Google has updated its business redressal complaint form over here to add “this business doesn’t exist” as an option on why you think the business listing is fraudulent. This gives you one more way to communicate to Google why the business listing should be removed from Google Search and Google Maps.

You can see the new option, which was added over the past several days, in the form in the screenshot below.

The previous options. The older options were not removed, they just added “this business doesn’t exist” the existing options which include:

• Title
• Address
• Phone number
• Website

What is the business redressal form? Google said you can use this form “if you come across misleading information or fraudulent activity on Google Maps related to the name, phone number, or URL of a business.” Google said, “you may use this form to submit a complaint. Complaints submitted through this form will be reviewed in accordance with our guidelines for representing businesses on Google Maps.”

Why we care. Google Maps and local search business listings have their fair share of spam and fraudulent information. This gives you one more way to communicate to Google that a specific business listing is fake and should not show up in Google Maps or Google Search.

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When Google rebranded from Google My Business To Google Business Profiles, the search company said it would push businesses to manage their listings directly in Google Search and Google Maps. But it also said the Google Business Profile Manager tool will stick around for larger businesses with multiple locations, and will be renamed “Business Profile Manager.” 

Well, that might not be the case. When you now login to the Google Business Profile manager, even if you manage many locations, you will get a notice that says “from early 2022, you can no longer manage your business here.”

What it looks like. Here is a screenshot of the notice that says:

Managing your Business Profile is moving to Search and Maps. From early 2022, you can no longer manage your business here. Google Business Profile Manager is changing to make management easier. You can now access everything directly on Search and Maps

Stay here. What happens when you click on “stay here.” Well, you are taken to a short poll asking you if you tried to manage your business listings in Google Search or on Google Maps. If you say yes, it asks you if you want to continue to use Google Business Profile manager or not – in which I said yes, please.

Why we care. Using Google Business Profile manager to maintain and update your business listings is much more efficient and straight forward than doing so directly in Google Search and Google Maps. We do suspect that Google will improve the user experience for maintaining your business directly in Google Search and Google Maps. But there is something to be said about having a list of all the businesses you manage in a single location without having to search for the listing in Google Search or Google Maps.

Will this feature go away soon? I suspect for many it will but hopefully there will be a new portal for larger businesses with many locations and local SEOs that manage many locations to use going forward.

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Google said that is can use machine learning and AI to update the business hours of local listings when the search company thinks the hours listed are inaccurate. Google wrote “we developed a machine learning model that automatically identifies if business hours are likely wrong, then instantly updates them with AI-generated predictions.”

Why do we care. This is why it is important to regularly, on a consistent basis, review your business hours listed for your business listing but in Google Business Profiles and how searchers see it listed in Google. If Google changes your business details and hours, you can quickly update it in Google Business Profiles. This is just good local SEO practice in general because your listing details may change through Google’s AI or other edits done by Google Local Guides or searcher’s suggested edits.

How it works. How does Google change your listing with machine learning? Google said it looks at multiple factors to determine if the hours listed for a local listing is accurate. These include:

• When was the last time the business updated their business profile
• What other local business hours are set to
• The Popular Times information for that local listing (real user traffic)
• Street View images look specifically for business hour signs on the door

Then if there is conflicting information, Google may go ahead and update the hours automatically.

20 million businesses. Google said the company is on track to update the business hours of “over 20 million businesses around the globe in the next six months using AI.”

Google also uses Duplex to automatically call businesses to verify hours and other details.

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Google has opened up the Google Business Profiles maps reviews tool to those who manage more than 10 accounts, according to Ben Fisher, a local SEO and Google product expert.

Google’s reviews management tool lets you more efficiently go through reviews that you want to claim as being against Google’s reviews guidelines and also check the status of the reviews you reported. When the tool was released a year ago, it was only available to accounts that managed up to 10 Google Business Profiles.

How to access the tool. You can access the tool here. Step one is to select your business, then select if you want to check the status of a reported review or if you want to report a new review for a takedown. Then you can go through the process, which has not changed in a year, as documented here.

Here is a screenshot of the first step – if you manage two or more businesses, you will see the option to select which business you would like to process reviews for:

Available to more. Like we said, previously this feature was not available to those who managed a lot of Google Business Profiles but now it is. So local SEO agencies, companies that have a lot of local listings and those who manage more than 10 listings, can now use this tool.

Why we care. Before a year ago, there was no real way to see the status of reviews you submitted for a takedown in an organized fashion. This tool makes it easier to report reviews, appeal review decisions and check the status of reported reviews. Now it can be used by any company of any size that needs it – local SEOs who manages reviews for their clients and larger organizations that have a lot of local listings.

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Google has a new recycling attribute label you may be able to add to your Google Business Profile, the company announced. This attribute can be used to highlight if your business offers recycling services for its customers.

Google said this makes “it easier than ever for people to find nearby recycling points on Search and Maps.”

What it looks like. You may be able to see examples of this in the wild for queries such as [battery recycling near me] or similar kind queries. But here is an example from Google on what this new attribute looks like:

How do I add it. You can add this new attribute to your local business profile by logging into your Google Business Profile account, clicking on the info tab and then selecting attributes. If you see the recycling attribute, you can select it and save it to your profile. If you do not see it, that means your business category does not support it for your business.

Please note:

• Some attributes are only available in certain countries or regions, or to certain categories of businesses. For example, depending on the type of business, you might find attribute options for acceptable payment types, accessibility options, or whether the business is LGBTQ+ friendly.
• Attribute names may change over time to better match the ways that people search for businesses.

Why we care. Any icon or label you can add to your Google search listings can help improve your overall click through rates and potentially drive more traffic, customers and sales to your business. So make sure to add all the appropriate attributes to your local listing to gain those icons and labels in your Google Maps and Google Search local listings.

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Google announced it will now show you some healthcare providers appointment availability and give you the ability to book an appointment directly through Google Search. This currently only works in the US and it seems to be limited to one pilot private, MinuteClinic at CVS, but Google hopes to expand this to additional providers in the future.

Hema Budaraju, the lead of Google Health and Social Impact, said Google Search is rolling out a feature “that shows the appointment availability for healthcare providers so you can easily book an appointment.” “You might see available appointment dates and times for doctors in your area,” Google wrote.

What this looks like. Here is a screenshot of the new “appointments” tab in the local pack that lets you filter to see healthcare providers that offer online booking options. It lets you pick various options for what medical attention you require:

Here is a GIF of it in action:

Which provides are included. Google said it is working with partners including MinuteClinic at CVS and a number of other scheduling solution providers. Google added that it “we hope to expand features, functionality and our network of partners so we can make it easier for people to get the care they need.”

Health in Search. A few months ago, Google enabled the ability to help you find healthcare providers that take your insurance coverage. So this is the next step in Google’s journey to help people with healthcare.

Why we care. Eventually, Google will open up these options to all healthcare providers and when they do, if you or your clients would benefit from this option, you will want to integrate these booking options and also insurance options, as soon as possible.

If you are using a scheduling or booking service for your medical practice, maybe reach out to them for an ETA on when they will be integrating with Google Search. We will keep you posted on this feature as it expands to other providers and solutions.

This can potentially lead to more visits and patients for your healthcare providers.

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Google Business Profiles is rolling out a new business attribute under a new category called “emergency help” where you can say if your business or organization accepts donations, employs refugees, needs volunteers or offers free products or services.

What it looks like. Here is a screenshot from Krystal Taing on Twitter of the new attributes:

How to access it. You may be able to access these new attributes by logging into your Google Business Profile account, clicking on the “Info” tab and then scrolling down to edit your “Attributes.” All you need to do it click on the pencil icon to open up the available attributes to your business.

Don’t see it? If you do not see it, you are not alone. I personally do not see this in for my business listing and I suspect many of you don’t either. It might be a slow rollout of this attribute or it may be only available to certain types of businesses or organizations or to certain businesses or organizations in specific regions.

Partoo noted that these attributes are not available for all industries, plus more of this is noted on the Google blog post here. Ben Fisher told me this is restricted to Ukraine and surrounding regions and shared this hotel specific help document from Google.

Hotel accommodations. This week, Google also released new attributes for hotel listings in Google Hotel search to define if they have free or discounted rooms available for those displaced from Ukraine. Here is a screenshot of that:

Why we care. This may be an excellent way for you to highlight how your business or organization can help refugees and in general with the Ukraine crisis. In addition, your business or organization may see special icons in their business listings in Google Maps and Search when these attributes are added. I have yet to see how these attributes are reflected to searchers on the frontend.

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Google is testing displaying in some local panel listing results within search if the local details of the business have been confirmed. Google is adding a label to the local listing that says “confirmed by phone” followed by when it was last confirmed; such as 8 weeks ago.

What it looks like. Here is a screenshot I captured based on Saijo George spotting this and posting about it on Twitter:

As you can see, it says this business listing was “confirmed by phone call 8 weeks ago.”

Duplex. It is possible that these are the phone calls Google automatically places to businesses to confirm that the business is open, that the phone number still works and the hour of operations are correct. This may be powered by Google Duplex or humans at Google or both.

How to get the label. You might ask, how can you get this label added to your local listing? The truth is, you do not have control over that label. Google has to call you, you have to answer and respond to the call and then Google has to decide if they want to add the label to your listing.

Why we care. It is unclear if this feature will stick and if this label actually improves searcher trust and maybe clicks and interactions with the local business listing. But it is cool to see the various pieces of Google Duplex, Business Profiles, Web Search and more all start to come together in a single interface.

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