Google My Business: Update on Notifications

Google update notifications

Google doesn’t always let us know when they’re planning on changing something around but this time we got an update in the way of a forum posting by one of Google’s community managers.

By acknowledging that sometimes notifications for Google My Business accounts are something that are an annoyance rather than useful, they’re switching the system around.

Notifications will now be divided into primary and secondary segments, with secondary updates being held back in a sub-filter to allow primary updates the spotlight they deserve.

What is a Secondary Update?

Google My Business updates will be marked as secondary updates if they are for a non-sensitive attribute or if you as the owner have not added the value yourself.

If you’re confused about where these updates are, this change is only visible in the classic dashboard for now. This means that your to-do section won’t list every little thing anymore, just the most important updates that need your attention.

Which is not to say you’ll never see those lesser updates ever again—you can check on them by visiting the editor or selecting the “Secondary updates” sub-filter in your updates filter view.

GMB Updates in the Past Year

2017 saw quite a few changes come to the Google My Business page and we’re expecting a lot more in 2018 after this latest one. In case you missed it, this is what we saw in terms of updates in the past year:

  • January started off with an update making it easier for businesses with multiple locations
  • March updated business accessibility details and ability to share that information
  • April provided users with more insights on how customers are finding them
  • June saw a major update giving businesses better customer communication with direct-from-listing news sharing
  • July helped with photo optimization
  • August allowed users to interact directly with you through your GMB listing
  • October brought in third party integration options
  • November gave businesses more scope for describing themselves to clients

As important and sometimes scary as updates seem from the start, in the end it’s pretty easy to forget about them. Looking back on the past year and looking forward to the year ahead, we can only hope that Google has even more great updates for us to look forward to!

Smoother Operations Going Ahead

It’s nice to know that as Google works to make their search smoother and more accurate they’re still keeping in mind the users who add the content their search is made for.

The secondary update change will help to make important updates stand out more and to remove unnecessary updates that are simply taking up room in your brain.

Here’s to 2018 and a lot more positive changes for Google My Business users!

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