Google Business Profile Removes Site Manager User Role

Google Business Profile (GBP) has long been structured to include (1) owner, (2) manager, and (3) site manager roles, each carrying varying levels of responsibility. Now, however, that is all changing. Google has recently announced that starting October 24, 2021, the site manager option is going to be dissolved, and all active accounts with that level of access will be given the ‘manager’ title.

What was the Google Business Profile Site Manager Role?

GBP site managers, formerly known as communication managers, had permission to communicate on behalf of the business. As the GBP site manager, individuals were not only allowed to respond to reviews and other communications, but they were also able to change a host of different business details.

Site managers were given far more limited access to the GBP profile. Site managers could not edit core information; however, helpful secondary information could be edited, such as posts, photos, and products. Site managers help to streamline the process and help bring together GBP profiles.

Why the Need to Get Rid of Google Site Managers now?

Site managers were only able to do a select few things on GBP. Anyone with access as a site manager could edit some business information, create and publish posts, respond to reviews, and download insights. Although that list seems like quite a few responsibilities, site managers were given far less control than regular managers and owners. The primary reason behind removing this access level option is because Google saw no need to differentiate between a site manager and a regular manager, so they deemed it best to morph the two different responsibilities into one.

Following the reveal and later elimination of GBP site managers, Google themselves received very few negative comments and complaints. Receiving such little negative feedback helped Google see that they did make the right decision when it came to dissolving site managers into general managers.

Main Differences Between GBP Site Managers and Regular Managers and Owners

The general GBP managers hold many more responsibilities than the former site manager. The functions managers have that site managers did not include:

  • Editing all URLs
  • Accepting all Google updates
  • Opting in or out of bookings
  • Updating location settings
  • Managing business profiles directly on search and maps
  • Managing google ads account links
  • Answering and sending messages
  • Adding custom labels to make it easy to find particular groups of locations

Managers are given the same core functions as owners in GBP. The only contributions that are solely done by owners are: adding and removing users and removing business profiles altogether. Besides those two actions, managers are given some variation of responsibilities over all other tasks able to be done through GBP profiles. It is important to note, owners are typically the founder of a company and the sole person with main responsibility for GBP profiles.