Google has just announced a renaming of its Google My Business service to "Google Business Profile," a term that is likely to be much simpler and will help position the Google service for nearby businesses even better.
Google My Business was founded in 2014 with the aim of encouraging as many businesses as possible to access and complete their information online in order to be found and selected on the internet.
Since 2019, Google My Business has established itself as the service of choice for the internet presence of physical businesses, achieving the main goal set five years earlier.
The search engine's strategy has thus evolved from the moment when physical businesses were largely present on Google My Business. The Mountain View company has therefore changed its focus and wants to offer local establishments the opportunity to display as much information and services as possible on their maps to make it easier for the user to choose.
Once again, Google has achieved its goal, as 65% of searches conducted in 2020 were "no-click searches". That is, searches that generate a click on Google tools (such as Google My Business) and where the user stops on the search results page without having to search further on third party websites or platforms!
Nowadays, a company can no longer do without an entry in the Google and Maps search results. And the figures are clear: a shop entry on Google today generates 20 times more hits than a website!
So this renaming is a renaissance for Google and a testament to the importance of shop cards replacing independent company websites and physical networks.
Google My Business was a name that did not really reflect the utility and purpose of this tool.
The name "Business Profile on Google" is therefore much more representative of the interest and target audience of the tool. We no longer speak of "My Business" but of " Company Profile", literally the online business card of the physical business.