Google+ Brand Page Domain Verification

If you're like me, that title makes you tremble in fear. There's a good reason for this. I've beat my head against the table and cried many times while trying to do a simple computer related task. 

Because the directions SUCK!

Yeah, I cussed on my blog. Don't take it personally.

The people who write out directions don't capture all the steps because they think you already know.

But you're like me and you don't know all the steps the computer tech geniuses skip over.

And then you end up pissed. Like I did less than 20 minutes ago at Google.

Important Note: these directions apply to Weebly

I decided to set up a Google+ brand page for my future writing business. It's supposed to be easy.

The simple directions:

First Issue:

I was using Firefox and the Google+ My Business page did not load correctly. ​There was no BRAND to select.

After yelling at the computer, (hey, I didn't know it was a browser issue), I killed Firefox and gave up on the Google+ Brand idea.

Then I looked at Safari and, when I logged in to at business.google.com, the BRAND option was RIGHT THERE! I felt like an idiot and apologized to Google for calling it a few choice words.

Special Note: it's NOT a Firefox issue so much as a logout and log back in issue. Which would be really useful to list in the directions.

Then I had to update and add my website address to my profile. Part of this is the super simple process of Google verifying that I own my website. All it said was that I needed to add a single TXT line into the DNS configuration code.

Like I had any idea how to do that!

I googled (I know! So much irony!) some search terms regarding adding code to the DNS configuration and specified Weebly because it wasn't listed on the drop down menu.

​Google was kind enough to return a support page titled:

Weebly: Verify your domain

I made that a link, in case you need to verify your Weebly website with Google.

I only used the directions below because I already had my code from business.google.

And It Worked!

It did! It totally worked just like the directions above said it would.

So I went back to my business.google page and clicked on the Verify button and Google immediately returned a message that my website had been verified. 

I was so sticking pleased with myself for accomplishing the difficult task of verifying my domain (aka my website). 

My advice to Google and others:

Seriously, you're dealing with pros and total newbies. Make your directions COMPLETE.

All of your directions.

Don't assume that the individual will know how to do something and skip steps. If the process is multi-steped, then list out all of the steps (even the stupid ones).

Ok. I'm getting off my soapbox and returning to my real life. I hope this little trip into my less-than-tech life amuses you. I also hope those who need to do this find better directions than I did IN ONE LOCATION!

Oh, yeah, and I'm still trying to figure out what the heck I'm actually supposed to DO with a Google+ Brand page. If you've got any ideas, let me know below. Even more information on setting the profile up would be helpful. I've reached my quota for fiddling with it today.