News & Blog Google Announces GMB Name Change, Retiring App and Google My Business Website
Google has announced that it’s renaming Google My Business to Google Business Profile, alongside a number of other changes within the local business management tool.
“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.
The rebranding announcement came with a few new features, too.
What’s New With Your Google Business Profile?
In addition to the name change, Google has announced that single listings will now be managed directly within Google Maps and Google Search.
To manage a listing, the owner can simply type their business name into Google Search. They’ll then be presented with this control panel.
It’s worth noting that this is not a new feature, and listings managers have been able to control their assets in this way for a while.
However, the company is now making it clear that all single listings should be managed in this way, as opposed to through the soon-to-be-outdated Google My Business model. In 2022, the company plans to retire the Google My Business app entirely to encourage merchants to take full advantage of the upgraded Search and Maps functions.
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.
Let’s talk about some of the local SEO benefits of using Google Business Profiles and some of the ways you can edit your information on Google search and Maps.
Why Use Google Business Profiles For Local SEO?
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 optimize their Google Business Profile.
However, claiming your Google Business Profile is just the first step – you must optimize, frequently check and update your Business Profile with new information.
Keeping your Google Business Profile updated is important to your success. According to Ipsos Research, an up-to-date Google Business Profile:
- Is 2.7x more likely to be considered more reputable.
- Gets 7x more clicks.
- Is 70% more likely to attract location visits.
- Is 50% more likely to lead to a purchase.
Many businesses also don’t realize that Google and any user can make changes to their Business Profile – like your address, hours, upload photos, reviews, and more.
So it’s important that you regularly check your Google Business Profile to make sure that no incorrect changes were made to your profile.
New Features to Google Business Profile
Google has also announced that additional tools will soon become available to help businesses understand and boost their local search performance.
- Communicate directly with customers– you will now be able to message customers right in search.
- Call History Access– U.S. and Canadian business owners will now be able to see their call history of inbound calls and where they came from within Google Business Profile
- Upgraded Search & Map Experience– everything related to the business profile listing will now use the search or map interface for managing. Claiming a business and editing information for small businesses will be right within maps or search.
- Business Profile Manager– the existing Google My Business experience will change for multiple-location, larger companies under a new name with new features that Google will announce over the upcoming months.