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We’ve all heard about Google My Business rebranding to Google Business Profile. But we’ve had tons of questions about how this GMB change will impact your business and your local SEO campaigns.
So what’s changing?
Google Listing
Becomes Google Profile
Each business’s GMB will no longer be referred to as their “GMB listing”. Going forward, they will be called Google Business Profiles. Get used to saying that! …it’s a hard change when using listing has been such a habit.
While many of these Google My Business changes are just branding updates, there are some changes that will be impactful to how we manage local SEO campaigns and make profile changes.
The GMB App Will Be Gone
One of the biggest changes with this rebrand is the GMB app will be erased altogether. Meaning the only dashboard/listing access available will be in the desktop dashboard or with the New Merchant Experience (NMX) directly in the SERPs.
Unfortunately, it is unclear exactly when we can expect these changes to take place, but as always we will keep you updated as we learn more. We recommend following along with weekly SEO updates given on The SEO Vault and The Weekend Update.
Google Profile Manager
Another major change happening is within the dashboard. The Google My Business Dashboard will now be called the Google Profile Manager and single location businesses will lose access to this feature.
Claiming & Managing Profiles Through Search and Maps
Once the changes are in full effect in 2022, the dashboard will only be made available to those managing multiple locations. Single location businesses will instead use the New Merchant Experience (NME) directly in the search results.
Any new Business Profiles created over the coming months will claim their business and complete the setup directly in the search results, according to Google, so changes are already starting to go into effect. Google says the major upside to this is businesses will, “be able to clearly see whether [their] profile is publicly visible and what to do to get it seen by your customers.”
Similar to the screenshot below, businesses will then be able to edit profile information, add photos, respond to reviews, and more.
How To Claim Business Profiles Now
Businesses will simply search for their business name in Google or search for their Google Maps listing directly in the maps app. An option to claim the business will appear and then the traditional processes will be followed to access or reinstate the listing.
While it may be easier for business owners to manage their profiles this way, these new changes may not be as helpful for agency owners.
Completely Changing Listing Edits
Once the rebrand is fully live in 2022, many accounts will only be able to make listing changes using the Google Maps app or with the New Merchant Experience (NMX) directly in the SERPs. It’s intended to allow businesses to change and manage their listing more easily, but we foresee some challenges with this.
While Google stated, “additional tools to help you understand how your business is performing and how you can enhance your online presence will be available exclusively on Search and Maps,” the traditional dashboard is much easier for agencies to manage many listings.
That’s why we recommend creating your Agency Account. Maintaining access to dashboard-style reporting can streamline your agency processes.
Agency Accounts
After sending out an update last week about the rebrand to GBP and the restriction on dashboard usage we received a lot of responses asking how you can register for an agency account before these changes happen. Follow the link here to see more information and learn how to register today.
The Good News (Improved Support)
You’ve probably had a challenging time with Google support at one point or another. Whether you’re trying to reinstate a listing or solve some other issue, we’ve noticed it’s taking Google support reps longer to respond to tickets.
Once GBP updates are fully rolled out, Google Profile support will be focused on assisting multi-location businesses and agency owners. While this may mean fewer businesses have access to support, we hope that freeing up some of their resources will help speed up responses and allow better efforts.
This new Google support structure is another reason the Agency Accounts are so important. You don’t want to lose access to any level of support…
Powered up Local SEO Campaigns
What does this change mean for Web 20?
Our core goal is to produce quick local map rankings for your clients.
Because Web 2.0 ranker is constantly improving products to keep up with Google’s ever-changing algorithm, we made major changes to our own local SEO products in sync with this coming update. Our GMB campaigns have been completely revamped into our NEW Monthly GBP SEO campaigns, with powered-up tactics, quicker results, and updated pricing plans.
We’ll also be offering multiple levels of Local Maps Boosts that can be implemented on their own OR in conjunction with the GBP campaigns for an XTREME impact on local visibility. If you’re looking to dominate the local maps, Jessie recommends leveraging these in addition to our GBP campaigns.
While there are many added tasks and new features, the biggest difference is…
Guaranteed KPI increases!
…if we fail to improve at least one of the tracked metrics within the time listed we will pause billing and continue with the campaign until improvement is made. (we don’t foresee this happening, but guarantees are always nice…)
Here is our guarantee to you:
Core GBP SEO Campaign: we will improve local visibility for mid-comp markets 250K to 500K population.
Ultimate GBP SEO Campaign: we will improve local visibility for high comp markets under 500K to 1.5M population.
Xtreme GBP SEO Campaign: we will improve local visibility for the largest markets exceeding a 1.5M+ population.
Upgrade your GMB Monthly to our new GBP SEO now and SAVE $60 on your 1st month! Use coupon code: save60
Trust us…
These powered up campaigns will get your clients better results, faster.
Faster Results
Higher Local Rankings
Expanded Visibility to New Areas
Stronger SEO Foundation
Updated Local SEO Strategy
You can an overview of the campaign task updates in the graphic below…
Improve Your Maps Visibility