For those who are not familiar, Google My Business is a free marketing tool that lets dentists supply details about their practices that can be searched and found online by patients in the local area. If your practice is handling its marketing in-house, you have probably used this handy application and may have noticed that there have been some recent changes, including the name. The good news is that, for the most part, the recent changes are aimed at streamlining some of the features and making GMB easier to use.
The first change you may have noticed is the name. It’s no longer Google My Business, but Google Business Profiles, which really makes sense because it works more like a social media profile now. Another big change is that the GMB app is being replaced by Google Maps. This makes it more convenient, since Google Maps is an app that most of us are already using anyway. If you want to manage your Google Business Profile from a computer instead of an app, you can now access it through a Google search or Google Maps online, again sites that we are most of us using on a daily basis.
The features and functions of Google Business Profiles (formerly GMB) have improved as well. Now, it’s easier to:
- See and respond to online reviews of your practice
- Create Google Ads
- Create Google posts
- View Google analytics and insights
- Update your listing, including your practice’s details and description
- Keep track of metrics like phone calls received from the practice’s profile, number of searchers, and search queries
For the most part, the changes to Google Business Profiles are positive and should make life easier for your practice. If you are an MDA client, you may not even notice these changes because we’re already managing your Google Business Profile for you. However, if you are more hands-on with your practice’s marketing and you want more information about what’s different now, you can access the Google help page dedicated to the recent updates: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7039811
