{"id":11017,"date":"2018-12-12T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T09:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trafficsoda.com\/?p=11017"},"modified":"2022-11-28T17:39:52","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T17:39:52","slug":"google-my-business-updates-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trafficsoda.com\/google-my-business-updates-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Changes to Make to Your Google My Business Profile Before 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There was never a dull moment in local SEO this year, with new updates to coming to Google My Business at a rapid-fire pace throughout 2018. Now\u2019s the time to log in and make sure your Google My Business page is current and ready for the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get straight to it. The biggest updates to Google My Business in 2018 were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. New dashboard for businesses with multiple locations<\/li>
  2. Separate fields for Service Area and Business Address (and removing the ability to set a distance-based service area around the business address)<\/li>
  3. Service menu for service-based businesses and product menu for retailers<\/li>
  4. Letting businesses set \u2018factual\u2019 attributes in addition to the crowdsourced \u2018subjective\u2019 attributes (including the veteran-led<\/a> and women-led<\/a> attributes)<\/li>
  5. Videos on the photo dashboard<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These changes affected some types of businesses more than others (some local service-based companies will have a lot <\/em>of catching up to do) but all of them matter when it comes to understanding how to optimize Google My Business for a stronger local presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s how to ensure you\u2019re up-to-date with Google My Business in 2019.

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Scrutinize Your Suggested Changes

    <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    In March of 2018, Google rolled out a new Google My Business dashboard<\/a> for business owners with two or more listings or locations. It\u2019s much faster and easier to navigate than the old one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The downside? The new dashboard makes it more difficult to track and respond to Suggested Changes in a timely manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


    A Suggested Change is an addition or change to your listing that either comes from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. A user manually editing your listing information; or<\/li>
    2. Google\u2019s algorithm finding information about your listing (often from third-party directory sites).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n


      Here\u2019s the trouble: the name \u2018Suggested Changes\u2019 is a bit misleading, since the changes don\u2019t always require your approval before they go live<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      As the listing owner, you should<\/em> receive an email from Google whenever there\u2019s a \u2018suggestion\u2019; however, those notifications don\u2019t always make it through to your inbox<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Because of this, it\u2019s important that you log in to check your Suggested Changes periodically, especially since the new dashboard makes it harder to notice them.<\/em>

      To see Suggested Changes for a Google My Business listing in the new dashboard:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Log in to Google My Business.<\/li>
      2. Click Back to GMB Classic <\/strong>in the left-hand menu.<\/li>
      3. Click Google Updates <\/strong>in the centre column.<\/li>
      4. Make sure the box next to \u2018Google updates\u2019 is set to display All.<\/strong><\/li>
      5. Click Resolve updates <\/strong>in the rightmost column to see the Suggested Changes and other updates to a listing.

        <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        2. Specify Your Ever-Growing Service Area

        <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Before the update, local businesses could define only their service area as a kilometer\/mile radius around their business address. Google realized this was a shortcoming (who actually has a perfectly circular service area?) and turned it around late in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Now, Google My Business lets you edit your business address and service area separately<\/a>. Businesses can specify their service area by region, city, or ZIP\/Postal Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        If you haven\u2019t gotten around to updating your service area, here\u2019s how to do it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. Log in to Google My Business.<\/li>
        2. Click the location you\u2019d like to edit.<\/li>
        3. Click Info<\/strong> in the left-hand menu.<\/li>
        4. Click Edit <\/strong>in the Service Area section.<\/li>
        5. Click the X next to a service area to delete it.

          <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          3. Promote Your Outstanding Services

          <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          Early in 2018, Google began to allow businesses in select industries to list their services in detail right on the page<\/a>. Later, they expanded the feature to almost all service businesses, including creative industries and the trades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The service menu is simple, consisting of just a name, description, and optionally a price for each item. It\u2019s a vast improvement over the previous version of Google My Business\u2019s services, which was limited to keywords like \u2018repair services\u2019 and \u2018installation services.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Adding services to your Google My Business page is quick and easy. All you need to do is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          1. Log in to Google My Business.<\/li>
          2. Click Info in the left-hand menu.<\/li>
          3. Click Edit in the Services section.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Recently, Google has begun testing a product menu feature for Google My Business<\/a> as well. Chances are this will expand to more companies next year, so keep an eye out!

            <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            4. Add Appealing Factual Attributes

            <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            Attributes are Google\u2019s name for small bits of descriptive information about a business. They include things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n