Google's looking to make it easier for businesses to manage their Google listings, with a new option to manage how your company appears in Google search direct from the search results themselves.
As you can see here, new options have been added which enable you to edit your info, add photos and create mini-posts (more on those here) all direct from the search listing.
To utilize the new option, you first need to be logged into your Google business account.
If you're logged in under the correct profile, you then need to:
- Find your business on Google Search - when you see your business listed, you'll see the new, simple menu right above the search results.
- Click the edit button and the fields you can update will be highlighted.
Google will also provide prompts on information to include (or not) to enhance your listing.
It's the latest in Google's efforts to make their search results seemingly more social, which aligns with user search trends, as more and more people are now searching for business information on social platforms. For example, Facebook now facilitates more than 2 billion searches per day, while Pinterest says searches on their platform have increased 40% year-on-year.
Both, of course, pale in comparison to the estimated 5.5 billion searches Google handles each day, but still, every search that doesn't come to Google is another opportunity for users to get a better experience elsewhere - and as such, Google's been working to add more to their search listings in order to ensure they provide all the same, or similar, information users might be able to get through other providers.
That seems to have been the impetus behind their mini-posts which appear in search results, adding more context via social media-like updates within the SERP.
They've also added in more user-friendly discovery tools within their app, which align with the algorithm surfaced approach that's worked so well for Facebook. And now these new business tools, which provide an easier, more direct way to upload content to enhance your Google search presentation. Much like you would add content to your Facebook Page.
Definitely, there's a lot of appeal to the new option, and it'll make things much easier, particularly for those business owners who aren't as technically minded. Again, the advantage of social platforms is that it's all straightforward and direct - you upload a photo and you can see it on your page - whereas the data pulled by Google to display in your search results is not as easy to understand, or control.
This new option helps in this respect - worth checking out for your business.