Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) News/Updates

Professor M

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) Expert, Trainer, Speaker

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) News/Updates

Table of Contents

GBPedia

Google (My) Business Profile Management & Optimization Guide

only $49

If you want to know how a real expert resolve issues and increase clients’ Google ranking, sales, and customers.

In this page you will find news and updates for Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business):

  • New visuals
  • New tests
  • New features
  • Issues

Google Business Profile

News/Updates Timeline

Google My Business News Logo

December 2022

November 2022

October 2022

September 2022

August 2022

July 2022

June 2022

May 2022

April 2022

March 2022

31 March 2022

March Business Category Changes

31 March 2022

February 2022

January 2022

28 January 2022

New Food Orders Customer Actions Metric in The Google Business Profile Performance Report

Continues on
GBPedia

28 January 2022
28 January 2022

Query Type showing on the Google Business Profile Support Form

Continues on
GBPedia

28 January 2022
28 January 2022

Google Business Profiles Increasingly Showing “Visitors” Updates on Google Maps

Continues on
GBPedia

28 January 2022
27 January 2022

Temporary Google Business Profile Manager Server Error

Continues on
GBPedia

27 January 2022
20 January 2022

Google Business Profile Issue: Products Price Error

Continues on
GBPedia

20 January 2022
20 January 2022

Google Business Profile Issue: Photos Uploaded Not visible On Public Profile

Continues on
GBPedia

20 January 2022
19 January 2022

Google Business Profile Issue: “Services” Changed/Removed and Replaced by Google


Continues on
GBPedia

19 January 2022
19 January 2022

Google Business Profile Issue: Request Ownership Email with Incorrect Links


Continues on
GBPedia

19 January 2022
12 January 2022

Google Business Profile sets 7 days waiting period for new owners and managers to manage all the features of the profile.


Continues on
GBPedia
News/Updates

12 January 2022
10 January 2022

Google Business Profile Messages Not Working- Unable to See or Respond to Messages

Continues here

10 January 2022
06 January 2022

Cars For Sale On Google Business Profiles Appearing More Often

Continues on
GBPedia
News/Updates

06 January 2022
05 January 2022

Google Local SERPS shows Bike & Car Charging Icons

Continues on
GBPedia
News/Updates

05 January 2022

December 2021

28 December 2021

“Mark As Special” Feature for Google Business Profile Products

This new feature for the products section, allows you mark a product as Special. After you mark a product as special, that product will be moved to the top of the products you listed in your Google Business Profile.

28 December 2021
27 December 2021

Google Maps is comparing the search results to restaurants in the user’s local area.

New Google Business Profile Service Areas Business Issues

27 December 2021
17 December 2021

Service Area Business Profiles Not Opening On Google Search Finder and Showing up in Middle of an Ocean on Google Maps

New Google Business Profile Service Areas Business Issues

Check here

17 December 2021
17 December 2021

New Google Business Profile Video Verification

When you create a new business Google Business Profiles, Google may offer by default video verification.

On the first page, you see a description of what GBP will need to see in the video. Then on the next screen, you will see a QR code to use on the mobile.

Afterward, you record outside signage such as your street name, or nearby businesses. Then show inside your business or tools of your trade and then show proof of management, such as by showing you have access to items or areas only employees can access.

17 December 2021
16 December 2021

Local Google Algorithm Update Confirmed!

Last week on the 8th, I reported that Google Algorithm Update may have happened a couple of weeks ago and Google confirmed yesterday!
The latest analysis on the impact of this algorithm update is this:
– Appear Proximity Factor is stronger with the Map focus on closer proximity to the user
– The keywords on the business name appear to lose ranking influence, as I predicted before.

So Businesses that never ranked before on the 3-pack are doing so and there is more diversity of packs.

16 December 2021
14 December 2021

Google Maps Busy Area Now Live

A few weeks ago, Google announced a new feature named busy area and now seems to be rolling out. Several users started to notice this roll out over the past few days. When you are looking at the Google Maps app, Google will show you if an area is busy by labeling it “busy area” with a pulsating indicator.


14 December 2021
14 December 2021

Google Maps New Feature GBP profile “Dock to Bottom” Test

Google is testing a new feature where a blue button “Dock to Bottom” next to the business name on the GBP profile on Google Maps. After pressing the button, the profile gets “docked” on a bar at the bottom.


14 December 2021
13 December 2021

Hotels can now publish GBP Posts

it’s official that Hotels can now publish GBP Posts what’s new, event, and COVID-19 posts but not offer or product posts according to Google’s new Post Policy wording, found by Joy Hawkins:

• Hotel businesses can create local posts to provide relevant, timely info to customers. Examples of helpful posts include COVID-19 protocols, updates to amenities or renovations, and events that take place on the property.

• Hotels can’t create “offer” posts, or any post that suggests the existence of or that links out to deals, promotions, special offers, or discounts. This ensures that customers don’t get confused about where to navigate on the hotel placesheet to find organic and ad prices from partners.

Read more here

13 December 2021
08 December 2021

Google Business Profile Algorithm Update Last Week?

Some professionals are questioning if there is a ranking update last week as they are seeing some drastic ranking movement.

more here

08 December 2021
08 December 2021

New Google Local SERPs Pack on Desktop

Google has confirmed that is rolling out a visually bigger Local SERPS Pack on Desktop with the profiles on the left and map on the right.


08 December 2021
07 December 2021

Google is asking users help to improve how the Phone app identifies businesses

Going forward, Google is getting users to help categorize incoming calls on its popular Phone app.
When viewing calls in the “Recents” screen, a button has started to appear under recent calls asking if the call was either to or from a business. Tapping on the button makes a pop-up menu appear from the bottom of the screen where you can tell Google just what kind of business it is.

Read more 


07 December 2021
02 December 2021

Google is showing on the Local Pack and GBP profiles if a doctor or healthcare facility takes your insurance

As I reported on January 7th when Google added Insurance attributes to profiles, Google Search can now show you which insurance networks the doctor or healthcare provider might accept. Plus, on the mobile search results, Google will let you filter providers by the insurance plans accepted.

On Google Business Profile manager you can:
– Add additional insurance providers they accept from a pre-populated list of available insurance providers
– Remove insurance providers and networks that are listed erroneously

Read more 

02 December 2021
02 December 2021

Google is also showing Languages Spoken by a doctor or healthcare facility on the Local Pack and GBP profiles

As I reported on August 23rd when Google released New GMB attribute that lets US healthcare providers indicate support for non-English languages.
Google Search shows now this language attributes to users. There is currently over a dozen languages represented, including Spanish and American Sign Language.

Read more 

02 December 2021

November 2021

01 November 2021

Google Business Profile Messaging Read Receipts Setting

Google has added a read receipts setting to the Google My Business messaging platform. After a recipient opens a new message, the sender gets a “Read” status under the message. This status appears for whoever sent the message in a conversation, either you or your customer. If you have messaging turned on, read receipts will automatically turn on. You can turn read receipts on or off in Google My Business

01 November 2021
01 November 2021

Google Business Public Profile using a LinkedIn Description

01 November 2021
04 November 2021

Google Business Profile Insights “Views” Data Missing Issue from 29 -31 October 21

Many users (including me) have noticed that Insights’ “Views” Data is missing from the 29-31 October 21, hopefully Google will recover and show the missing data in the next few days.

04 November 2021
08 November 2021

Google Showing Stock Level on Local SERPs

Users can see now if an item is on stock or not on businesses local to them through the in-store availability inside the Local SERPs Pack.

08 November 2021
10 November 2021

“Recent cases” in the Google Business Profile Help page

Users are seeing “Recent cases” in the Google Business Profile Help page including Case IDs, status and date last updated. You can’t interact with the feature though.

10 November 2021
10 November 2021

Google Business Profile Suspension After Reinstatement Issue

Some businesses are getting suspended, reinstated, and then immediately suspended again
Read more here

10 November 2021
10 November 2021

“Google Business Profile Manager” Name is starting to show

The new name is finally showing up in the Google My Business Web Dashboard. But not all the users are seeing this as the name change was just last week, so it is slowing rolling out.

10 November 2021
16 November 2021

Google Business Profile Categories Missing Issue

Dozens of healthcare categories apparently have been removed, to what appears to be a bug. Users are seeing this error: “This business category isn’t available in your region”.
Read more here

16 November 2021
16 November 2021

Google Maps will show price ranges, based on user contributions, for restaurants in the U.S.

When customers leave reviews they can now share details about the restaurant’s price ranges, and whether they offer amenities such as outdoor seating, delivery, curbside pickup, and more.

Read more here

16 November 2021
16 November 2021

Google Maps will show Area Busyness

Customers can now see how busy a particular area is before they get there, which will help those who prefer to avoid large crowds.
The new feature, called Area Busyness, combines live busyness trends from individual businesses that are in close proximity to each other. Google Maps will show you how busy the area is currently, and how busy it’s estimated to be throughout the day.

Read more here

16 November 2021
16 November 2021

Google Maps is expanding the Indoor Directory tab globally for all airports, malls, and transit stations.

Google is expanding the Directory tab in the Google Maps app on Android and iOS for all airports, malls and transit stations around the world. If these locations give Google the indoor mapping data, you will be able to see what types of stores are in a building, airport lounges, car rentals, parking lots and more. And within each category, you can see a list of the relevant businesses, in addition to helpful information about whether it’s open, its rating and what floor it’s on, Google said.

Read more here

16 November 2021
16 November 2021

Google Expands Grocery shopping

Once you place your order from the retailer, pickup with Google Maps lets you track your order status, share your ETA and let the store know you’ve arrived, all from the app. Pickup with Google Maps now includes more Kroger Family stores like Kroger, Fry’s, Ralphs and Marianos — as of today, it’s now available in over 2,000 store locations in more than 30 states across the U.S. People who use pickup with Google Maps typically wait less than five minutes for their groceries, meaning you can grab exactly what you need and get right back to your day.

Read more here

16 November 2021
16 November 2021

GBP Search Merchant Dashboard Now Have Temporarily/Permanently closed

Google Business Profile Merchant Dashboard on Search & Maps has a new functionality, you can mark a business “Temporarily or Permanently closed”.

16 November 2021
20 November 2021

November Google Business Profile Category Changes


New
Funeral celebrant service
Vehicle wrapping service

Updated
None

Removed
Bailiff
Huissier

20 November 2021
24 November 2021

Google Business Profile Insights “Views” Data Missing Issue 7-14 November

A few users have noticed that Insights’ “Views” Data is missing from the 7-14 November, hopefully Google will recover and show the missing data in the next few days.

more here

24 November 2021

October 2021

05 October 2021

Google Local SERPS with 5 Pack Test?


Few users users are seeing 5 local packs, is this a another test?
In the past few months they tested 10 and 2 listings local packs.

05 October 2021
06 October 2021

New Google My Business Feature: Get quote requests via email


Google is inviting selected businesses to add a new Quote requests feature: “Quote requests via email”, instead of using the Messaging feature.
You can see more here.

06 October 2021
10 October 2021

Google is displaying now 2 Screened Ads on Local Searches


Many users spotted 2 Local Ads-Screened on local search results, instead of just one.

10 October 2021
10 October 2021

Scrollable Google Reviews on Local Search Results


Google shows Google Reviews you can scroll through in a carousel on Local Search Results.
In 2019, Google added this feature to the Google My Business Profiles panel and now expanded it to local SERPS.

10 October 2021
12 October 2021

Google My Business Posts have “Products” label finally removed


Google finally removed from Google My Business Posts section the “Products”, as it didn’t have any purpose as that button would forward you to the Products section.

12 October 2021
16 October 2021

New Purple Heart Icon on Local Search for “Identifies as women-owned” Businesses


Google changed the icon showing for “Identifies as women-owned” Businesses on the local search results but it gets changed to the old one when you scroll images carousel in Local Pack, probably not fully rolled out.

16 October 2021
17 October 2021

Google My Business Women/Veteran-led attributes have changed


Google finally changed changed “women-led” and “veteran-led” to “women-owned” and “veteran-owned,” aligning these attributes with “Black-owned” and the recently added “Latino-owned.”

17 October 2021
22 October 2021

Google My Business New Crowd Category Attributes


Google added a new attributes category “Crowd” within this attribute the options are “LGBTQ+ friendly” and a “Transgender safespace”.

22 October 2021
22 October 2021

Google My Business New Notification for GMB Messages


Google is showing a new notification box “new message”, of course, to let you know that you have customer messages to reply to.

22 October 2021
27 October 2021

Google Local SERPS With Shopping Refinements


Google is testing showing Shopping Filter Refinements on Local Mobile Search Results.

27 October 2021
28 October 2021

Google My Business Posts is Working Again For Hotels & Hospitality


Some users are able to create posts for Accommodation type of business again (happened the same in July 21). Is this a bug again?

28 October 2021
28 October 2021

New Google My Business Setup Process?


Some users are seeing a new GMB Setup Workflow, and appears is pushing online businesses towards Merchant Center as they don’t qualify to sign up for Google My Business.


28 October 2021
28 October 2021

Ranking Issue Affecting SABs?


Some Professionals are questioning if there is ranking issue/algorithm update for SAB profiles as it appears that since June there has been a decline in traffic and leads only on SAB.

28 October 2021

September 2021

01 September 2021

Google Pushing New GMB Merchant Experience Flow


Google is now showing notices to let users know they can manage their profile directly on Google Search & Maps

01 September 2021
03 September 2021

Google Releases New Local Search Trends


Google searches for “open now near me” have grown globally by more than 200% year over year.
In the U.S., searches for “local gift shops near me” have increased 440% in just the past month as people switch between online and offline shopping – more than ever before. If your physical stores are open for in-store shopping, it’s crucial to make sure your customers can easily find you online.”

03 September 2021
07 September 2021

New Beta Google Reviews Questions Flow for Restaurants


Users are seeing new questions when leaving a review on restaurants. If it was Take out/Delivery/Dine in, what did you get, how much spent (interesting)

07 September 2021
07 September 2021

GMB Site Manager confirms deprecation and upgrade to “Manager” role

Google is emailing users to advise after 24 October 2021 site managers will be “upgraded” to managers.

07 September 2021
14 September 2021

Google My Business Category Changes

New
Doner kebab restaurant
Fish restaurant
Meyhane

Updated
None

Removed
None

14 September 2021
16 September 2021

Google My Business New “Latino-owned” Attribute

Google My Business added “Identifies as Latino-owned” as an option, appears to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month that started on the 15th.

16 September 2021
29 September 2021

Possible Google Local Ranking Update

Some users are reporting Google Local Organic Ranking changes on 20th September, but GMBs appear have not been affected.

29 September 2021
29 September 2021

Google Local SERPs Pack Map on the Right Test

Some users are reporting seeing a new test on local pack SERPs, where the map shows on the right instead at the top of the profiles pack
.

29 September 2021

August 2021

09 August 2021

New Label in Local Search Pack

Local search pack is showing a “Updated today” label on listings. The only doubt is the label referring to the stock data or updates on the profile information.

09 August 2021
11 August 2021

3rd Party Reviews Label on the GMB Public Profile


Google appears to be testing new review label/text for reviews on other websites. The new labels are underneath Google Reviews score. The ones that have been seen are “Reviews on independent sites” and “Reviews from the web”.

11 August 2021
23 August 2021

New GMB Language Attributes


Stefan Somborac have found that Google released New GMB attribute that lets US healthcare providers indicate support for non-English languages.

23 August 2021
25 August 2021

August Google My Business Category Changes


New
Toast restaurant
Pilaf restaurant
Kofta restaurant
Durum restaurant
Cig kofte restaurant

Updated
None

Removed
None

25 August 2021
25 August 2021

Google My Business Products Review


Google is now showing “your product is being reviewed.” Google adds that “it may take up to 30 minutes. Product will be visible to customers once approved.”


25 August 2021
26 August 2021

Google My Business Posts can appear in third party Sites


Google now has a notice when you add Google Posts in Google My Business that those posts can appear not just on Google properties and third-party sites.

26 August 2021
30 August 2021

Google Local SERPs Without Call To Action Buttons


Google is now testing Google Local SERPs aka Local 3 pack.

30 August 2021
31 August 2021

Google My Business Site Manager has been Deprecated


Google removed “Site Manager” option for user type on Google My Business. The current site managers will keep the status but you will not be able to add more site managers.


31 August 2021

July 2021

14 July 2021

GMB Call History Enabling From “Info”

Google is allowing those businesses selected for the beta testing of Call History to enable this feature on the “Phone number” field.

14 July 2021
14 July 2021

Google showing “Call History” Track Number

If you have opted into Call History, you can check what phone number that Google is using as the track number in your profile, of course, you have to be login into your GMB account.

14 July 2021
19 July 2021

Google My Business Posts is Working For Hotels & Hospitality

Some users are able to create posts for Accommodation related categories, as the businesses in this categories, like hotels, are not allowed to post… well until now.
However, it’s a bug as Google advised posts being allowed for GMB listings for hotels is not intended and is going to be removed.

19 July 2021
19 July 2021

Google My Business Locations Dashboard New Edit Experience

For those users that have more one location/agency, if you go to “Businesses” section and click on the edit button in front of a location, it will now pop up a quick info section in the listings dash itself – a much quicker and easier way to make quick edits.

19 July 2021
21 July 2021

New Detailed Google Reviews for Restaurants

Now users when leaving a Google Reviews can review as well price range, the type of meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.) and whether they got take out, delivery or dined in, just by taping.

This feature is now fully live for all restaurants in the U.S. on Android and is rolling out to iOS, with more categories and countries on the way.

More here on Google

21 July 2021
26 July 2021

New GMB Hotel Attributes

Google released new attributes for Sustainability and Eco certifications.
Not seeing them published live yet.

26 July 2021
28 July 2021

Google My Business Public Profile Showing Service Areas

Google is testing a new feature on the public profile named “areas served” and shows you what areas that business serves.

28 July 2021

June 2021

02 June 2021

 Google Assistant is helping create Google My Business Profile

Google seems to have launched in Italy a new Google Assistant app for the Google My Business platform. This app lets you ask Google Assistant to bring your business online. All you do is say “Hey Google, bring my business online.”

Find out more here in SER

02 June 2021
03 June 2021

Say Goodbye to the Short Name and Link

Google advises we can no longer create or edit short names. Short names and URLs that already exist will still work.
Find out more here

03 June 2021
03 June 2021

Google My Business Adds Labels for New Listings

Google has a “New on Google” label that is showing beside listings in both the local pack results and the local finder.

Find out more here on Local U

03 June 2021
10 June 2021

Google My Business Local Search Ranking Update On June 8th?

Search Engine Roundtable reports “We may have seen a Google local search ranking update on Tuesday, June 8th. The BrightLocal tracking tool showed significant changes and volatility on June 8th, with a bit of heat also on June 6th and June 9th.”

Find out more here on SER

10 June 2021
10 June 2021

Google Local Search Pack with Delivery Button

Users are seeing more and more local packs for Food businesses with a delivery button.

10 June 2021
15 June 2021

Directions and Website Clicks metrics are now available in the GMB Performance Report.

Some users have now available Directions and Website Clicks metrics in their GMB Performance Report.
Check more on Local U

15 June 2021
25 June 2021

Google My Business Insights Message “Data may be delayed”

Google has inserted a message at the top of the Google My Business Insights reporting section that says “data may be delayed”. It is affecting users in most countries.

25 June 2021
28 June 2021

Google My Business Public Profile Q&A Related To Your Search Feature

Google is showing “related to your search” section with Q&A.
Check here more

28 June 2021

May 2021

05 May 2021

Google My Business Site Insights

If you are using the free Google My Business Website you are able to check insights for the website by pressing on the info icon next to the “xx people visited your site”

05 May 2021
05 May 2021

“Business Profile performance” report includes the number of completed bookings

Stefan Somborac discovered a new Google My Business change, the new “Business Profile performance” report should start showing the number of completed bookings, if you’ve set up bookings through a provider.

05 May 2021
05 May 2021

Google My Business Contact Form Change

Allie Margeson found a change on the Google My Business Contact Form, you can now select which business you need help with when using the contact form.
I can see this change so it should be mean it’s a wide roll-out change.

05 May 2021
10 May 2021

Google My Business Performance Report is showing Bookings Data

Colan Nielsen spotted this first and posted about it on Twitter. You may see a new “bookings” tab to see if people booked reservations, appointments, etc with you via Google Maps or Google Search local.

10 May 2021
11 May 2021

Call History Showing in the GMB Dashboard

A few users spotted the call history tab in the dashboard.

11 May 2021
12 May 2021

GMB Insights Direction Requests Metric Change

Stefan Somborac noticed this change:
Google is trying to account for multi-tapping, direction request cancellation, etc. so expect your direction requests count to decrease (in pursuit of accuracy)

12 May 2021
18 May 2021

New Icon on Google Maps – Test

Several users are noticing a new Icon on Google Maps, this icon shows the review rating score and the normal business category icon. The users are seeing these icons when searching for Bakeries, coffee shops inUS, Canada and Germany.

18 May 2021
18 May 2021

Business Information Editor on Google Search has a new Layout

Several users noticed (including me) that there is a new layout when you access “Edit profile” on Google Search.

18 May 2021
18 May 2021

Google Local Search 10 Pack Test?

Several users are seeing 10 pack local SERPS, is this a bug or test? I believe is a test as Google is testing 2 pack SERPS.

18 May 2021
24 May 2021

Google My Business Photo and Videos New Status

There is a change coming for uploaded Photos and Videos, Google My Business Help Page advises that it will start showing the status of your photo/video uploads:
Pending – The media is in either the upload or processing stage, or your profile is currently not verified. Pending media doesn’t appear on Google Search or Maps to customers.
Not approved– The media is flagged and has violated policies. Since it was flagged, the media doesn’t show up on Google Search or Maps.
Live – The media shows up on Search and Maps for customers. 

24 May 2021
28 May 2021

Google launches new ad formats for local campaigns and pickup later option for local inventory ads

Google announced a number of new local ad-based features at its Google Marketing Livestream event. These include new ad formats for local campaigns and a new option for “pickup later” in the local inventory ads. Check this article for more.

28 May 2021
28 May 2021

Google My Business Hide Phone Number New Option

Google added a option to allow businesses to hide their phone numbers from showing up in Google Maps and Google Search’s local results.

28 May 2021
31 May 2021

May Google My Business Category Changes

New
American grocery store
Dacia dealer

Updated
Train ticket counter changed to Train ticket office
Removed
None

31 May 2021

April 2021

08 April 2021

Google My Business Clarifies Phone Numbers Not Allowed In Google Posts

This new policy is named Phone Stuffing and Google wrote “To avoid the risk of abuse, we do not allow your post content to include a phone number. You can make your phone number available on your Business Profile or website.”
Check the SER’s article

08 April 2021
08 April 2021

“People Also Search For” on Google displays Local Businesses Maps

Google is now able to show in the “people also search for” query refinement feature local business listings and map results. Valentin Pletzer noticed this and posted a screenshot on Twitter which you can see here.

<