You’ve probably noticed the big change to how you manage your Google Business Profile - you can now only manage it on your Search Engine Results Page - your SERP. The separate dashboard to manage your Google Business Profile is no longer there. Instead, the in-SERP editor has taken on full functionality, with some discontinued features of the previous dashboard that were accessible at business.google.com. It’s an entirely new management and editing experience. If this change has come as a surprise, we’re here to take you through what we know about the changes so far.
The ability to edit your Google Business Profile in-SERP isn’t new. For some time, Google has been encouraging you to edit your Google Business Profile on the search engine results page. This is what Google calls the New Merchant Experience, or 'NMX'. You’ve had the choice to use either the dashboard you’re used to or the SERP for profile management, but since the end of October 2022, in-SERP is your only option. In-SERP is the way that everyone will be managing Google Business Profiles.
We’ve gone completely in-SERP, and we have to say goodbye to the old dashboard. So, are the features the same? We’ve seen that they’re not. So far, we know that photo insights are gone, and some performance metrics are gone. There’s also a minor change in terminology - 'Users' are now 'Managers' Also, what was called 'Posts' in the old dashboard are now called 'Updates' as part of the NMX. You’ll see many features hidden behind the three dots in SERP. It’s no longer a dashboard experience where you have a complete visualisation of your Google Business Profile information and performance.
Photo Insights
We think it’s surprising to see the loss of Photo Insights on Google Business Profiles. These insights previously gave us the numbers on the types of views that photos received. We could also tell how many photos owners had contributed to a business profile versus how many photos customers uploaded. This information was useful for us to determine how active and engaging a Google Business Profile was and if photos were an area to focus on for improving performance. If Google introduces some form of photo performance insight as part of the NMX, we still don’t know. This will be an interesting space to watch and inform our strategies for managing Google Business Profiles moving forward.
Performance Metrics
Performance metrics that were useful for managing Google Business Profiles have been thrown out the window. You can no longer access the insights on how customers search for your business on Google in the NMX. There’s no more pie chart to provide visualisation on your searches. You’ll need to download data from your Google Business Profile to analyse and visualise it or access it via the API.
Data on how people use directions and where they're located to search for specific directions have also gone. Instead, the new 'Performance' area of the NMX only shows you the number of requests over time. This is the same for calls, messages, bookings, and website clicks, all found under 'Performance' in the NMX.
Performance Metrics provided us with an understanding of business reach. For tradies who have seasonal businesses, like pest control, this information and the insights were valuable. They could also be useful for budgeting and understanding how much you should allocate to marketing. This data visualisation will be missed by businesses.
The Three Dots...
We’re used to seeing all Google Business Profile features in front of us, but we now see the features as clickable icons. With limited space in-SERP, Google has used the three-dot menu button to organise a business listing. You’ll find key options, such as notification settings, by clicking on the three-dot menu. Unfortunately, everything is no longer in one space, and you need to look a little harder to access all features.
What do the Google Business Profile in-SERP changes mean?
The new changes make it more challenging to use and optimise Google Business Profiles, with some insights and metrics taken away, as well as the visualisation of data that was provided on the dashboard. Data now having to be downloaded and analysed makes gaining marketing insights more complex.
You need time to get used to the new design and looking at the SERP instead of the dashboard to manage your Google Business Profile. As a result, you may find it harder to find important information and features to help your business. Regardless, we’ll all have to get used to this, as the NMX is here to stay. The main thing is that we manage Google Business Profiles so that they’re in the best condition and continue to utilise all of the features available to remain competitive in 3-packs.