On November 4, 2021, Google started migrating the Google My Business dashboard and mobile application to merge it with their Search and Maps feature, changing its name to Google Business Profile.

There are some new features and different ways you can manage your business depending on how many locations you have. Below we’ll explain Google’s transition to Google Business Profile in full and identify the key benefits of it.

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business was an application that allowed businesses to edit their business profile that appears on Google Search and within Google Maps. Within the mobile application or web dashboard you could respond to customer reviews and message customers. You would also get notifications when a customer connects or interacts with your business via Google.

How is Google Business Profile Different?

Google Business Profile is the new and improved version of Google My Business. Instead of signing into an application or dashboard, you will access it through your listing within Google Search or Maps. At a future date, Google plans to discontinue the Google My Business mobile application as well as the dashboard itself for most businesses. One key difference with this change is that businesses with multiple locations will continue to have access to a dashboard within Google Business Profile allowing them to have separate profiles for each location.

A New Way to Claim Your Business

If you haven’t set up your Business Profile on Google yet, the process is slightly different. Type your business address into Google and click on the red map icon to view the location. From there, click on “Add Your Business” to create your business listing within Google Search and Google Maps. All changes to your Google Business Profile update in real-time so that your customers can find you.

Who is Affected By Google’s Transition Away from Google My Business?

All businesses that have a Google My Business account or app are affected by the transition to Google Business Profile. If you use the mobile app, you’ll notice that it is scheduled to stop working sometime in 2022. Google has not yet released an official date when they will discontinue the mobile application (as of January 2022). Soon your profile dashboard will redirect to your listing within Google Search or Maps, however this does not apply to businesses with multiple locations.

New Business Features Available

Google added some new features to business listings in November when they announced the changes to Google My Business. The main feature added was the ability to claim, verify, and edit business listings within Google Search and Maps, in addition to a messaging feature and call history feature.

Call History

Call History is an experimental feature located within your Business Profile. Call History is currently experimental and only available to select businesses within the United States and Canada, but it will roll out to other countries if successful. Call History allows you to keep track of calls via your Business Profile. If a customer clicks on your number through your listing on Google Search or Maps, you will receive the call with a short message letting you know that the call originated from Google.

Messaging

Customers now can message you from Google in real-time. Chat messages appear within your Business Profile. Chat messages allow you to answer customer questions and update curious customers about new specials, deals, or updated location information. To utilise the chat feature, you must enable it within your Business Profile. Once you turn the chat feature on, you’ll see a “Chat” button on your Business Profile and you will be able to receive chat notifications from customers.

Additionally, you can change the settings of the chat feature from your listing with Google Search and Maps. Received messages stay on the Google account you use for your business. You also can download and export the messages from your account. Once deleted, you’ll lose access to the messages from all of your devices.

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