Google Business Profile Access

When we request access to your Google Business Profile (GBP) we request access at the Owner level. When you grant our SEO team access it automatically makes us ‘Primary Owner’. We do what we need to do and then return Primary ownership to YOU which then leaves us with ‘normal’ Ownership.

Some clients are not comfortable adding us as owners so they manually add us as Managers which limits what we can do for you. Primary Owners and Owners can add and remove users and Managers can’t. A Primary Owner can remove all other users and cannot be removed by any other user.

For our PPC Team to connect your GBP to Google Ads (which enables location extensions, star ratings in ads, and ads in Google Maps), the PPC Team needs Owner-level access. If that access is downgraded at any point, the connection is severed, and those features disappear from the ads.

Most of the time, this process happens seamlessly behind the scenes because you’ve already granted our SEO team Owner access, which allows us to grant the PPC Team the access they need. However, in the rare case that SEO doesn’t have Owner-level access, our PPC team will reach out to you directly to explain the situation and request the necessary access.

If you decide not to give us Owner-level access (which is different from Primary Owner), we can still run ads, but there are a couple of trade-offs:

• The location extension and Google review star ratings won’t appear in the ads.
  
• Their ads won’t show up in Google Maps. This is important because Google can display the ad in the top search position and also in the sponsored spot in Maps, offering double exposure above organic results.

So the bottom line is, that YOU are always the Primary owner (apart from the short period of time when SEO first works on your GBP) and we prefer Owner-level access to do our jobs properly and service you effectively.

In order for us to optimize the GBP (Google Business Profile) please add us as owners by following the steps below. Please note, this is just temporary and we will return ownership to you as soon as we’ve updated your Business Profile.

Step 1 – Log into your Google account. Go to https://business.google.com/

Step 2 – Navigate to the 3 dot menu and click on it.

Step 3 – Select Business profile settings

Step 4 – Select Managers

Step 5 – Click the Add icon

Step 6 – Add the email address we provide to you to the Email field. Select ‘Owner’ and click Invite at the bottom of the window.

We will receive an email to notify us of the invite but to ensure it happens seamlessly, please notify us as soon as the invite is sent.

• Invitees will have the option to accept the invitation and immediately become users. When they accept your invitation, you’ll get a notification email. Users in the account can find the names and email addresses of the owners and managers.
• You can find all active users and people who are invited to become users. To cancel pending invitations, click Remove in the row.
• If you want to transfer ownership of your profile, you can learn how to transfer ownership of a profile.

The new owner or manager of a Business Profile must wait for 7 days before they can manage all the features. During this 7-day period, they get an error if they:

• Delete or undelete a profile.
• Remove other owners or managers from a profile.
• Transfer primary ownership to themselves or a third user.
• If the new owner or manager deletes their account within the first 7 days, they’re removed from the profile. If they change their mind, they must be added again.

Tip: If an existing owner or manager tries to transfer primary ownership of the profile to a new owner or manager still in their first 7 days, they get an error.

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Click Menu > Business Profile settings > Managers.
3. Click the person you’d like to remove > Remove person.

If you can’t click Remove X, it could mean that:

• You’re trying to remove the primary owner from the profile. Transfer primary ownership to someone else, then remove the user from the profile. Learn how to transfer primary ownership.
• You’re signed in as a manager. Only owners can remove other owners and managers.

If you remove a user, they’ll get an email notification. They can’t edit business information or take any administrative actions. But their past responses to reviews, posts, comments, and other actions will remain.

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Click Menu > Business Profile settings > Managers.
3. Click the person you want to change access.
4. Select the role: Primary owner, Owner, or Manager.
5. Click Save.

Tip: If you’re the primary owner, you can transfer ownership.