With many changes happening in the online world, Google My Business (GMB) has ramped up its efforts even more to support business owners.

GMB’s last update had a variety of new changes for multiple industries. However, this time around the focus is on creating new attributes that business owners can use on their listings.

Let’s talk about what these new attributes are, how they will benefit businesses and how to add them to your GMB listing.

What Are GMB’s Four New Attributes?

In a recent update, GMB created four new attributes for business listings, including:

• Online Care
• Online Appointment
• Online Estimates
• Online Classes

These attributes appear in the local pack section of a Google search result under a business’s hours of operation.

In the past, attributes have been focused on customers visiting a location in person. A couple of examples of these attributes include wi-fi and outdoor seating.

But, with COVID-19 affecting how businesses operate in-person, many have had to switch their focus to the online world.

These new attributes are ideal for a variety of businesses, such as doctors, fitness instructors, contract businesses and many more.

Although these attributes are now available, you might not be able to see all of them as options.

For example, if you’re a restaurant owner, you probably won’t be able to see the “online classes” attribute. This is because this attribute is not relevant to your business.

Remember, you only want to use attributes that can benefit your business and online searchers.

Now that we’re on the topic of benefits, let’s discuss what they are!

What Are the Benefits?

The addition of these new online-specific attributes will not only help businesses display their new online service options, but it will help online searchers easily find a business that suits their needs.

Ultimately, attributes make listings pop up with valuable information without even needing to click on the listing.

If your Google My Business listing is fully optimized with your proper business information and attributes, this will save online searchers even more time.

Keep in mind that including attributes will help you stand out from your competition. Think about it – As an online searcher, are you more likely to choose a business with an optimized listing or a business that has little to no information?

How Can I Add Attributes to My GMB Listing?

Now that you understand the purpose of attributes, let me give you the step-by-step instructions on how to add them to your GMB listing.

Or, if you'd rather watch a quick how-to video, click the play button below! 

1. First, make sure you’re signed into the proper Google My Business listing and open the business location you want to manage.
2. Once you’re logged in, click on the Info tab on the left-hand side of the page.
3. Click on Add Attributes and click Edit. A list of attributes relevant to your business will appear. You can either scroll through the options or search for the one you want to add.
4. After the proper attributes are added to your listing, click Apply.

And that’s it! Pretty easy, right?

Final Thoughts

As the digital landscape continues to evolve to support businesses during COVID-19, we anticipate that Google My Business will come out with more updates.

These new attributes are just the start of the possibilities we will see from Google My Business.

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