Google adding business descriptions in Google My Business & local panel

Google looks to be adding a feature in Google My Business that allows business owners to add descriptions that appear in the local panel in search results. Both @deegs20 and @maulikpanchal posted screen shots of this in action. Google removed this feature back in 2016 when they dropped the Google+ support, but it seems to be added back via the Google My Business console.

Users of Google My Business can go into their accounts and click on the “info” section, where they may see this business description section that can be edited. Here is a screen shot from Dave DiGregorio:

It then can show up in your local panel, toward the bottom:

This information was also recently added to the official Google help documents, which now say:

Enter a brief description of your business — what you offer, what sets you apart, your history, or anything else that’s helpful for customers to know. Descriptions must be no longer than 750 characters and can’t include URLs or HTML code.

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.