For Google Business Profile, formerly Google My Business, the app is no longer available to use. You now have to make edits and updates to your Google Business Profile (GBP) within the search engine results pages (SERPs). No more dashboard to see your insights and easily navigate to make quick changes to your GBP. Google got rid of the dashboard and it seems the new way of life is updating via SERP.
The new “dashboard” is called the New Merchant Experience (NMX). The NMX is used by GBP managers and owners to access and edit details of their profiles and monitor performance. To access this, you will need to search for your business name in Google to see the NMX. Be sure you are logged into Chrome with the Gmail account that is linked to your GBP. The below photo is what you should see.
What Aspects Of Managing Your Google Business Profile Has Google Changed?
Most items in your GBP were previously managed via the GBP dashboard within the app or online at business.google.com. Now, all GBP are only editable within the SERPs, some features have been removed, “posts” are now called “updates” in the NMX, you no longer can see metrics around photos within the performance section, and “users” are now called “managers”. If you are looking to change your office hours or update your hours for Holiday, that is found within the “Edit profile” icon.
Some crucial items are hidden within the 3-dots to the right of “Your business on Google” as seen in the photo above. The first thing listed when you click on the 3-dots is the Business Profile settings. This is where you will find who has access to your GBP, profile id and labels, the ability to mark your GBP as closed or transfer ownership, and see any linked account to your GBP such as Google Ads. If you need to transfer primary ownership from another user to yourself, the “Managers” tab is where you would want to click. This will bring up all users who have access to your profile, then click on your own access and switch it to primary owner. To learn more about transferring ownership, read more about it on the actual Google Support website.
Next, you have notifications. This is where you can change which notifications you receive emails about. These include customer messages, reviews, questions, photos, insights, etc. It is a good idea to review this section to make sure you have selected what you want to be notified for, and what you don’t. We recommend at least enabling reviews, messages, photos, questions, posts, and reminders.
You will also find within the 3-dots Google’s Terms of Services. It is a good idea to be aware of these if you are making edits and updates to your GBP yourself. You do not want to do something that is against the ToS to land yourself in suspension. If you do get suspended, it typically takes around a week to get your account back up and running.
Certain Performance Indicators Have Changed or Vanished
Hopefully, you didn’t really enjoy seeing the “How customers search for your business” metrics because they are gone. You can longer see within the GBP NMX whether your searches are coming in as Direct, Discovery, or Branded. The pie chart is gone and there is no sign of it returning. No worries, Weaver Virtual Solutions can still obtain this data via our API with GBP and provide it within our reporting dashboard that you receive monthly. So while you won’t be able to see it within the NMX, you will still get the data from us monthly if you are on our SEO plan.
Is There Any Way To Get To The Old Dashboard
Nope! The old dashboard is gone and Google has made no mention of its return. It seems we will be getting used to the change and using the NMX moving forward. No need to worry, once you get comfortable using the NMX, Google will be sure to change it and you will get to learn a whole new dashboard. The only thing we can do is adapt and overcome and continue to dominate SEO results, and we are here for it.
If you need help managing your GBP, we would love to help. We specialize in SEO & Online Marketing for insurance agents. Our services are fantastic and we prove it through our results. 100% of our clients that have been with us for 1 year have seen an increase in their phone calls and website visits. Results-driven is our middle name. If you would like to have a quick call to discuss your current situation and what we can provide you, feel free to complete our contact form, or book a time directly at the URL below.