Google My Business listings can now highlight the health and safety measures they’re taking to protect customers during the pandemic.
Making customers aware of the efforts being taken to keep them safe can make all the difference in choosing one business over another.
Attributes on a Google My Business profile are designed to grab searchers’ attention by highlighting important service offerings.
Searchers can use attributes to make more informed decisions about where to visit.
The new health and safety attributes businesses can add to their listings include:
- Appointment required
- Mask required
- Staff wear masks
- Staff get temperature checks
- Temperature check required
New attributes in GMB? @rustybrick @RosieMurphy @JoyanneHawkins @CarrieHill pic.twitter.com/pTFyZ8w14Z
— Andrew Bullimore (@bullimore_bully) September 10, 2020
It has been reported these attributes are already starting to show up on Google My Business listings on desktop and mobile.
These health and safety measures join an expanding list of attributes Google has added in direct response to the pandemic.
Google’s efforts to implement these changes have arguably been rather slow, but I guess it’s better than never rolling them out at all.
In case you missed some of the previous updates, here’s a look at all the new attributes added to Google My Business over the past several months.
Pandemic-related Google My Business Attributes
Attributes for Local Restaurants
Google began adding new GMB attributes in response to the pandemic back in May, beginning with:
- Curbside pickup
- No-contact delivery
- Dine-in
These were introduced during the time when businesses started re-opening after forced lockdowns.
The attributes make it immediately obvious which restaurants are open for business, and to what extent they’re open.
So there’s no guesswork involved on the part of customers when looking for restaurants to order from.
Attributes for Online Services
Google continued its rollout of new GMB attributes in June with a focus on online services.
The new attributes for online services include:
- Online Care
- Online Appointment
- Online Estimates
- Online Classes
The importance of online services during this time has not waned a single bit since June. So these attributes are still as relevant as ever.
Back when this update rolled out I made a prediction that we’d soon see GMB attributes related to health and safety:
“As businesses start to re-open now, I predict the next wave of attributes will be related to businesses’ safety measures.
In the future, businesses may be able to highlight whether masks are mandatory optional, for example.”
It took a few months to get those updates, but sure enough I was right on the money.
What’s next for Google My Business attributes?
If I had to make another prediction I believe the next wave of attributes will be related to locations’ maximum capacities.
As the weather gets colder, many restaurants and bars will be forced to close down their patios.
When that happens, it will become important to know how many patrons are allowed inside a particular location, how many people can sit at one table, and so on.
That information can be used when planning a night out, especially for those venturing out in a group.
How to Add Attributes to Your Google My Business Listing
Businesses can add the new attributes, or existing attributes, to their Google My Business listing by following the steps below:
- Sign in to Google My Business.
- Open the location you’d like to manage.
- From the menu, click Info.
- Find “Add Attributes” and click Edit.
- You can search for the attribute you want to add, or scroll through all the available options for your business.
- When you’re finished updating your attributes, click Apply.
