Google recently announced that the name of its local listing platform, Google My Business (GMB), is changing to Google Business Profile.
“Moving forward, we recommend small businesses manage their profiles directly on Search or Maps. To keep things simple, ‘Google My Business’ is being renamed ‘Google Business Profile,'” wrote Matt Madrigal, VP/GM Merchant Shopping, in the official announcement.
“And in 2022, we’ll retire the Google My Business app so more merchants can take advantage of the upgraded experience on Search and Maps,” he added.
What does this mean for the millions of business owners, brands, and marketers who use GMB (now GBP) as part of their local online presence?
The option to edit your Business Profile information from search has been around for a little while, but now you can also complete verification or resolve other issues with your Business Profile directly from search.
To do this, just do a search for your company’s name on Google or on the Google Maps app and you’ll see an option to verify your Business Profile or resolve other issues your profile might have.
Over the next few months, all businesses who create a Business Profile on Google will be allowed to complete their setup directly on Google Search and Maps. You will also be able to see if your profile is publicly visible.
One of the best Local SEO strategies that any eligible local business can use to rank higher on Google and get local clients is to claim and optimise their Google Business Profile.
Claiming your Google Business Profile is just the first step – you must optimize, frequently check and update your Business Profile with new information. Have you got yours? How frequently do you update it? You also need to make sure that you update it in accordance with Google's Guidelines.
I'm as guilty as anyone for forgetting to update mine. So I'm making a resolution to start updating it on a weekly basis and adding it as a job in my diary.