Manage your Google Business listings

Manage your Google Business listings alongside your social activity with the free Google My Business app. Make updates to your business location, monitor and engage with reviews, and respond to questions from customers in Hootsuite streams.

Google displays a business profile when someone searches for it in Google Search and Google Maps. The listing can include a description, address, opening hours, posts, reviews, website, and FAQ.

Before you begin

Before installing the app, your Google Business Profile must be claimed and verified with Google. Learn about how to verify your business on Google.

Updates to business listings, such as address and hours of operation, must be made on the Google Business site.

Install the Google My Business (GMB) app

1. Go to More, and then select App library.
2. Search for Google My Business, select it, and then select Install.
3. Select from one of the following options:
   • Add streams to a new tab.
   • Add streams to an existing tab, and then select the tab name from the list.
     
4. Select Finish. The selected streams are added to Streams.
5. In Hootsuite, go to More, and then select Streams.
6. Select Login to Google My Business in each stream.
7. Select the Google account that owns the listing you want to manage, enter your password, and then select Next.
8. Select Allow to authorize the app connection.
9. Select the listings and locations to display in the stream, and then select Confirm.
   Hootsuite displays unverified listings here as well. You must verify them in GMB in order to manage them through the GMB app in Hootsuite. Select the link next to an unverified listing to find out how to verify it.

Add more app streams

Once the GMB app is installed, you can add multiple app streams for managing different locations or listings in separate streams.

1. In Hootsuite Streams, select the board where you want to add the app stream, and then select Add Stream.
2. Select Apps from the list on the left.
3. Select the Google My Business stream type you want to add (Posts, Questions, or Reviews).
   
4. When you're finished adding streams, close the Add Stream window.

Publish a post

You can create and publish posts to your business listings to provide updates on what’s new with your business. Posts remain live in searches for seven days. Posts older than seven days are only visible to the business owner. If your business is not verified yet, the published post is only visible to you. You cannot currently schedule posts to GMB.

1. In Hootsuite Streams, go to a My Posts stream, and then select New Post.
   
2. Select the listing to post to.
3. Type the body of the post and optionally, include text and links. Posts have a limit of 1,500 characters, Google recommends between 150 and 300 characters.
4. Attach an image to the post. You can select an image from Google Drive or Google Photos.
   Image dimensions must be between 400x300 - 10,000x10,000 pixels, and image size between 10KB and 25MB.
5. Optionally, select a call to action from the list and enter a destination link for the button.
6. Select Post Now.

Respond to a review

Customer reviews, and your replies, are publicly visible on your Google Business Profile.

1. In Hootsuite Streams, go to a Reviews stream to monitor what customers are saying about your business.
2. Select Reply below a review, and enter your response.
3. Select Post reply.

Select edit (pencil) or delete (trash bin) on your response in the stream to make changes at any time.

Answer a question

Customer questions, and your replies, are publicly visible on your Google Business Profile. Other Google users can answer questions about your business, but your answers will be labeled as being from the owner of the business.

1. In Hootsuite Streams, go to a Questions stream, and then select Answer below a question to provide an official response from the business.
2. Enter your answer, and then select Post answer.

Select edit or delete on your answer in the stream to make changes at any time.

Manage locations within a stream

Update the locations that are displayed and managed within one stream.

1. In Hootsuite Streams, go to any GMB stream, and then select Settings in the top right.
2. Select Manage Locations, and then select or deselect the locations you want to manage in that stream.
3. Select Confirm. The stream refreshes with the relevant locations, posts, reviews, or questions.

Troubleshoot

If you experience issues publishing or working with the Google My Business app, try the following:

1. Clear your cache or use a private browsing mode (see Troubleshoot display issues).
2. Uninstall and reinstall the Google My Business app (see Install or uninstall apps).