How the rebrand of Google My Business to ‘Google Business Profile’ is more than just a name change – new features and everything else you need to know
Back in November 2021, Google quietly announced the rebranding of its Google My Business platform into a streamlined Google Business Profile that makes it easier for smaller companies to manage their online presence.
In this article, we cover everything you need to know about the Google Business Profile rebrand, the new features it introduces and how to get the most out of your business listing.
Normally, major rebrands get flashy announcements and plenty of promotion but the Google Business Profile rebrand was different. The rebrand was quietly announced in a Google Ads & Commerce Blog post entitled Connect with local holiday shoppers that discussed ways local businesses could connect with local shoppers during the 2021 holiday season.
Without any mention in the headline or introduction, Google simply announced a new feature that allows companies to claim their Business Profile directly from Google Search and Google Maps.
Matt Madrigal, Vice President, GM, Merchants, who wrote the blog post, then quietly slipped in the fact that Google Business Profile was being renamed:
“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.” And in 2022, we’ll retire the Google Business Profile app so more merchants can take advantage of the upgraded experience on Search and Maps.” – Matt Madrigal; Connect with local holiday shoppers, Google Ads & Commerce Blog
In the same statement, Matt also revealed that “existing Google Business Profile web experience will transition to primarily support larger businesses with multiple locations, and will be renamed ‘Business Profile Manager’.”
The move is designed to make it easier for small businesses to claim and manage their profile while creating a separate space for companies with multiple business premises to manage all of their locations in one place.
If you’ve already claimed your Business Profile through the old Google Business Profile experience, all of your information is carried over to the new system – so you don’t need to do anything, other than manage your profile through the new interface moving forward.
If you haven’t yet claimed your Business Profile, then Google recommends that companies with a single business location claim their profile directly through Google Search or Google Maps.
“It is now easier to complete verification or resolve other issues with your Business Profile. Just search for the name of your business on Google or go to your profile directly in the Google Maps app and you’ll see an option to verify the profile or resolve other issues, like profile suspension. You can also search for ‘my business’ on Google Search to get to your Business Profile.” – Kara – Google Community Manager; Introducing new updates to Business Profile
To claim your Business Profile, you simply need to search for your company and you can do this in three ways:
If your business already has a presence on Google Search or Maps, these steps make it easier and faster to claim your business profile.
If you don’t yet have a Google Business Profile, it’s also now easier to create a new one. The process is a little different, depending on whether you’re looking to manage a single business location or multiple business premises.
The fastest way to add and claim your profile is probably to enter your business address into Google Maps and click on the Add your business link in the info panel.
This will take you to the Business Profile Manager website where you’ll be asked to name your business and complete your profile. Simply follow the instructions and Google will guide you through the completion and verification processes.
Alternatively, you can head straight to the Business Profile Manager website (formerly Google Business Profile), click the Manage now button and follow the steps to create and verify your profile.
If your company has multiple business premises or you’re an agency managing multiple locations for your clients, you’ll need to create a profile for each location. The new Business Profile Manager website makes it easier to manage these profiles from one place.
To manage multiple locations in Business Profile Manager, you’ll want to create a business group via Business Profile Manager, which allows you to link multiple business locations to the same profile with the option of assigning different account users to each location so they can handle the management of their own local presence.
A complete Google Business Profile maximises your visibility in Google Search and Google Maps, helping more people find your business. With careful optimisation, you can also use your profile to encourage more locals to choose your business over rivals in the same area.
The most important optimisation strategy is also the easiest. Google wants to know your business information is always accurate and up-to-date so take the time to complete your business information, in full.
Above all, make sure your business name, address and contact details are 100% accurate. Also, check they’re consistent with your business information provided elsewhere on the web. Including your website and any third-party directory listing sites you appear in – eg: are you using the same formatting for phone numbers and addresses?
As soon as anything like your opening hours or contact details change, update this information on your profile as soon as possible. This will help customers find your business and contact you while showing Google that your info is always accurate.
Take a look at our article on changing your Google Business Profile information for more details.
A strong local search presence will help people in your area find your business but an optimised Google Business Profile will also encourage more people to choose your business over other options in the area.
People use the information in your profile to compare you with alternatives, make purchase decisions and decide which business to visit or buy from. Understanding which information has the strongest impact on these decisions and optimising for them gives you an advantage in the local pack.
Every year, Google expands the valuable information users can access from your Business Profile in Search. This information helps people choose the best business for their needs. Provide as many details about your business as you can and try to present this information favourably to tempt more customers – eg: reviews, photos, prompt Q&A answers, etc.
Companies that provide services can promote these in their profile. This is designed for Service Area Businesses (SABs) that cater for specified areas (think plumbers, roofers, landscapers, etc.) and companies that provide services for customers at their business locations (dentists, accountants, personal trainers, etc.).
When users search for any of the services listed in your Google Business Profile, they’ll be highlighted for them in the search results.
In a search for “emergency plumber,” the 24hr emergency callout service provided by this business is highlighted in bold.
Retailers can promote products through their Google Business Profile, too. You can do this manually by using Google’s Product Editor and following these steps:
Businesses in the US and Canada can automate this process with a Google-acquired service provided by Pointy.
Unfortunately, this isn’t any help to retailers in the UK yet but, hopefully, we’ll see this expanded for companies here in the near future.
Adding photos to your Google Business Profile is an opportunity to show the best of your business and encourage more people to buy from you. You can help potential customers find you by showing the exterior building and showcasing the most important aspects of your products or services – eg: rooms for hotels or menus for restaurants.
For service businesses, you might want to show images of your team, the offices and anything that shows the value of your services.
Keep in mind that users can also upload their own images of your business, which are publicly viewable – so make sure your own images are an honest depiction of the company and how it operates.
Google is making the local search experience more interactive between searchers and businesses. These interactions can boost engagement and win new customers by establishing meaningful connections faster.
From your Business profile, you can reply to customer reviews, answer questions asked online and, now, you can view and respond to direct messages sent to you via Google Maps.
You can activate messaging in your Google Business Profile as long as your business is verified on the platform. Obviously, you’ll need to be confident that you can respond to messages quickly enough to take advantage of new business opportunities while they’re hot – and the same applies to Q&As and reviews.
Fast responses win customers and we expect Google will introduce more interactive features in the future to enhance the on-demand relationship between businesses and local searchers.
Key takeaways:
If you need help setting up your profile or optimising your local search presence, our local SEO specialists can help you. Call us on 02392 830 281 to speak to our team today or fill out the contact form below to arrange a chat.
Kerry has been working in digital marketing almost since the beginning of the World Wide Web, designing her first website in 1995 and moving fully into the industry in 1996 to work for one of the very first web design companies. After a successful four years, Kerry moved to an in-house position for a sailing company, running the digital presence of their yacht races including SEO, PPC and email marketing as the primary channels. A stint then followed at another in-house role as online marketing manager. Kerry moved to Vertical Leap in 2007, making her one of the company’s longest-serving employees. As a T-shaped marketer – able to advise on digital strategy outside her main specialism – she rose through the ranks and in 2012 became the head of the Small and Medium Business (SMB) SEO team. In 2022 she became Vertical Leap's Automation and Process Manager. Kerry lives in the historic town of Bishops Waltham with her husband and daughter. When she’s not at work she enjoys cooking proper food, curling up with a good book and being a leader for Brownie and Rainbow Guides.
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