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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If almost everyone uses Google, does that make it a public utility?; Thursday’s daily brief
Plus, tips for choosing the right event to speak at.
How big and fast was this Google June 2021 core update?; Wednesday’s daily brief
Google cuts short names from Google My Business
Google My Business phases out short names
If your business currently uses short names, the links and campaigns you have associated with them won't be affected.
Unusual start to a Google core update, don’t you think?; Monday’s daily brief
Plus, Moz is sold to iContact
Google removes short names from business profiles, adds new label to local listings and tests new local card
Google is always busy with new features, changes and updates to its local search product.
Is more transparency from Google a good thing?; Wednesday’s daily brief
Also UGC spam, shopping policies, phone calls and more.
Google I/O is next week; expect a lot of new search goodies; Friday’s daily brief
Also an unconfirmed, Google algorithm update, local search features and video SEO.
Some new local search changes you should be aware of; Wednesday’s daily brief
Also, Google updated its event structured data report in Search Console.
Google call history report begins to show data in Google My Business
Several months after showing a "preview call history" feature, Google is now showing some data in this report.
You can now submit HTML directly to Bing via API, surpassing BingBot; Monday’s daily brief
Plus, the rebranding of local businesses for GMB advantage (and why it doesn’t work)
The real-world impact of keyword stuffing in Google My Business
Many businesses are rebranding completely to skirt Google's guidelines. But when everyone does it, it becomes a branding nightmare.
Turn the beat around: Over half a million new businesses opened in Q1 2021; Thursday’s daily brief
Plus, Microsoft Advertising announces new products and features
We’re all in this together: The partnership between marketing and automation; Monday’s daily brief
Plus, the local SEO problem of 1-star, no-comment reviews
One-star ratings on Google are deemed not defamatory and why that’s a problem
It's crucial to have a solid review management strategy in place and for local SEOs to manage SMB expectations around review removal.
Automatic, supersonic, hypnotic, funky fresh; Auto-applied recommendations; Thursday’s daily brief
Plus, the business imperative behind inclusion and diversity
Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s head of search appoints new leads
Elizabeth Reid to lead core search experiences, Cathy Edwards to lead Apps, News Discover and Ecosystem efforts and Sissie Hsiao to lead Assistant.
Yelp introduces a searchable Asian-owned business profile attribute
In February, Yelp searches for Asian-owned businesses were up 130% YoY.
Google’s latest Maps and GMB features up the ante for competing platforms; Wednesday’s daily brief
Plus, Neeva is in beta testing and Twitter's rumored community page feature.
Pickup and delivery attributes, indoor Live View and more AI-powered features are coming to Google Maps and GMB
Google is packing more features, many commerce-related, into Maps, helping the company maintain its position as the intermediary between our online and offline activities.
4 local review trends to watch in 2021
It’s important for businesses to not ignore the importance that reviews still have in local search results even as customer sentiment around reviews shifts.
Changes are afoot, and this time they’re going in the right direction; Tuesday’s daily brief
Plus, register for SMX Create
Video: Dan Toplitt, SVP, Head of US SEO at Reprise Digital, on enterprise SEO
We also spoke about Google My Business, Google Shopping and how far back we go even before Dan got into SEO.
Featured snippets went missing but have now returned; Friday’s daily brief
Plus video SEO tips and a new way to manage local reviews in Google
Google My Business releases tool to manage your reviews
Previously, there was no real way to see the status of reviews you submitted for a takedown in an organized fashion
How agencies use call tracking to become indispensable to clients
Call tracking has helped agencies better position themselves as strategic business partners. And as the technology continues to evolve, it will become a point of differentiation for many agencies
Google Search algorithm watching; Friday’s daily brief
Make sure not to miss the new more visual changes in Microsoft Bing Search, the new Google My Business reports and the Google Ads mobile app notifications.
Google My Business report shows how people found your business
You can now see device and platform breakdown in your Google My Business performance reports.
Phone calls critical for business during the pandemic; Tuesday’s daily brief
Plus, we're introducing research Tuesdays
A few pointers from the pros during SMX Report; Wednesday’s daily brief
Plus, Google extends deadline for Partner Program requirements and Yelp releases new features to address new consumer behaviors.
Yelp’s Waitlist, analytics and POS updates aim to address shifting consumer preferences
Waitlist now supports takeout orders, and enhanced analytics may help managers evaluate how their restaurants are performing
6 tips to win local with paid search
Recent change in consumer behavior has put local search on the map.
Diversity and inclusion in search marketing and advertising; Monday’s daily brief
Plus, GMB adds messaging to desktop (finally)
Search behavior has forever changed. How can you stay ahead of the pack?
Learn some strategies to help you harness the power of local search and succeed in 2021.
Google My Business adds messaging to desktop interface
Businesses can now message with customers through their web browser, not just the mobile app.
Is Google moving toward being search marketing’s point of singularity: Thursday’s daily brief
Plus, we’re looking for speakers for SMX Create
Google might have to subsidize journalism, but not like this…; Wednesday’s daily brief
Plus, Microsoft is replacing CPC with eCPC by the end of April.
Google officially displays years in business in local pack
After several months of testing, Google has officially launched this new label that shows how many years your business has been in operation.
Google adds Black-owned business label to product results
This was first launched for the Google local business results in July 2020 and now is supported by Google Merchant Center.
How are local service ads impacting Google Ads accounts?
Make sure you are paying attention to the local service ads option with Google Ads, even if it is not yet available for your industry.
Google My Business updates flag review feature
The new form and options are much more detailed now, compared to the old method.