Google My Business Agency Dashboard - Is it worth switching yet?

[Tim Colling]

I have a relatively small set of GMB listings in my "classic" gmb dashboard. Most of them are for one-location clients but a few are for multi-location clients. For many of them, I am the account owner (I know, I know, that's probably a bad thing) but a fair number are "owned" by the clients.

Is it worth the hassle of changing over to the new agency dashboard in a case like mine?

Thanks for any input that you have for me.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Hey Tim,

Now that GMB launched the agency migration tool last week I would say yes it is worth it.

Google My Business Launches a Migration Tool for the Agency Dashboard - Sterling Sky Inc

 

[Tim Colling]

Hey Tim,

Now that GMB launched the agency migration tool last week I would say yes it is worth it.

Google My Business Launches a Migration Tool for the Agency Dashboard - Sterling Sky Inc

Thanks, Colan.

Will I need to create a new email address on my own domain to be the new "owner" of the agency dashboard?

 

[Colan Nielsen]

You should not need to do that, no. There was a time when that was the case but if I recall correctly the migration tool solved that challenge.

 

[Tim Colling]

You should not need to do that, no. There was a time when that was the case but if I recall correctly the migration tool solved that challenge.

Great news. Thanks, Colan.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

You're welcome, Tim. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Tim Colling]

Well, it did not go so well. I had to utilize a different email address in my G Suite account, it would not allow me to just open it with a plain gmail account. After that, I was able to add a newly-created gmail address to the new account.

However, now for every location in the old account for which I request access while logged in using the gmail address, I am required to enter the address info and answer the SAB-or-not questions, and then I'm told to wait for a verification postcard to arrive.

Verification postcard? Is that what happens for everyone else?

Sheesh!

 

[JoyHawkins]

@Tim Colling you shouldn't have to request access to each listing. Do you see the migration tool in the dashboard? It's possible it's not in there yet but I would reach out to GMB to see if they could activate it if that's the case. With the migration tool it should move over all listings with just a couple clicks (there is a couple days waiting period after you initiate).

The article Colan linked to has screenshots showing what you're looking for.

 

[Tim Colling]

First of all, @JoyHawkins and @Colan Nielsen, let me say that I appreciate your help!

So, when I view my agency dashboard, here's what I see.

There's nothing called "Migration", so I will ask GMB support to add it to my agency dashboard.

Notice thought that there is the item circled in the above screen shot, "Got existing locations to transfer?" If I go there, then it begins a process by which eventually it requires me to enter the street address etc for the location I want to request access to. Basically, that tool finishes by promising to send me a verification PIN postcard and it never actually sends a request for access to the other dashboard.

I will try calling GMB support about this. I happened to be on the phone with them this morning about a different matter and so I asked the support engineer about this migration tool issue, but she ended up promising to email me some links. I'm not very optimistic about those helping, so I expect to be calling them again today to get a second opinion.

Life as usual with new-ish Google tools. <sigh>

 

[JoyHawkins]

Hey @Tim Colling the picture you've listed does have a different title than my view but the description is the same which makes me think it is the same thing. It shouldn't prompt you to verify a listing though. It should prompt you to log into another Google account that you want to transfer all the listings from. Would it be possible to shoot a quick video showing what happens after you click it?

 

[Tim Colling]

Hey @Tim Colling...Would it be possible to shoot a quick video showing what happens after you click it?

Sure!

 

[JoyHawkins]

Okay after watching the first 60 seconds I can confirm that you do not have access to the migration tool yet. Let me know what GMB tells you as far as adding it to your account. I would wait until you get access to it before attempting to move locations over. Doing it manually is a GIANT pain in the butt.

 

[Tim Colling]

So I called. Twice.

The first time, the support person didn't understand what I was talking about so she promised to send me a link with the information I would need. The link she sent me was:

Google Help

But when I go to that link, it redirects to Google Help, which is the main landing page for Google Help.

Not helpful.

The second time I called, I got a person who sent me a link to a page that talked about the "request access" tool that I described in my earlier post. She didn't seem to know what I was talking about. So, she said that sometimes it takes up to 48 hours for all the features to populate in a Google My Business dashboard and that I should wait at least 48 hours after creating the dashboard before calling support about it. I created this dashboard a little over 24 hours ago so it's hard to argue with her.

Then she rushed the call end, saying, well please wait for the survey after this call and then the connection died without any survey.

I will wait until tomorrow before bothering them with asking for support.

Not feelin' the GMB support love right now.

 

[Tim Colling]

Update five hours later:

Well, the migration tool appeared in my new agency dashboard. Woot!

I requested to have all of the locations in my "personal" dashboard migrated to my new agency dashboard. It accepted the request, displaying this on the screen:

Transfer request submitted successfully​

Your request will be reviewed soon. The process usually takes around 48 hours.​

You’ll get an email at your A Servant's Heart Web Design and Marketing account when the transfer is done.​

 

[JoyHawkins]

Yay!! If you have any other issues with the agency dashboard, I strongly suggest using this form to contact GMB. It will get you to the right team who specifically deals with issues related to the agency dashboard.

 

[Tim Colling]

Today, four days after I created a new agency dashboard, all of my locations have apparently been added to it from my old "personal" dashboard.

Hooray!

Thanks to @Colan Nielsen and @JoyHawkins for your help, suggestions and encouragement