Manage Google Business Account - Google forcing businesses with multiple locations to manage on Search

[seaniaaa]

Hello all. I very very clearly remember multiple sources confirming that GBP users with multiple locations would NOT be forced to manage businesses on Search or Maps. I very specifically combed through all the information coming out around the shutdown of the GMB app to make sure, since this would greatly impact how we do business. We are now being automatically redirected to Search whenever we select a listing on the GBP manager. Our locations are ungrouped. Any tips for getting this to stop? Is the only choice to set up an agency account? Do location groups stop it? Any feedback is appreciated. This was an overnight switch that hit us out of nowhere in the last few days. And we have over a thousand individual verified listings in our account. Many are individual businesses but there are plenty with multiple locations.

 

[JoyHawkins]

The agency dashboard is still a thing and if you want a list of businesses, visit Update your browser to manage your Business Profile - Google Business Profile Help

 

[seaniaaa]

The agency dashboard is still a thing and if you want a list of businesses, visit Update your browser to manage your Business Profile - Google Business Profile Help

Hey Joy, thanks for chiming in. So unfortunately, it gives us the list of businesses as normal, but then re-directs us every time we try to open a listing from GBP Manager. Have you heard anything about this? Like I said, from what I remember, Google very clearly said they wouldn't do this for businesses with multiple locations.
I guess we might have to got to the trouble of setting up an agency account and migrating everything over. If anyone has any feedback on ways to avoid that, we'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Google confirmed on Friday this is working as intended. You can still see the businesses in a list format using the link above but clicking on each listing will now take you to the dashboard in search.

 

[SaraGarrison]

Frankly, this is an awful user experience for bulk users. We use the API for our bulk clients of course but still manage individual profiles in GBP all day every day - for junk "Google Updates" especially. With some clients having 10k+ listings...managing in Search is bonkers. What a Halloween "trick."

 

[seaniaaa]

Just to validate myself a bit and establish that this is a major about face on Google's part: Google Business Profile Manager Is Going Away Early 2022 (Updated: Not Going Away)

 

[JoyHawkins]

The Business Profile Manager isn't gone so that article is correct. What is gone is the ability to edit a listing in the interface. You can still find listings there via the link I posted and you can do bulk edits. I agree the messaging was confusing but it's not wrong.

 

[SaraGarrison]

"You'll have access to the dashboard" but you just won't be able to do much of anything in there. I know Google is bad at communicating but that messaging is so misleading it's comical.

 

[RobSEO]

"You'll have access to the dashboard" but you just won't be able to do much of anything in there. I know Google is bad at communicating but that messaging is so misleading it's comical.

Agreed Sara, it's an absolute nightmare trying to do anything from the search window. I can't even imagine trying to do this as a business owner! It took me 15 minutes to find out where the post option had gone. And now the metrics and analysis is more cumbersome than ever before. We also have limited post photo editing options. It's a real downgrade to the service so I'm hoping this gets resolved in the next day or two. As you said, makes managing more than one account almost impossible.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Based on everything Google has said, the old interface isn't coming back. They are open to suggestions for things you find difficult in the new interface (like someone pointed out you can't crop photos in posts). If you have a feature you want them to add, I can let them know.

 

[kathleen.rhodes]

@JoyHawkins I can't find a way to edit a Google website. There's something I need to change on a site that a client has, and there doesn't seem to be a way either in the dashboard "pencil" option or in search to access the Google website. Am I missing something? Thanks.

 

[keyserholiday]

@JoyHawkins can you ask Google to put out official comms on this? I am being asked to share or link to an official comms and there isn't one.

 

[JoyHawkins]

They almost never put out official comms lol. I'll ask but I wouldn't hold your breath.

 

[Claudia]

It is not ideal for agencies managing multiple clients. I suppose we will get used to it. @JoyHawkins we need to be able to view photos prior to uploading more. Many times we upload a new photo but its not published right away. This is causing us to upload some duplicates.

 

[Annika Neudecker]

I wish they would at least make it so the listings you click from your agency dashboard open in a new tab. Even better if we could actually search in the "Your Business Profiles" pop-up you get off the SERP management page. It feels like an unnecessary and clunky change so they wouldn't have to spend time updating two interfaces.

 

[keyserholiday]

I wish they would at least make it so the listings you click from your agency dashboard open in a new tab. Even better if we could actually search in the "Your Business Profiles" pop-up you get off the SERP management page. It feels like an unnecessary and clunky change so they wouldn't have to spend time updating two interfaces.

Use right-click and select open in a new tab.

 

[Annika Neudecker]

Use right-click and select open in a new tab.

That's what I'm doing. I mean that it would be nice if it opened in a new tab by default rather than having to right click. A really minor complaint in the grand scheme of things!

Here's an actual question: How do we pull the link to our business from the new dashboard? I'm looking specifically for the one which looks like "google. com/maps?cid=######". You used to be able to grab that by clicking "View my business on maps" in the dashboard but I'm not seeing anything like that now, just the Share button, which doesn't produce the same type of URL. We use the clean URLs for internal reference to specific listings.

 

[Matt Chauhan]

I can't see the old photos published within the dashboard, nor can I see my old Google posts. This change really sucks!

 

[Mark Mitchell]

Bravo Google for taking something that worked well and making it a stupid list that does nothing helpful, reviews, updates, and user management are all gone as far as I can tell.

 

[seaniaaa]

That's what I'm doing. I mean that it would be nice if it opened in a new tab by default rather than having to right click. A really minor complaint in the grand scheme of things!

Here's an actual question: How do we pull the link to our business from the new dashboard? I'm looking specifically for the one which looks like "google. com/maps?cid=######". You used to be able to grab that by clicking "View my business on maps" in the dashboard but I'm not seeing anything like that now, just the Share button, which doesn't produce the same type of URL. We use the clean URLs for internal reference to specific listings.

GatherUp has a great chrome extension for this. While viewing the business from Search or Maps, you just activate it and it pulls a Leave a Review link and the CID link. However, for SABs, you have to use it from Search, it will not pull it from Maps because the Place ID is not attached on Maps for SABs.

Edit: a quick tip, you do have to wait ~3-5 seconds for the maps/search listing to fully load all elements before you trigger the extension.