What is Google My Business ‘Direct Edit’, and What Does It Mean for Agencies?

Ben Fisher is a Platinum Product Expert for Google My Business. He’s a master of the spam redressal form, is always on top of the latest news, and loves to share his knowledge with others. Here, he explains the new ‘Direct Edit’ feature in Google My Business, or, as he’s calling it, the Transparent Merchant Experience.

In 2017, Google My Business (GMB) launched the ability to update your business information, make posts, upload photos, see how many views you have received, and more, within SERPs. The blog post they released was then titled ‘Manage your business listing without leaving Google Search.’

GMB Direct Edit Experience Example

Now fast forward to 2020, and they have upgraded the experience in a blog post titled ‘Update your Business Profile on Google Maps and Search‘. See the difference there?

The main change is how Google says what a knowledge panel is now. As of 2020, it is no longer a business “listing”, it is a business “profile”.

What is the goal of GMB Direct Edit?

The goal is to meet merchants’ expectations and not force them into using GMB web or GMB app, and therefore keep them on Google Search, as this is where these merchants want to engage with their business profiles.�

The product, Google has found based on its feedback from merchants, is the business profile, not GMB web or GMB app. 

This is because 90% of Google accounts have between one and three GMB profiles. Merchants see that this is what people are using and brings them customers: a business profile.

Internally, Google calls this the New Merchant Xperience (NMX) (They felt that ‘X’ was cooler than ‘E’). In 2017 they called it just ‘editing your business details’. In 2020 some have called it ‘direct editing’ or ‘inline editing’. 

Inline editing Google My Business

Promote Google My Business Profile

I think it is much more than just an editing experience, and I will go into why as we progress. 

I call it the ‘Transparent Merchant Experience’ (TME) as I feel this sums up the intent, research, and behavior with this Google Search and GMB feature.

“Why?â€, you ask. Well, we need to think about where this is heading by looking at some of the clues in the current form of NMX. 

According to a Google spokesperson, features include:

  • A new Performance Page that lets merchants see their customer interactions directly in Search or Maps. (Previously, merchants had to go into Google My Business to see this information.)
  • A simplified menu on Search and Maps with three sections: ‘Edit your profile’, ‘Promote your business’ (pictured above), and ‘Connect with customers’.
  • ‘Q&A’ is now available in the main menu, giving merchants direct access to questions that customers have asked about their business. This feature also lets merchants post Frequently Asked Questions about their business themselves.
  • Two new ways to easily access your Business Profile on Search: first, by searching for the name of the business (no need to include your business’ address in your search), and secondly, by searching for “my business.†On the Maps app, there is a new item in the account menu called ‘Your Business Profile’, which brings you directly to your business profile.

The update, and continued expansion, is geared toward that 90% we talked about earlier. When you search for “my business†on Google, if you are a manager or an owner (sorry, this is not available for site managers yet), then you are shown up to three business profiles from your account. This is more than fine for that 90%. 

For users like us, as agencies, we will see three business profiles and a ‘view all businesses’ link to redirect us to GMB web.

Google My Business Transparent Merchant Experience



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