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Google My Business is now Company Profile: look what has changed!

Google My Business is now Company Profile: look what has changed! If you use the Google My Business tool, prepare for a change! Now it's called the Company Profile. But you don't have to worry, because as we already know, nothing in Google ends, but it does. In this article I will show that [...]

November 25, 2022 · Gustavo Trentini · 5 min read

Google My Business is now Company Profile: look what has changed!

If you use the Google My Business tool, prepare for a change! Now it's called the Company Profile. But you don't have to worry, because as we already know, nothing in Google ends, but it does. In this article I will show that the Google My Business platform has undergone a great revitalization, but continues with the same focus on local companies.

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Keeping things simple

In Google’s own definition, this change was made to “keep things simple”. And it's really quite simple. There will be no impact on your company and on how you manage your listings unless you are using the My Business Google Panel.

The Google My Business panel is being transferred to support companies with various information, and Google wants everyone to manage their business profile directly from Search or Maps.

To manage your profile in Google Search, all you need to do is type in your business or business name. You will see a menu above the search results. However, it is important that you are connected to the account you use for your business profile, which offers options to edit or update information.

From there, you can make direct changes, including updating commercial information, creating Google Posts, adding images and more. Google Maps access also offers the same features, i.e., it's all integrated now.

This means you can free up space on your smartphone because the Google My Business app will be discontinued. But as you can now manage your commercial profile through Search or Maps (which you probably already have installed), you can still modify or update your commercial profile anywhere.

See also:

New access options

With the new update, the access point of your Google business profile is configured in a similar way to a social network profile.

The buttons are displayed prominently at the top of the page and allow you to perform several actions instantly:

Edit your business profile
1. Business information
2. Hours
3. Products
4. Services
5. Photos

Promote your brand
1. Create Ads
2. Check performance
3. Request evaluations
4. Update Photos
5. Add Posts
6. Create offers
7. Promote events

Communicate with your customers
1. View and reply to comments
2. Monitor calls (soon available in Brazil)
3. View and reply to messages
4. Answer questions

Messages on desktop

One of the most significant changes, direct messages in conversation with users can be made directly from Google's Search in the same way that you can access most of the other functions of the company profile.

Similar to other Google features, the message functionality has a history of not being well promoted and getting kind of “hidden”. It is available in the app (which few business owners actively use) and in the profile manager of Google My Business (which few business owners know how to find), so most are not even familiar with its existence.

Now, Google is progressing in providing the same visibility and functionality of the mobile chat option within the desktop panel.

See how it works: when sending messages is enabled, your customers will see a “chat” button on your company profile and can send messages directly to you with a simple click.

You can even set a personalized welcome message in your settings to cause a good first impression or set expectations in the answers.

This is a great new tool for businesses and useful for businesses that rely on direct messages and need to ensure that answers to possible questions are answered quickly.

You will receive notifications instantly by email and push, and all your messages can be monitored in real time through a single pop-up window directly on your business profile. In addition, the message can be controlled directly on Google Search and Google Maps.

Other amendments

Account verification

Claim and verify your Google Company Profile will be done directly on Google Search and Google Maps.

Call history

The tool now makes it possible to track the phone calls made by customers through Google Search and Maps with the call history. To help respond to missed calls and maintain interaction with your customers, the call history keeps all your calls in one location.

These calls can make it easier to reach customers who have found your company through Google. The calls you receive through your Business Profile begin with a short message that tells you they come from Google.

Not yet available in Brazil

Currently, the call history in Google My Business (GMB) is an experimental feature and is only available to a selected group of companies in the US and Canada.

How Call History Works

When a customer uses the “Connect” button in the company profile, the call is displayed in the “Called” tab of the profile. In this separator, you can find recent calls, missed calls and more.

After you activate the call history, customers call your company via a forwarding number, instead of the number on your profile. Learn more about the forwarding number.

What's not changing

It is important to highlight that recent changes are mainly cosmetic and focused on improving user experience through new access points and simplified experience.

The mass business management functionality and relevance to your online success will remain the same. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that you have accurate, complete and updated information on your Google business profile.

Here are some things to keep in mind and have more reach on Google:

1. Its main category is still important

One of the most essential components of your business profile is your main business category. To this point, Google offers more than 3,000 categories and expands this list regularly. If you are not sure which category fits best in your practice, search for terms for what you want to put in and see what your top local competitors are using.

2. Business Attributes

In your Google company profile, you can select different sub categories to allow consumers to know details about your company. Your practice may appear in the search results when customers look for companies with these attributes by adding them.

It is important to keep the attributes up to date for SEO purposes and because Google regularly adds new attribute options such as “belonging to women” or even accessibility attributes such as “ Wheelchair-accessible toilets”.

For example, many attributes of non-contact delivery and payment were added during the pandemic. It's a great idea to check and update this periodically so as not to lose potential customers that may have certain filters in their surveys.

3. It's still free (so enjoy it)!

Like most Google products, you don't have to pay for your company's commercial profile. Although they still promote and educate business owners strongly about Google's paid ads (Ads), the profile itself is and will probably be free in the foreseeable future, although some marketing experts believe that Google may one day try to make this information pay.

For now, you can get many SEO benefits from a Google commercial profile without paying anything for it, after all the search giant also depends on the business to sell your ads and continue to be the largest searcher on the planet.

4. More changes?

Yeah, one thing that never changes in Google is... more changes. Google has never been afraid to launch new products, change current products or eliminate existing products (including it ended without hesitation with its social network Google+).

The most recent wave of changes was mainly due to the pandemic and to the change in consumer behavior resulting from it. Some estimate that the pandemic has boosted the digital marketing sector by a global average of six years.

And while we do not know how long-lasting these impacts can be, we know that consumer behavior changes quickly and will always be a fluid state. To do so, Google will always respond to ensure that its platforms are optimized to meet the dynamic environment of consumerism.

Manage your Google reviews

Remember that reviews and reviews can bring up or break your Google company profile. And there are a lot of people neglecting that, so pay close attention to that part. When someone searches “better” before a business category, Google automatically eliminates Profiles from companies with less than 4 stars for display in the results.

Set your profile correctly to receive Google's user ratings and respond to all reviews you receive, especially negative reviews. And here's a tip: never argue with customers on the internet, because your conversation can be used to undermine the reputation of the business. Be understanding and in case of positive reviews, try to thank customers.

Another reason to be aware of this is Google’s “Local Guides” that earn points for reviews in places they visit or attend and usually answer the questions and information Google asks, through Maps.

One thing is for sure: Google will not stop creating new tools and making updates. But by better understanding and configuring the profile of your business, whatever size it is, you can highlight your company in the world's largest search engine and get more customers in the process.

Gustavo Trentini · Nacionalvox

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