Question 1

What Happened to Google Plus?

Accepted Answer

When Google first launched Google+ back in 2011, there were Google+ profiles for personal use and then separate pages for business use. Then, businesses had Google+ Local followed by Google Places for Business, which were both attempts to better integrate local search with Google Plus. In 2014, Google launched Google My Business. Just a few years later, in 2018, they announced Google+ would be shuttered completely for consumers. This would remove all Google+ profiles and pages, but Google My Business would remain. Many sources believe this move to shut down Google Plus is partly due to the slow growth and poor performance of the platform and also due to a massive data breach that occurred earlier in the year. The shutdown of the platform, profiles, and accounts associated with it is slated to continue throughout 2019 with a plan to be closed permanently by August 2019.

Question 2

What is Google My Business?

Accepted Answer

Google My Business launched in 2014 and replaced Google Plus. It combined Search, Maps, and what used to be Google Plus into one dashboard for your business. Signing up for Google My Business allowed you to manage the information provided in the map listing that appears for your business in local search results.

You could also verify your business, add photos, share posts, and more to help make your company easier to find and more discoverable in general. In terms of managing the listing information for your business in Google, Google My Business was a tool you needed to be using. It also didn't hurt that it is a tool owned by the search engine with the most market share.

Question 3

What is Google Business Profile?

Accepted Answer

Google Business Profile is the new name for Google My Business. Google made the switch towards the end of 2021. All of the useful features of Google My Business are still there, for now, plus some features to make it easier for businesses to manage their information in Google search results. Just make sure you follow Google's guidelines to avoid having your listing suspended from Search. Google Business Profile is all about allowing businesses with single locations to manage their information more efficiently directly from Google Search, Google Maps, and respective apps. Google also has plans to retire the Google My Business app for single locations completely sometime in 2022. According to Google, the existing Google My Business interface will transition to "Business Profile Manager". The plans are for this interface to primarily support larger businesses that need to manage multiple locations, including marketers that need to manage locations for multiple businesses.

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