In Mid October Google launched the first version of an API for Google My Business Listings to a limited audience. The good news is that Google has announced a new API named Google My Business API that is open to anyone and comes with a raft of new features that will remove much of the manual management of Google My Business listings that you may have previously endured.
So what are the key benefits of Google My Business Listings API?
There are a collection of fantastic features that will drive automation of your Google My Business listings. Local listings are hugely important in driving business prominence and local SEO performance, so anything that reduces manual workload has to be beneficial right?
The first key feature is the ability to programatically create and edit business locations and associated information like name, address, contact information and business hours. You can even manage special hours where your time periods or operational hours differ from normal business hours.
Define the area your business locations serve by specifying a single location or a broader radius with place IDs. The API also enables you to list, invite or remove managers on certain locations or business accounts, and can identify Google updated, suspended or duplicate locations.
Increase your businesses exposure and support your company brand with a collection of photos that demonstrate or represent your business activities or personality.
There are a few features that have been overlooked by Google in the latest release of the API. These include the creation of business accounts, reviews, insights, the ability to request ownership of a particular listing, as well as verification and resolution of some suspended and duplicate listing issues. We will stay tuned and let you know if these are added in the near future, but in the short term they must be manually resolved within the location dashboard.
If you are a medium to large business, particularly one with multiple locations, then the GMB API will be extremely beneficial for managing scale. As an online marketing company with a focus on Search Engine Optimisation we have found the new enhancements extremely beneficial as we continue to manage and optimise our clients websites and businesses for local SEO success.
If you are not sure how your business should be using Google My Business Listings to increase your visibility, drive qualified website traffic or to assist in improving your rankings in local search results pages, then contact us at SEO Guru and our skilled online marketing team will be in touch.