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Changes to Google Business Profiles in 2024 – how to keep up with them?

Changes to Google Business Profiles in 2024.

Google loves changes! Last year, the business introduced as many as 184 updates to Company Profiles. If you are managing a network of locations on Google Maps, you surely know what this means – implementing new features, algorithms, categories and attributes requires taking certain actions. Some modifications are welcome and others are utterly surprising, but they all have one thing in common – you have no control over them, so you have to adapt.

This article will show you what the most important changes to Business Profiles are and show you some examples from the past year. You’ll also learn about a way to ensure that your company is always up to date and doesn’t lose visibility in Google Maps – the comprehensive growAp service.

Ongoing updates to Business Profiles on Google – is it possible to be ready for them?

Implementing changes to such a widespread and popular service as Google Maps is a multi-stage process. Every modification has to be carefully considered and tested, as the search engine handles billions of queries every day, including a multitude of local queries.

What are the changes about?

The modifications include almost every part of the service and consist of, among other things:

  • adjustment of the ranking factors that determine the visibility of the Business Profiles in the search results,
  • implementation of new features that improve user interaction, 
  • adjustments of categories and attributes to meet changing market needs, and 
  • re-freshing the user interface to match the results of UX analysis,
  • the provision of more effective ways to address issues related to the management and optimisation of the Business Profile.

Once an idea is approved, each update undergoes a testing phase, usually among US users. If it passes the test, the modification is also implemented in other countries.

Why is it important to keep up to date?

It can take some time before innovations from the States reach the Polish market. Nevertheless, keeping track of changes at an early stage gives you an invaluable competitive advantage. This knowledge enables your business to adapt more quickly and effectively to new developments, which often turn out to be very technologically advanced.

Obviously, from the point of view of business card owners, updates can be somewhat cumbersome, as they require a thorough understanding of new rules and a fast response. The solution is the state-of-the-art growAp service, in which the management of your business network on Google Maps is handled by a dedicated team of specialists. 

Using growAp, your business profile (formerly: Google My Business card) can become more and more appealing in the local search area every year. In order to see the benefits of this service even more clearly, take a look at five examples of recent changes.

Types and examples of updates introduced by Google

1. Algorithm changes

Google regularly updates the algorithms that determine which Profiles and in what order they show up in search results. A number of such updates have taken place in the past year.

What do you benefit from responding rapidly? Tracking changes during the testing phase allows you to adapt your Profile strategy in advance to meet the new requirements. As a result, once a modification has been implemented in the Polish version of the search engine, the visibility of a business card can improve.

2. New features

The Google team enjoys testing and introducing new features that make Business Profiles more useful to users. However, some changes can come as a surprise, especially if you manage multiple business cards on Google Maps.

If you keep up to date with these new features, you can prepare each Profile for them in advance. This makes your business cards more attractive to users and influences a positive evaluation of your business.

  • Example. As of 2023, Google allows Profile owners to use the new address autocomplete function. It enables customers typing in a query to immediately see prompts related to the address of the business establishment. Adapting a business card to this seemingly small change can actually lead to an increase in conversions of up to 15%. Read more on this topic: Google Business Profiles Now With Add Address Autocomplete.
Autofill address.

3. New categories and attributes

Among the changes that are easy to overlook are updates to the category and attribute lists, designed to personalise the Profile more precisely. The Google team strives to ensure that each business card accurately matches the characteristics of a particular business and reaches a specific target audience.

Here are examples of the most interesting new categories and attributes on Google Business Profiles, added in various countries in 2023 (source: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/google-my-business-category-changes/).

New categories:

  • Personal chef service
  • Financial advisor
  • Musician and composer
  • Cat cafe
  • Copywriting services
  • Cash terminal
  • Tour guide

The new attributes that help define the specifics of the premises:

  • Sauna available for clients of the gym
  • Payable parking
  • Pets allowed

Quickly adjusting the Business Profile to the newly created categories and adding the missing attributes makes the business card more responsive to user intent. It can also rank higher in organic results.

4. User interface updates

The Google Maps interface has undergone several major face-lifts and minor changes are still being made to it on a regular basis. As a result, the use of Business Profiles (formerly Google Business Card) is becoming increasingly intuitive. Furthermore, successive updates affect the way in which different information – both published by the owner and provided by users – is displayed.

  • Example. Some time ago, a change appeared on Business Profiles regarding the way reviews are filtered. Now filtering them by date of addition or satisfaction level is only available from Google Maps and not, as before, directly in the search engine.

5. Change in the way Google Support is contacted

Google Support continues to improve the communication channels available to those who manage Business Profiles. These changes include, among other things, new forms to facilitate quicker resolution of issues. The verification procedures and rules for reporting various incidents (e.g. cancellations or suspensions of cancellations) have also changed in recent years.

  • Example. For a while now, emails regarding the suspension of a Google Business Profile have offered the possibility to withdraw the suspension. Being aware of the up-to-date procedures helps you to react quickly to any problems and makes communication with Google Support much easier. Read more on this topic: Google Business Profile Suspension Emails Add Appeal Option.
Profile suspension.

Keep up to date with the latest developments with growAp

The above mentioned examples are just a drop in the ocean of changes that have affected Google Business Profiles so far. Yet it doesn’t stop there – maps and business cards constitute an environment that is constantly evolving. Things that worked yesterday may no longer be relevant today. Therefore, keeping track of what’s new with Google is integral to effective Profile management. 

It is worth mentioning that any overlooked change can drastically affect the visibility of the Profile, which obviously results in lower customer interest and sales. This is why businesses that are able to react quickly to changing conditions increase their chances of maintaining their current position and gaining an advantage over their competitors. However, this is by no means easy – running a business and keeping your hand “on the pulse” at the same time can be time-consuming and stressful.

This is why many entrepreneurs have decided to use growAp, a modern service for companies that operate over a wide area and have multiple outlets on Google Maps. GrowAp’s trusted team of specialists not only monitors and implements changes; they do much more than that – they are always one step ahead of the competition, having prepared the profile in advance from a technical point of view so that any new developments can be introduced quickly.

By choosing growAp, you don’t have to be afraid of any change. Why?

  • Our growAp team is made up of experienced SEO specialists who have been managing Business Profiles for companies in various industries for many years. operate in the SEO and Google Ads industry.
  • We keep track of all the updates introduced by Google and see how they work, even before they are implemented in the Polish version of the search engine.
  • We understand which changes are particularly important in terms of Profile visibility and how to use them to increase conversions and stay ahead of the competition.
  • We effectively resolve any problems with the Profile’s performance on your behalf, contacting Google Support if necessary.

Get ready for new features in Business Profiles on Google in 2024

What changes await us in 2024? We are already experiencing a slight revolution caused by the DMA Regulation, i.e. the European Commission’s tightening of the laws on the monopolisation of the Internet. The consequences of these changes are that we will no longer move directly from Google Search to Google Maps. Business profiles, photos, reviews or information are displayed in the same way on Google. Instead, we can expect some turmoil in the Business Profiles statistics. You can read more about the changes in the article: Changes to Google Maps and Business Profiles forced by the European Union – a threat to local businesses?

All other changes we can only speculate about. However, our experience and Google’s announcements clearly indicate that the number of updates will match that of 2023 or even turn out to be 10% higher. This means a lot of work for those managing Business Profiles, and the time required to adapt to the changes increases in direct proportion to the number of outlets.

If you wish to sleep well, entrust the management of your Business Profile to professionals with years of experience. A comprehensive growAp service will help you avoid a lot of worries and allow you to devote your time and efforts to what is most important – business development. 

  • Feel free to contact our representative and see for yourself that we can help your business. We will be happy to answer any questions and suggest customised ways of cooperation.

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