Google Now Lets You Approve Changes to Your Business Profile Before They Go Live

Google is putting a checkpoint in front of one of the more annoying parts of running a Google Business Profile: other people suggesting changes to it.

In short: verified profile owners now get a say before certain suggested edits go live, not just a chance to notice and fix them after the fact.

What's changed

Google is rolling out a safeguard for Google Business Profile. Verified, active profile owners now get an email alert before certain suggested edits, things like business name, address, hours or category, go live, with the option to approve or reject the change before it appears publicly.

Previously, a lot of these edits could go live first and get noticed later, sometimes well after they'd already shown up in search or on Maps.

What it means for Tassie businesses

Name, address and category accuracy are exactly the local SEO factors search relies on most. A wrong suggested edit used to mean finding out after the fact, sometimes after it had already confused customers or affected how a business showed up in search.

“It is handy for business owners to know what changes are made, particularly given that sometimes changes are based on genuine customer or client feedback,” says Dominic Anastasio, Owner and Creative Director of Hobart web design business Wakeford Digital. “They've obviously spotted something and proposed a change, and then that comes through. Actually getting notified about it is really handy.”

Our take

“We know the importance, particularly in the Hobart and Tasmania market, of keeping a Google Business Profile up to date. Things like name, address and place consistency are really important factors when it comes to ranking for local SEO,” Dom says. “This is a really welcome change for businesses. We regularly maintain and check over our clients' Google Business Profiles, but changes can occur outside of that. This is definitely a welcome change.”

If you're not already checking your own Google Business Profile and local SEO on a regular basis, this is a good reminder to start, approval step or not.