Updating Google My Business During COVID-19
Many businesses across the United States and around the world have had to shut down temporarily due to COVID-19. If your business is one of those, then it’s important that you update your Google My Business profile accordingly. Doing so also updates Google Maps and most importantly, keeps your audience updates on your current state.
How to Update Your Listing
If you manage your own listing, there are a couple things you should keep at the top of your mind when working with Google My Business. First, you should update your hours and create daily or weekly posts. The posts show underneath your business information on mobile or desktop. This is the PERFECT place to update people on how you’re operating through this challenging time.
You can provide updates such as:
● If you are open or closed.
● When you anticipate re-opening.
● If your customers might experience service or shipping delays.
● How your company is reaching out to the community.
Google has also temporarily added a field for those who are “temporarily closed” which you should activate if that applies to your business. Even though this may be a tough thing to do, as a business you should keep everyone in the loop on what is happening to be transparen.
How Will Closure Affect Local SEO?
Google has said that marking a business “temporarily closed” will not affect a company’s local search rankings. However, pickup and delivery services will not display if your company is marked “temporarily closed.”
So, if you own a restaurant or other business with curbside delivery, do not activate that field. Technically, you are still open for business.
Google Business Functionality Limited due to COVID-19
Google is also making efforts to limit the spread of the virus among their employees. Because of this, many are working remotely or on furlough. As a result, Google has stated that some changes and functionality of the Google Business listings might be delayed.
“Our current focus is on the quality and reliability of the information on Google Search and Maps. We want to ensure users and business owners have access to essential features like whether the business is open or has special hours. Learn about best practices for affected businesses, and what you can do to keep your customers informed.” – Google
Let Us Help!
If you need guidance on how best to market and communicate with customers during this unprecedented event, give us a call. The team at Inque Media can help you update your website or Google Business listing. We can also strategize on how to market your website once things return to business as usual.
Inque Media specializes in Local SEO and can help you build a local SEO strategy for your business. Contact us for an assessment and see how you can improve your online visibility and consequently, increase store traffic.
Natalie Thibault
Owner of Inque Media
