This analysis of the new GMB Agency Dashboard was co-written by Matt Lacuesta, director of earned and owned media, and Brett Dugan, local listing specialist, at Location3.
Google announced Tuesday the release of its Google My Business Agency Dashboard, a long-awaited update that provides agencies and platform partners a more efficient way to manage multiple Google My Business listings. As a platform partner, we’ve had time to dig into the new feature, and here are a few of our initial impressions.
This is a new era for Google. Prior to this roll out, Google had not publicly endorsed agency integration with its management platform. Not only does the debut of the dashboard promote that relationship, it also adds a layer of agency support specific to managing enterprise location sets.
The dashboard provides a clear upgrade in process efficiency. Agencies and partners assumed/hoped that these improvements were in the works. The ability to house and manage all partner data under one secure roof was a natural progression.
While it’s still very early, we’re encouraged with the execution of the dashboard, which should cut down on time spent on manual processes. For example, the enhanced search functionality now allows all agency-managed locations to be searchable from one unified location. These types of upgrades in efficiency will help agencies give time back to their partners for more strategic initiatives.
To add to these efficiencies, Google has also released a new staging area for manager and owner requests. Prior to the agency dashboard, an agency’s only method for managing these request was to constantly check the email accounts set up for each client. What was once a chaotic process for agencies and partners is now a streamlined communication center – allowing agencies to more accurately track incoming and outgoing requests for cooperation. This appears to be a win-win for the stress management of all parties involved.
Agency partner info will be more secure. Our partner’s security is always at the forefront of our strategy, and the agency dashboard only intensifies that focus. One way this update helps is through closing the endless loop of shared credentials. With one agency interface, agencies can connect multiple partner accounts without needing a partner’s private email and passwords. This provides security for partners and streamlines workflow for agencies.
The agency dashboard sets a new foundation for enterprise listing management. It also gives us a strong hint at Google’s preference for centralized management of listings data. For franchise brands and multi-unit businesses, this is an opportunity to align their listings practices with the primary player in listings data.
In the past 18 months, we’ve seen the release of the most robust Google My Business feature sets to date. But for true success, the new agency dashboard will need to help support these features at scale (we’re looking at you Google Posts). As this is just the beginning, we are excited to see what Google has in store for supporting these multi-unit businesses.
2 Responses
I love that they finally released the Agency dashboard. It makes so much more sense and is so much more efficient like you said. Unfortunately, it’s extra buggy at the moment. But I’m sure that will all get worked out.
Just an update to my original comment – it turns out the dashboard kind of sucks. Clients can’t invite your agency (or individuals who are users of the agency dashboard) to manage their singular listings. When I spoke with the Google rep. about it, she said that the purpose of the “agency dashboard” is to allow those who manage chain ease of use. Even though most small business marketing agencies deal with Joe the Plumber, not McDonalds.
For now, I found a workaround. But it’s a lot of extra steps for the business owner. I hope that in the future they decide to make this dashboard meet the expectations of the small business marketing community.