Google Lets Business Update Local Listings Without The Google My Business Dashboard

Google recently made it even easier for businesses to maintain and edit their online listings by allowing businesses to directly edit their listing information shown in the knowledge graph without having to visit the Google My Business Dashboard. Google has confirmed a new Knowledge Panel interface allows users to directly edit local listings.

The new feature allows logged in users associated with a business to directly update business information without having to go through to Google My Business Dashboard, however the GMB Dashboard is still needed for updating menus or booking links.

The change was first rumored by Barry Schwartz at SEO Roundtable based on a comment by Gary Illyes at State of Search in mid-November. The first person to report seeing the feature put into action was Prya Chandra on G+.

While the feature is available in the Knowledge Panel and the Local Finder on both desktop and mobile, it is not available through Google Maps. It is likely the feature will eventually make its way into Google Maps in the near future, but there’s no word for now on when to expect that.

The biggest question in the wake of this change is what it means for the future of the Google My Business Dashboard. The dashboard still serves some purpose for business owners who need to update or correct menus and booking listings, but many are seeing this as a sign Google may be moving away from GMB.