Google My Business: What’s Changing In 2022

Google My Business: What's Transforming (And Also What's Not) In 2022

NUVEW's digital marketing expert assists organizations in increasing their online presence through custom website design and growth, as well as SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION.

If your company serves customers in your area, whether at your location or in their homes or businesses, there's no denying that Google has an impact on how— and if— customers find you. Many consumers of all ages and demographics use online searches to find products or services, and Google is a dominant option for those searches, accounting for approximately 86 percent of global search traffic as of September 2021.

Google My Business: What’s Changing (And What’s Not) In 2022

Fortunately, many businesses can list specific and detailed company information on Google for free, and a Google My Organization (GMB) profile is how they do so. Continue reading to learn about upcoming changes, what they may indicate, and how marketing professionals can stay on top of what matters most in their own list.

What's New for 2022

Google announced in early November 2021 that major changes to the Google My Business system were underway, with more to come in the coming year.

•  New Name: Google My Organization is now known as "Google Service Account." Many people were not surprised because GMB Aid files began using the term "profile" rather than "listing" months ago. Previously, the system was known as Google+ and Google Local, names that still appear on occasion, indicating that "GMB" may remain in use for some time.

• New Gain Access To Options: A more significant change is the decision to retire the GMB app in 2022, instead directing business managers to "an updated experience" on Google Browse or Google Maps. This option has actually been available for some time and is accomplished by simply keying in a search for the name of your company, or the phrase "my company" if logged in, and also clicking on the account that appears. This is possibly an extra common way to access your account for single-location organizations.

•  Support Changes: Google's article also stated that the current GMB web portal would "transition to primarily support larger companies with multiple locations." This has elicited conflicting reactions from search optimization as well as digital advertising and marketing professionals. Some speculate that Google is moving away from supporting small and medium-sized businesses, while others believe that the impact on many small businesses will be minimal because the desktop system is currently used primarily by corporations and multi-location businesses. Because Google used only "even more information on these changes in the months ahead," we'll all have to wait a little longer to see the final result.

What's Not Changing

Whatever it's called or how you access it, the value of having a Google account with the most precise and complete information possible will not diminish anytime soon. Here are a few things to consider when managing your account.

•  Key Category Is Key

Your company group, specifically your primary category, is one of the most important pieces of information on your account. Google selects from over 3,000 classifications and adds new ones on a regular basis. Checklists like this one can show you what's available as well as report on newly added categories. If you're not sure what to use, look for terms you want to rank well for and see what categories your competitors in the map area are using.

For example, if you own a shop that sells and repairs bikes as well as related gear and clothing, you may have initially referred to your business as a "store." However, you can get more inquiries by changing your primary category to "bicycle store" and including additional categories such as "bike service center" and "showing off goods store."

There are also category-specific features to consider that are only available to services in specific classifications. For example, if you want to upload a menu, Google says you must be classified as a "food and beverage" company.

•  Frequent Updates to Elements

There are numerous other "characteristics" that services can include in their profile to share information with searchers, ranging from wheelchair-accessible restrooms to recognizing as "women-owned" or "veteran-owned." These options are also constantly expanding, so it's a good idea to check them out on a regular basis. Several new features related to contactless settlement and shipment, for example, were added throughout the pandemic.

• You Do Not Have to Pay (for Now).

The account is free, but you will be presented with numerous opportunities to learn more about and use paid Google Ads. Without a doubt, when properly targeted, these ads can be extremely beneficial to some organizations. In the meantime, you can still interact a lot about your service on Google without spending a dime. Some experts believe Google may one day attempt to charge for these listings, but there is no concrete evidence that this will happen anytime soon, if ever.

One thing you can count on: more changes.

Looking ahead always presents challenges, but we can confidently predict one thing about Google's offerings: there will be many more changes. The pandemic has had a significant and possibly long-term impact on how customers shop and communicate with businesses. According to some estimates, it has propelled the electronic advertising sector forward by an international average of six years. Without a doubt, this has resulted in mountains of customer data that are still being examined and will be used to quickly implement brand-new approaches. And also, as customer behavior evolves, so will Google's feedback and product offerings.

Whether we like it or not, businesses of all sizes will have to pay attention and also modify their platforms as needed if they want to continue reaching out to new customers.

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