Google is looking at new ways to encourage local businesses to claim their Google My Business local listing with a new alert that shows in the local knowledge panel when searching for a business.

Google is adding an icon alongside a “Claim this business” link in the local Google My Business knowledge panel that displays when someone does a search for am exact local business (not a generic business type search).

Here is how it appears:

Dr. Pete was the first to notice the addition.

It does appear to be a limited test at this time, as here is the same local knowledge panel without the “claim this business” link.  It does have the usual “Are you the business owner?” footer that displays beneath the local knowledge panel.

It isn’t known if this test is targeting certain business areas or business types, or if it is just showing to a small percentage of searchers.

It could also possibly be tied to the new changes Google is making that requires business owners to re-verify their listings after a set period of time to ensure they are accurate –  perhaps this is one that has been claimed quite some time ago but hasn’t had any recent activity by the business owner.

It is a nice addition, especially for local business owners who might not be online-savvy and do not realize it is even possible to claim their Google business listing, but would probably do a vanity search for their business name.