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Goodbye, Google My Business. GMB will now be known as Google Business Profile. Learn what the name change and new features mean for multi-location businesses.
Tech giants are hopping on the rebranding bandwagon. Amidst the major Facebook name change to Meta, Google also announced it will be changing Google My Business to Google Business Profile, and retiring the Google My Business app entirely in 2022.
Businesses can now manage store hours, updates, posts, and more directly in Search and Maps. In fact, Google recommends brands with a single storefront manage their business this way. Rather than logging into Business Profile Manager (formerly Google My Business website and mobile application), a single storefront business is encouraged to manage store hours, updates, posts, and more right from Search and Maps. Google Vice President and GM of Merchant Shopping Matt Madrigal said:
“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 My Business app so more merchants can take advantage of the upgraded experience on Search and Maps.”
Brand managers of multi-location businesses will still be able to log into Google Business Profile and manage data for multiple storefronts as they normally would. In fact, Madrigal shared that the Business Profile Manager will now be geared towards helping multi-location businesses manage data and customer communication.
“The existing Google My Business web experience will transition to primarily support larger businesses with multiple locations, and will be renamed “Business Profile Manager.”
Alongside the name change, Team Google shared new features users can expect to see within Google Business Profile.
Search Engine Land verified that Google is officially rolling out Call History in the U.S. and Canada. This feature within the Business Profile Manager shows a log of calls initiated from Google Maps or Google Search.
Brands may now chat with customers from their Business Profile on Search and Maps.
Brands can now see when customers have read messages with a timestamped read receipt.
No functionality change to note with the Google My Business API except a name change to: Business Profile API. The API will remain under “active development.”
Still confused by all of the new Google Business Profile terminology? Check out this quick cheat sheet for clarity’s sake.
What do you think of the new name and feature changes? Will the delineation between single storefront business and multi-location brands present different features and functionality in the future? What feature would YOU most like to see in Google Business Profile? We’d love to hear what you have to say about these changes. Connect with GPO on LinkedIn or send us a message to share your thoughts.
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