Google My Business After the Dust: What Experts Say Now - Videos & Opinions

[Linda Buquet]

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The dust has settled on the Google My Business update and leading local search experts have had time to work with the new platform and form opinions.

I wanted to share a round up of what some of the brightest minds in the business have to say about GMB (including some of the more critical opinions) and will quote a couple of the most important insights they share.

The 1st 2 posts are really good ones, I think many of you may have missed. The 3rd is from Mike and I'm sure most of you read that one. There are 2 good videos at the bottom as well.

<a href="http://streetfightmag.com/2014/06/19/why-google-my-business-helps-but-doesnt-fix-local-for-smbs/">Why ‘Google My Business’ Helps, But Doesn’t Fix, Local for SMBs</a>
Street Fight

For several years now, Google’s local portal for small businesses has undergone a series of transformations that have confused business owners and frustrated local service providers...

In sum, local has been an unfriendly corner of the Google universe — ironically so for a company that prides itself on simplicity and ease of use, and doubly ironic given that in the same timeframe Maps has grown in status as the gold standard for local search, innovating miles in front of the competition and pouring massive resources into ensuring accuracy and usability for the consumer.

...This is not to discount but merely to put into perspective the Google My Business announcement. It’s a welcome step forward, but local for SMBs remains a backwater in Google’s eyes.

<a href="http://www.simpartners.com/google-my-business/">Google My Business - The Future of Google’s Local Business Strategy?</a>
SIM Partners

My Business improves usability on the backend with an updated Plus dashboard layout and some new features, but the real takeaway should be that it points to Google’s commitment to the local business space and its future direction to invest in this space...

The other main area to tackle next would be the bulk experience, as previously mentioned. Bulk users should be able to take full advantage of the My Business dashboard on an account level, which is currently not feasible as all of the business apps are built into the listing level. The bulk upload and management process needs to better meld with the Plus platform...

With My Business, Google seems to be intentionally carving out a space for business owners,and my hope is that this is a strong move showing their investment in serving SMB needs going forward.

<a href="http://blumenthals.com/blog/2014/06/13/google-my-business-lets-not-stop-here-my-wish-list-for-upgrades/">Google My Business – Let’s Not Stop Here – My Wish List for Upgrades</a>
Mike Blumenthal

Google’s recent My Business rollout puts a very strong product in the hands of the SMB – mobile social posting to business pages, additional social analytics, easy to update local information. It finally solves most of the issues that have haunted Local since 2011. If it isn’t obvious I think it is a well done, forward facing product with legs. And one that, unbeknownst to many, was one of modern computing’s most amazing technical pivots (but that is a tale for another day).

Obviously Google is allocating significant resources to My Business. Given a taste of what it can be I now want more (ah the curse of rising expectations).

Below is a Hangout with some leading industry experts discussing the impact on local search consultants, in terms of how this changes communicating with clients and getting the job done.

I was invited, but since my voice was not working well yet and I was multi-tasking, helping people in other places at the same time, I didn't join the actual hangout and was just helping people in chat with questions.

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And here is a video walk through by BrightLocal

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I just did a video overview of all the changes for my Pro training clients. I Highlighted some of the new features that are super cool, that folks may have missed as well as some gotchas you need to be aware of. But alas I'm having Vimeo problems, so have not been able to upload it yet.

This video will be part of my new "Advanced Google My Business Training".

Last but not least, if you somehow missed my initial GMB announcement which has everything you need to know sorted and categorized and is 88 posts long now, here it is:

<a href="http://localsearchforum.catalystemarketing.com/google-local-important/18964-google-my-business-launches-goodbye-places-business.html">Google "My Business" Launches! Goodbye Places for Business! HUGE Google Update!</a>

I also started a new hashtag for #googlemybusiness related tips and news so you can find all new info on GMB in one place.


YOUR 2 Cents???

What are your thoughts now that you've had a chance to work with GMB for awhile???


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