Four Google My Business Issues As Of June 2021

Local SEO consultants use Google My Business to boost their local SEO, but it can be frustrating when the tool does not work as they expect it to – especially when there are a lot of clients from their Business Profile on Search and Maps. Google Support is doing its best to fix several issues on the tool from mid-May to June 2021; below are some of them and tips on how to resolve these problems.

Reporting Issues To GMB

The Google My Business team prioritises fixes whenever they get a bug report, so it helps a lot when a user reports an issue.

When a user sees an issue, they can flag it to Google My Business. Afterwards, the team will work with their product managers to see whether the feature involved is working or not.

Here are some of the factors they take into consideration:

• The number of merchants that the issue affected
• The severity of the issue
• If the issue harms both merchants and consumers

Once they get these specific pieces of information, they will create a short-term workflow path to solve the problem until they implement a permanent fix.

1. Users see the 85 per cent bug, and their logo and cover photo do not appear.

Many Google My Business users on the Web or Mobile version see a message that says their profile is optimised at 85 per cent. Next to the message, there is a request to add a cover photo and a logo.

However, this could still happen even if the user has already set the logo and cover photo. To make things worse, the merchant might also be unable to see their previously uploaded logo or cover photo on mobile. It only shows on the desktop version, making things even more frustrating.

What to do: As of now, there are no solutions to this problem. If SEOs do not see their logo and cover photo on the mobile version but see them on desktop, then they can simply ignore the warning.

Google told the public that they are aware of the issue and have considered it as a low-priority problem. According to Google, this bug does not have any negative effect on their tool’s performance and is only a front-end issue only. Besides, there are many more pressing issues at hand.

The Google My Business team is working on a permanent fix and will likely finish it by the time year ends.

2. Users’ listings disappear from their Google My Business Dashboards.

Some users have had their listings mysteriously disappear from their Google My Business dashboard. Oftentimes, the main reason why this happens is that a person on the team accidentally removed the listing. Therefore, if this happens, the user should ask all the managers and owners if they have accidentally deleted the listing.

What to do: It is unlikely that the Google My Business support team will restore a deleted listing. The team suggests creating a new listing, but they may be able to find the reviews, so users can ask them to move the reviews over.

3. Some users rank in different locations.

There was a time when service-area businesses found themselves ranking in Saskatchewan Canada, Kansas USA, and in other countries around the globe that are central to a geographical region. The affected users who discovered this have also lent a helping hand to fellow users and have been regularly working with the Google My Business team to fix the problem.

What to do: Users should show Google some sort of proof that they are indeed ranking in a different location. To do this, one can search for their business name and add [independence kansas], for example, if they are ranking in Kansas. Their name will show in search if they are one of the affected businesses. If their name appears, they should screenshot this and send it to Google.

Here is the complete guide to reporting this problem to Google:

Step 1: Users can document the listing link and details and screenshot them.

Step 2: Next, the user should get in touch with Google My Business support and tell them that the Kansas bug affected their business. They should also request an address reset.

Step 3: If support responds with a solution that involves playing with the address or map marker, it is best to head straight to the Google My Business community and report the issue there.

4. The user’s legitimate reviews do not show up.

Some users have reported that they do not see reviews from customers, even though the reviews are genuine.

Google recently implemented a spam algorithm that analyses the accuracy of user reviews. Oftentimes, the algorithm functions as intended, but the customer reviews that meet the algorithm’s criteria still do not appear.

Customers who have written their reviews can still see them, but they will not appear on the user’s Business Profile on Search and Maps.

What to do: Users who are experiencing this bug can gather screenshots of the reviews that do not display on Search and Maps. In addition to this, they should document all their listing details, including their user’s profile link if they have one.

Here are more detailed steps on what to do:

Step 1: Determine if the business profile has been suspended. If so, users should contact support and provide them with a case ID and reinstatement details with a request to port their reviews over.

Step 2: If their profile has not been suspended, users should contact the report about their missing reviews.

Step 3: If the support team cannot locate their reviews or gave vague answers that seem incorrect, users can head straight to the Google My Business community and post their problem there with the support case ID.

Boost Your Local SEO With Position1SEO!

If you need a local SEO consultant to help you manage your Google My Business account, you’ve come to the right place. Position1SEO has many years of experience in the industry and can help you with all aspects of your local SEO.

Whether it’s helping you rank for the top keyphrases in your area or assisting you with your brand’s audience engagement, we at Position1SEO are more than happy to do it for you. With our in-depth local SEO services, you can rest assured that you will have the edge over your competitors when it comes to online visibility.

If you are interested in working with us, you can write to us at office@position1seo.co.uk or call us on 0141 846 0114.