":"Post Code" }, "description": "Brief Description of Business", "name": "Name of Business", "openingHours": "Mo-Fr 09:00-17:00", "telephone": "0800 000 000", "email": "info@yourdomain", "url": "https://www.yourdomain.co.uk", "hasMap": "https://www.google.com/maps?cid=", "sameAs" : [ "Social media channel url", “Social media channel url” ] } } </script>
Stuck with any of the above, our local seo service can help you get your site updated and working for your local business.