Google has made the biggest announcement about Google My Business in the last 3-4 years. Means “Google My Business Is No More“.
When you were bursting firecrackers on Diwali, Google exploded the bomb. In Google maps and Google search, which you see a listing of businesses Along with their names, their numbers are also visible, which we all know as Google My Business, Google has changed its name to Google Business Profile.
What you call Google My Business will be called Google Business Profile and what is called Google My Business Listing will be called Google Profile.
It is not that the name of Google My Business is being changed for the first time, Google has renamed its local business product many times.
Google My Business was once called Google Places, Google + Local, and even earlier it was called Google Local.
Actually, Google Local was launched before Google Maps. Meaning what you call Google My Business today is older than Google Maps. What is called Google My Business Dashboard today was once called Local Business Center.
So changing the name is not a new thing but along with the name other changes also happen. This time, you will also get to see such changes that will change your and your business’s strategy and have a great impact. Let’s look at all the changes that will happen one by one and will also know a little about their effect.
Google My Business Dashboard
The first change that will happen will be about Google My Business Dashboard. Google is going to shut down the GMB Dashboard for small businesses that have less than 10 listings or for those whose listing chain is not verified as a business.
Verification of Listing, Reinstatement, Analytics the results of all these will now be available on Google Search or in the Google Maps App.
Where will the GMB Dashboard feature be available?
GMB Dashboard feature will be available on the Google Search Results Page. To manage Google My Business Listing or Google Business Profile, you have to log in with your Google ID to which your google profile is linked. After that, you have to search in Google My Business or you can also search by the name of your business.
After searching, you will get options to manage your google profile like the below photo. If your listing is suspended or not verified, then you will also see its options directly on the search results page.
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Google My Business Smartphone App
The third update is that Google My Business Smartphone App will be removed in 2022. All the functions of this app will be merged in SERP and many functions will be present in the google maps app too.
So all the functions of the GMB App like messages, chat, will be available in the google maps app.
Business Photos
If you want to add photos of your business, then its option will also be present on SERP. You can see the dummy images that Google has shown below. So it may be that the option of reviews, questions, and answers is also available on the same SERP or it may also be available in maps.
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Chain Businesses
Google My Business Dashboard will be available for those chain businesses who have verified 10 or more listings in bulk. Google My Business Dashboard will be available for Chain Businesses but its name will be changed to Business Profile Manager.
Chain Businesses or bulk verified listings will also get these functions in the SERP or Google Maps app. So if they want, they can use this Business Profile Manager and if they want, they can also use SERP or Google Maps.
Google My Business API
Google My Business API will also be renamed as Business Profile API. Whatever functions were in the Google My Business API will remain the same, only the name of the app has been changed.
So these were the changes that Google has announced about GMB and now let’s talk about its effect.
First of all, all the changes will be applied gradually in a few weeks. The name has been changed on the Twitter account of Google My Business immediately but after visiting GMB in Google, the name is still visible as Google My Business and the same name is still visible on the dashboard of GMB.
A test is going on in which Google will show 5 listings instead of 3 on the search results page. If Google launches it, then many businesses will start getting more leads than SERP. Option names will be changed, their location will be changed which will cause some confusion but you don’t need to worry. We will provide all the details here.
However, no other changes have been made in the Google My Business API other than the name.
