Google Business Profile
Search Engine Land is your definitive source for Google Business Profile news and content. You’ll find a variety of up-to-date and authoritative resources, including the latest news, tactic-rich tutorials, and the latest data-driven insights to help you optimize your local search presence, work smarter, and make better decisions.
Why Google Business Profile matters for your strategy
Google Business Profile (GBP) is essential for businesses looking to attract local customers, improve their online visibility, and manage customer relationships effectively. With new features like AI-transcribed menu uploads, staying updated on GBP innovations can significantly impact your local SEO strategy. Whether you’re optimizing GBP listings, managing reviews, or utilizing advanced insights, this page offers tools and tips tailored to your business goals.
Our comprehensive coverage ensures you stay ahead of trends, such as new features for Google Business Profile, changes to local search algorithms, and actionable tips for maximizing the impact of your GBP; we break down what these changes mean for your local SEO strategy.
What you read here is written by our experienced in-house team, alongside subject matter experts from leading brands and agencies.
Explore strategies to improve your local visibility, manage customer interactions seamlessly, and improve your business’s reputation online
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Google creates best practices guides & support for health organizations around COVID-19
Google is offering more guidance and support to those in the health space..
Google Posts, ‘temporarily disabled,’ now back
Marketers had been having trouble with Posts over the past two weeks.
Google My Business: When should you use ‘special hours’ vs. ‘temporarily closed’?
A discussion with Google My Business Gold Product Expert Krystal Taing.
Live with Search Engine Land: Local SEOs talk ‘buggy’ Google My Business, COVID-19
Search Engine Land's Greg Sterling hosted an hour-long discussion with leading local SEOs to talk about how local or multi-location businesses are coping with the economic and human effects of COVID-19.
Video: Kevin Doory on difference between traditional SEO and local SEO
He also shared some fun tips on Google My Business.
Search marketers are volunteering services, support to help small businesses get through COVID-19
Consulting, web hosting, budget coaching — marketers are extending help to ease the strain on businesses.
Businesses should limit, not disable, their sites during temporary closures, Google says
A full takedown can result in losing Search Console data and make it more difficult to ramp back up.
Google turns on ‘mark a business temporarily closed’ for business owners on GMB
The tool is under 'Close this business on Google.'
Google My Business not functioning as expected under the strain of coronavirus
Many updates are taking considerably longer than normal.
COVID-19 checklist for businesses: How to manage your online presence and keep customers updated in a time of crisis
Use your local business profiles, website and Schema markup to provide the latest information to those searching for your business.
SMX Overtime: Creating great content, FAQs and how to navigate approval limitations
Digital marketing strategist Ashley Segura answers questions from SMX West about how retailers and brands should be thinking about content and more.
Google to show which local businesses ‘temporarily closed’ in Search, Maps amid coronavirus outbreak
Local data accuracy becomes critical at a time like this.
Google signals stricter enforcement of GMB image guidelines
It wants to ensure "all content that appears in the Business Profile is relevant, high quality, and appropriate."
Google My Business tells businesses affected by the coronavirus to update listings
You can update your business hours, description, phone number and even add Google Posts.
Most local SEOs making at least $60,000
Half of local SEOs have been working in the industry for at least a decade.
In feature battle with Google, Yelp improves restaurant waitlist functionality
Yelp is trying to stay one step ahead of Google with tools that benefit both consumers and business owners.
New local SERP live in Europe
Branded directory buttons are being displayed above the map.
Google backtracks on using (relevant) keywords in your Google My Business description
An update to the help page about adding keywords to improve visibility in local search results was disputed by local SEOs and quickly removed.
Yelp launches ‘Showcase Ads’ and store visits attribution
The new products are intended for national and multi-location brands.
Google adds Siri Shortcuts to its iOS apps
Users can tell Siri to ‘search with Google,’ ‘send email’ and more.
Google Posts being rejected because of non-compliance with image guidelines
Google is apparently seeking to upgrade the quality of images in Posts.
Happy 15th birthday to Google Maps, the company’s second most important product
Google updates the app that embodies its commitment to local search.
SMX Overtime: Here’s how multi-location brands can manage their local listings
Marketing strategist and SMX speaker Monica Ho explains what local businesses can do about duplicate listings and local franchise challenges.
What local SEOs should focus on in 2020
Four experts offer their top 3 recommendations for local search marketers.
Google removes ‘ads’ and ‘sponsored’ labels from flight search results
There will be no more referral fees from partners in flight search, as Google seeks to emphasize price and convenience in rankings.
CallRail adds call analytics integration with Google My Business
Call tracking makes more data available to marketers than GMB insights.
Google buys Pointy to bring SMB store inventory online
The company offers an elegant solution to the challenge of getting local merchant inventory into search results and ads.
Google’s ‘My Business Provider’ program replaces ‘Trusted Verifier’ for GMB outreach
But agencies, SEOs, and resellers are not eligible to become MBPs.
SMX Overtime: Managing Google My Business profiles, reviews and more
Local search expert Dan Leibson offers advice on how to manage GMB profiles and why it's important to implement a meaningful review system.
Businesses need to think differently about customer feedback data in 2020
Improving the customer experience and improve your business operationally means keeping up with the many ways customers communicate with you.
How verticalization and zero-click will impact local search in 2020
In the coming year it will be interesting to see how Google balances the priority of verticalization against the growing popularity of Google Maps as the first choice among searchers.
A wishlist of improvements for Google My Business in 2020
Joy Hawkins shares the top 5 features she’d like Google My Business to update or change this year.
The big list of Google My Business changes, upgrades and tests in 2019
The key GMB updates of 2019 with local experts’ perspective on what's most significant.
SEO year in review 2019: Zero-click searches, BERT, local spam and more
What’s past is prologue. Here’s our recap of the stories that will shape search for years to come.
Google now showing ‘request quotes’ button above local pack on mobile
Large button appears above 3-pack, connected to GMB messaging.
Google now shows carousels of reviews on local business profiles
Reviews carousels surface when relevant to the query and the business has enough high quality reviews, a Google spokesperson confirmed.
Nearly 60% prefer PC to smartphones for local search survey finds, but there’s a catch
There are material differences between user behaviors of different generations.
Google search results eye candy: How users navigate search features and what it means for SEO
Search behaviors are changing as users "ping pong" their attention across search results pages.
2020 SEO trends that will influence your work
Google is aiming to be the end destination of their users' journeys. This, more than anything, defines major SEO trends for 2020.
Google Maps becomes more ‘social’ with Local Guides follow feature
Local Guides are part of the reason GMB and Maps are so successful.