Naming changes for COVID-19

[Peter Hill]

I know that adding additional language to your business name is generally considered keyword stuffing. However I have noticed a number of major chains (Office Depot and Kohl's for example) adding "Curbside only" or "Pickup available" to their names during COVID-19.

What are everyones' thoughts on this? Is this something Google might be temporarily allowing or are people rolling the dice to get extra visibility? (And what is the potential risk to doing so?)

 

[keyserholiday]

Google temporarily allowed it. As quickly as they did, the just as quickly ended it. All name edits are now going into permanent pending status. Google needs to manually review all edits and that process is taking longer to complete.

 

[keyserholiday]

I am hearing of a handful of cases where businesses are having success making and apply edits. The majority of listings awaiting pending review will need to keep waiting for Google to clear the backlog. It will be awhile.

 

[Peter Hill]

I got this to work for one of my locations this morning. Curious though, how risky is this strategy?

 

[krystaltaing]

I would error on the side of caution and only add very specific verbiage that needs to be communicated if your core service offerring has changed. For example, if you're a restaurant or store that used to allow customers to come in but only offer pick up now, this would be a candidate. Just note that guidelines have not changed so there's always a small risk with making this change. Just keep an eye on your listings