Google My Business announced a number of updates to the platform yesterday to help small businesses do more with their Google Maps and local listing on Google. In short you can personalize your business profile by adding a cover photo, logo, and claiming a short name as well as add welcome offers and promotions.
The short name was announced a few months ago but only Google Local Guides had access to it then. Now most businesses, not all, can add a short name. I added g.page/rustybrick for my business short name. If you cannot claim your short name, read the help document to see why.
To access all of this, you just login to your Google My Business account and modify your profile.
Google also announced these features:
- Cover photos: Businesses can easily set their preferred profile cover photo, putting their best foot forward.
- More prominent logos: Businesses have an additional branding opportunity with the logo feature. Those that have completed their core information (phone number, hours, etc) will have their logo displayed at the top right-hand side of their profile.
- Photo displays: Photos uploaded by a business will appear instantly and prominently on a new dynamic module on the Profile. Photo captions, which are coming, will let businesses tell the stories behind the pictures.
- Offline materials: We’re also launching a website where businesses can easily download and order custom assets for their place--like stickers--to help promote bookings on the profile, adding reviews and customer following.
I should add that Google seems to have taken down the smallthanks.withgoogle.com web site portal that gave you free posters and replaced it with marketingkit.withgoogle.com to get the free posters there instead. Why didn't Google 301 redirect the old URL to the new? I don't know.
It's official! (in the sense that @BubblesUp checked from the US also 👊) SMALL THANKS WITH GOOGLE is DOWN! Boo, that sucks - @GoogleMyBiz - small biz owners need this site in so many ways! cc @rustybrick (though how he ever keeps up with all this is beyond me 🥰) pic.twitter.com/UNUeZpNtN6
— Claire Carlile 🕊️ 🌊 🥑 (@clairecarlile) June 19, 2019
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