Your business is unlikely to go far without a healthy online presence in 2022. With 87% of customers beginning their product searches online, establishing your business online is no longer a luxury. Google’s business listing platform, Google My Business, has for a long time been a key tool for businesses that are trying to get found online by a local audience. The platform allows you to include your business’ contact information on your profile and other important details like your opening hours and business pictures. You can also receive reviews from customers and even respond to their messages. It has simply been an essential tool for any business looking to thrive during the pandemic and beyond. That’s why any information on the changes made to Google My Business should matter to you. The company recently rebranded the site to Google Business profile.
Here is what to know about this rebrand and how it will affect how you manage your business profile:
What Changes are Coming With the Rebranding
Ideally, Google wanted to rebrand Google My Business into Google Business profile to make it simpler for businesses to manage their profiles. With the rebranding, you will be required to manage your profile directly from Google Search or Google Maps. You can do so both on the respective apps and a browser. Business owners have for a long time been managing their business’ profiles on these two platforms; it’s just that Google now prefers it moving forward. Google also added a few new features into the Google Business Profile, including:
- The ability to claim and verify your profile directly in Google Maps and Google Search.
- Ability to see your call history on both platforms.
- Ability to message directly through Google Search.
- The ability to control message read receipts on Google Search and Google Maps.
Claiming and Managing Your Google Business Profile
You can now directly claim your profile directly on Google Search or Maps. You just need to search your business name on either of the two platforms to claim your business. Once you claim your business, you can proceed to edit different aspects of your business profile.
For instance, you can start responding to client reviews and messages. You can also include business details like your contact and location details. Once you claim your profile, you just need to search ‘my business’ on your device to access, view, as well as edit your profile. Remember, the more optimized your business profile is, the better it establishes your online presence and attracts customers.
Managing Single Vs. Multiple Location Businesses
Google Search and Google Maps are the best platforms for managing your business profile on Google if you only have a single location. However, if your business has multiple locations, it could be tedious to manage every location separately. That’s why Google has renamed the old Google My Business interface to Business Profile Manager. This will act as a single dashboard where you can see multiple profiles for the different locations you manage. It can be beneficial to both multi-location businesses and agencies that run multiple Google Business Profiles for their clients. In fact, you will simply need to log in to the dashboard to access it.
Focus on Optimizing Your Profile
Your Google Business profile will work wonders for your business if you can commit to optimizing it. This includes updating your business details, from working hours to address to location details. You should also be keen on customer reviews by responding to them promptly. Positive reviews can act both as a trust signal to new customers and create engagement with existing ones.
If you need help managing your Google Business profile, feel free to reach out to us. We can help walk you through managing the profile to optimize it for your business customers.
