Google updates the Google My Business API to version 3.0

Google has released version 3.0 of the Google My Business API. This has not yet been announced by Google, but you can see version 3.0 marked as new in the changelog and on the new features page, it documents the new API.

The original Google My Business API was released in December of last year, bringing the ability for businesses to automate managing their business listings.

Version 3.0 “adds new functionality for people who manage locations at scale,” Google said. The “key new features include the ability to read and respond to customer reviews and provide additional attributes for locations, such as whether a restaurant accepts reservations, serves brunch, or has outdoor seating,” Google added.

Here is the changelog for version 3.0:

• Attributes Provide additional, category-specific information about locations.
• Find Matching Location Find and manually associate existing maps locations with your business location.
• Transfer Location New action on Location :transfer. Allows transferring a location from one account (business or personal) to another.
• Preferred Photo Indicate which photo you’d prefer to show up first in Google Maps and Search.
• New Search Filters New search filters include any_google_updates, is_suspended, and is_duplicate.
• New Location States Location states now also include is_verified and needs_reverification.
• Photo URL Improvements The API now accepts photo URLs without an image format suffix.
• Backwards incompatible changes Photos can now only be updated for locations with a Google+ page (These were accepted and silently dropped before). The location_name and category_name fields are now output only. Only use category IDs when setting categories. Field masks no longer require the location. prefix for included fields. Create/update operations now take the location as the body payload, other parameters are moved to the query string.

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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.