Important: Google announced a feature that lets you set a Short URL for your entire Google profile.
If you are currently a ClearPG retainer client… let us know which name(s) you want to claim as soon as possible. We’ll go and claim your Google My Business short name as soon as the feature becomes available. You can use this link (click here) to let us know.
What You Should Know
First, this could be a big deal. How big? We honestly don’t know. But claiming a unique, life-long name for your business on Google feels pretty weighty, right?
Google is adding a new feature to Google My Business that lets you set a custom short URL (or profile name) within their ecosystem. Think of it like this – instead of people having to Google your Business Name + Location to find your reviews, maps, directions, questions – they can now just type in “g.page/YourName” to go directly to all that information.
- It’s not available as of April 18th at 9am CST
- We do know that these will be individual for each business… so first come, first serve.
- If your name is “Innovative Orthodontics” you’re going to want it before someone else gets it.
- You can only pick one!
What We Already Know…and Don’t Know
- We do know that these will be individual for each business… so first come first serve.
- We don’t know when the feature will go live… but they have said “It’s rolling out now”
- We don’t know what the restrictions are on naming – they might require it to be like your business name
- We don’t know if you can ever change it.
- We don’t know how this will be used in the future, so it’s important to get the name you want ASAP
What Now?!
If you’re managing your Google My Business profile on your own, you will eventually see a section in your Google My Business profile under Info –> Profile Short Name which will allow you to set that name. After that, how it’s used and what features Google decides to tie to that unique URL is up to them. What is important, however, is that you get the name before someone else does!
So, what name should you choose? It’s a bit of a guessing game – and you can only claim one per location! You should register a name that is unique to your business, but also short enough for someone to remember. If you have multiple locations, you’ll need to name each one! A good idea is to make your Primary Location something simple, and any satellite locations as “BusinessName+Location.”
Other notes: Is there SEO value here? Google will never say, but we highly doubt it. That means registering an SEO-centric name won’t have positives or negatives. That means keep is short and specific. You only get 1 name per business location. The location has to be confirmed as well.