to edit and manage your Google Business Profile via Google search

Do you want your local business to rank higher in Google searches? Optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP), is one of the most important things you can do.

Not new, managing a GBP listing via Google search is . Since 2017, people have been able to manage their Business Profiles from Google search.

Now, however, it is possible to manage your profile via search. You must learn how to make the most out of your Business Profile when searching.

You will need to sign in to the Google Account email address that you use for managing your Google Business Profile.

Next, search Google for your exact company name (you might need to include your city), or search for “my” (you may also need to choose View Profile to manage and maintain your Business Profile).

Anatomy of Google’s New Merchant Experience (NMX).

You should find the Merchant Panel and the Business Profile (a.k.a. Knowledge Panel) at top of search results, right above organic results.

Geek terminology You may have heard the new Google Search management feature referred as NMX – which stands New Merchant experience. It’s important to get used the new terminology. NMX is Google Search’s interface for managing your Google Business Profile.

This is where your Business Profile will be managed. The Merchant Panel will show you the main menu, three dots menu, cards and your Business Profile to the right.

Your business category will determine the menus on your Merchant Panel. You may see something different from another business in an industry.

Your Menu might have a down arrow. You might see a down arrow in your Menu. Click on it to expand the area to view more options.

The expanded menu in the example below also includes “Add update” (i.e. Posts) as well as “Ask to review”.

The available menus can be categorized, as previously mentioned. The screenshot below shows that the “Insurance” menu is available for businesses in the medical category.

To the right of Merchant Panel you will see your company’s business profile/knowledge panel. You can also access many features directly from your Business Profile like uploading videos or creating posts (updates).

You will find two main items in the Merchant Panel: the menu, and the cards.

This menu lets you perform the most important functions of managing your Google Business Profile. Here you can edit and add photos to your profile, as well as upload images and respond to messages and reviews.

The three-dot menu located to the right of your main menu offers more advanced features such as adding and removing managers, viewing your Business Profile ID and removing the business.

These cards are little tips and cues that can help you make decisions about your Business Profile. You will find different cards.

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Terms.

Explanation of Google Business Profile menus

Here is a list of all the menus available to businesses.

To access all fields that are available for you to modify, either scroll down or use the tabs at the top of the menu.

Edit profile

This section is the most important as it contains the most crucial information potential customers and customers are searching for. You can edit the main information about your business by going to “Edit profile”.

Depending on the business category you are in, there may be other options like:

Depending on the business category you are in, there may be other options. This section will include options for the medical, hotel and car dealership industries.

See reviews

It is crucial to pay attention to reviews if you want to grow your business.

This menu allows you to view all of your reviews and sort them in different ways. You can also see the words that people mention most often in reviews about your business. (The default order of reviews is “Most relevant.”

Google will email you when you receive a review. To read the review and respond to it, you can click the link “Read review” in the email.

A card in the Merchant Panel will also show you when there have been new reviews. This is an important bonus if your Google Business Profile login email is not checked as often as it should.

Click on the card to let you know that you have a review. The new one will open and you can reply to your customer’s review.

Messages

Messages are an excellent way to communicate with potential customers and customers. If you are able to respond quickly to customers who want to chat with your company, click the “Turn On Chat” button and follow all the prompts.

Make sure to create a welcoming message for people when you first start a chat session.

When people search for your business on their mobile devices, they will see the chat option in your Business Profile.

All your messages, also known as chat, can be managed from the “Messages” menu. You can respond directly to messages from others.

Clicking on the three dots menu will take you to chat settings. This will make your chat more powerful.

You can change your welcome message, turn on chat, and send read receipts through the chat settings.

You can also set up automatic FAQs to create answers to up 10 commonly asked questions. If someone sends you a message with one of these questions, you will automatically send them a message that answers the question.

Each question can have up to 40 characters, and each answer up to 500 characters. You can include links in your answers, which is great if you are trying to direct people to a website or landing page.

Responding quickly to messages builds trust and encourages interaction with potential buyers. Remember to respond within 24 hours. Google may also deactivate your Business Profile’s message feature if you fail to respond within this timeframe.

You’ll get an email notification email when you receive a new message. As an added bonus, you will also see a notification in the Merchant Panel , and you will see a red dot under Messages.

Add photo

You can upload photos or videos to your Business Profile using the “Add photo” menu. There are several options available:

You can also add videos and photos directly to your Business Profile. To upload videos and photos, click on the “Add Photos” button. This is my preferred method because it’s more efficient and simple.

You can upload additional photos from your Knowledge Panel by clicking the camera icon.

Google’s guidelines should be followed when uploading photos and videos. Otherwise, they could be rejected.


Photo guidelines


Video guidelines

Performance

“Performance” replaces “Insights”. Here you can view the following metrics about your Google Business Profile’s performance:

Advertise

This link will take you to Google Ads, in case your desire to spend money on paid advertising.

Edit products

Google is focusing more on local businesses that sell products. You can edit products in Google Business Profile if you are one of these businesses. Click the “Get Started” link.

Then, you can add details about each product that you are selling:

After you have added all product details, click on the “Publish” button.

Edit services

If your business is a service-based one, this section will help you list the services you offer. You will first need to create business categories.

If you are a lawn-care company, for example, you might pick categories such as lawn care, yard cleanup, snow removal, and grass cutting. Each service would then be included under the respective categories.

Google is known for scraping information from many sources. They will often add services and products to your GBP list. These services may not be services you offer.

For example, my website contained information about a pest control customer I worked with. Google mistakenly added “pest Control” to my digital marketing agency’s service list.

You should check your Business Profile frequently to make sure any new services are correct. Any Google changes will be visible in blue.


Booking

The “Booking” menu is a great option if you use an online calendar or booking tool to book appointments. This feature allows you add a URL to which people can schedule time in your calendar to make an appointment.

You can click on “Add a Link” to start if you are using tools such as Calendly, YouCanBookMe or SquareUp.

Simply enter your custom booking URL or calendar URL into the URL field, and then click “Save.”

Multiple options can be added to make it easier for people to book appointments. Simply mark the preferred method.

Calls

“Calls” allows you to track phone calls from customers via Google Search and maps. This feature is currently only available to select businesses in the U.S. or Canada.

This feature will provide information about who called you, what they answered and what was left unsaid.

You will be able to see if you have received a call from a new person. This information is crucial if your number goes to a sales representative.

Q&A

Customers and potential customers can ask questions about your business through the Q&A section. You will also be able to answer their questions.

It’s important to remember that anyone can ask these questions and provide answers. It’s important to stay on top of these questions and be the first one to respond.

Update (a.k.a. Posts)

Updates can be described as GBP Posts. Click on “Add Update” to create an update, offer, or event.

Google finally offers the ability to crop photos through Google search. Simply click on the crop icon to do what you need.

Make sure you click “Preview” first to ensure that your post is in good shape. Then click “Post” for it to go live.

Users searching on Google Maps will see a red circle above “Updates” when you create a new post.

Ask for reviews

We already mentioned how important it was to get reviews as part of your local SEO strategy.

You’ll receive a URL to send to your customers when you click on the “Ask For Reviews” menu. This will allow you to ask them to write a review.

Clicking on the link will take them to your Google Business Profile where they can leave a review.

Menu with three dots

Because it is located on the right-hand side, and is difficult to see, the three-dot menu is often overlooked.

It also contains advanced features that will allow you to manage your Business Profile effectively.

You’ll find the following information in the dropdown menu:

Setting up your Business Profile is one of the most important sections.

This section consists of:

Also, make sure to visit the Notifications section. Here you can sign up for email alerts regarding customer messages, reviews and Q&As.

The “Your Business Profiles dialog is useful if you have more than one Google Business Profile.

You can view all GBPs that you have managed from this page. Click on the profile that you wish to manage and Google will automatically take you to it via search.

You can also create a new profile here and manage multiple profiles.

You can also find other features on the three-dot list, so don’t hesitate to explore them.

What are cards?

Merchant Panel will also show you various “cards”. You can also use cards to improve your profile.

You might have cards that look different from other merchants’ cards. Take a look at the different cards you have and find out what they can do for you.

You can upload photos of the exterior of your office or storefront by clicking on the “Add Exterior Photo” card.

You can also get alerts from your cards, such as when there is a review and if you need to add information to your Business Profile in order to be more useful to potential customers.

These cards can be used to optimize and maximize your Google Business Profile.

What happens if Google modifies your Google Business Profile information

Google collects information from many sources:

Google will often cross-check the information in your Business Profile with what they find online. They may find discrepancies and change your Google Business Profile.

You will receive an email notification if Google updates information in your Business Profile.

You will need to navigate to each menu section (Edit Profile, Edit Products and Edit Services) to see if there have been any changes to your profile. You will then see the Google changes.

You can click the “Accept” link if the information has been updated correctly.

Google made a mistake Click on the section that you wish to correct or edit, and the pencil icon will appear. The information can be edited. Make sure to click “Save”.

If you make any changes to your Business Profile, you may be able to edit it.

You can click on “Edit” to correct any errors and uncheck the services that you do not offer. Then, click “Save”.

Google may have to manually review your edits. It could take up to one day for your Business Profile changes to be approved.

Google’s changes are immediate and you need to ensure that your Business Profile is up-to-date.

You can manage your profile using search.

There is some learning curve. Once you become familiar with the interface, however, you will be able to enjoy its ease-of-use and functionality.

It is essential to get used to managing your Google Business Profile. It’s not possible to avoid it.

Search Engine Land first published the post Manage and Edit Your Google Business Profile Using Google Search.

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