Managing your Google My Business listing

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Your establishment or business has been forced to close its doors during this period of confinement, it is necessary to update your Google My Business file to best inform your customers and prospects.

In a previous article, we explained how to communicate in a crisis ( read the article here ). Following this, we give you best practices for updating your Google My Business listing.

A Google My Business profile, what is it?
Google My Business is similar to a directory that groups together all businesses and companies. Completely free, this service offered by Google allows you to be displayed at the top right in the search results. Name, address, website, hours, reviews, posts, the file contains a lot of important information about your establishment. Generally, you must own the file in order france phone number list to manage your establishment as you see fit, but an agency can also have co-ownership in order to assist you in its administration.

Following recent events related to the Coronavirus, your business may be affected, it is then necessary to indicate this on your profile. Note that all the tips and solutions presented below require having ownership of the Google My Business Profile.


Update your opening hours
Your establishment is closed or your opening hours have changed following the regulations imposed by the government, you must then update your profile. In the middle of a lockdown period, it is necessary to display the correct opening hours so as not to disappoint your potential customers who can travel. It is also possible to indicate that your establishment is temporarily closed.

Change your schedule
Log in to Google My Business, if you have multiple locations you must open the one you want to update.
Click on “Info” in the menu on the left.
Then select “schedules”.
You can then choose between “open” or “closed” depending on the days of the week and indicate the hours depending on the days of the week.
Validate your changes to make them visible.
Establishment temporarily closed
Do you want to display your establishment as temporarily closed?
Please note that in normal times, you just need to contact a Google advisor to make the change. However, during this crisis, it is difficult to have someone online, as staff numbers have decreased in all businesses.
So we have a little tip for you. You can opt for your business to open soon. This allows you to maintain visibility on Google while noting your establishment as closed for the time being.
For the opening date, it is up to you to choose the one that seems most suitable to you. This can be changed later.


Manage and edit property information
Your establishment's information is presented in a short description. If Covid-19 directly impacts your business, you have the possibility to update your description. For example, you can indicate the preventive measures and precautions applied within the company or indicate the additional services offered.

Update your description
Log in to Google My Business, if you have multiple locations you need to open the one you want to update.
Click on “Info” in the menu on the left.
If you don't have a description click on " Add establishment description" , if you already have one, click on it.
Edit your description with the desired information and validate.
Communicate via visible post on your profile
Google offers to add posts from your My Business profile. This format allows you to add text and an image and will remain visible for about fifteen days in the search results. Very practical for communicating, it is a good option to use during this period of confinement. You can provide important information to your customers and prospects.

Create a post
Log in to Google My Business, if you have multiple locations you must open the one you want to update.
Click on “Post” in the menu on the left.
You can then “ add an offer , add a new feature , add an event or add a product” .
Add text, an image and validate the post. It is then visible at the bottom of the Google My Business file.