GMB Automation
Put the routine work on a schedule that runs itself. Posting, review requests and rank scans.
Automation runs the routine local SEO work on a schedule. Posting, media, review requests and rank scans happen at every location without anyone remembering, and everything it does is logged.
What it does
Local SEO is mostly maintenance. The individual jobs are not hard. Publish a post, ask for some reviews, run a rank check, keep the profile current. What makes them hard is that they come round forever, and recurring work is always the first thing pushed aside when something urgent arrives.
What you get is a predictable saw tooth. A burst of activity when somebody focuses on it, then weeks of nothing, then another burst once results slip enough to notice. Every business recognises the pattern, and it produces much worse outcomes than steady effort at half the intensity.
Automation flattens that. The routine layer runs on a schedule at every location whatever else is happening, without depending on anyone remembering during a difficult week. Your baseline stops being a function of how much attention happens to be spare.
What should never be automated is judgement. Replies to complaints, anything sensitive, anything a customer will read as coming from a person. Automating the routine layer is exactly what leaves time for the work that needs one.
Everything you get
Several routines, not one
Posting, media publishing, review requests and rank scans, automated on their own or together.
Scoped per location
Each routine set per location or group, so the automation matches how each site actually works.
Set the frequency
Weekly posting and monthly scanning suit most businesses without producing noise.
Choose what stays manual
Pick which routines run themselves and which a person keeps. This is how judgement work is protected.
Pause and override
Pause a routine at one location without taking the setup apart, and override a single run.
Everything logged
Every automatic action recorded, so this can be checked rather than trusted.
Failure alerts
Told when a routine fails, instead of silent gaps that carry on for weeks.
Estate wide view
See which routines run where, so gaps across locations are visible.
Works from one location up
No minimum. The same routines run for one site or two hundred.
From setup to first result
- 1
List what actually recurs
Posting, media, review requests, rank scans. Write down what really needs doing on a rhythm.
- 2
Decide what needs a person
Replies and anything sensitive stay manual. Be strict about this line.
- 3
Automate one routine first
Posting is the usual starting point, because the effect is visible quickly and the risk is low.
- 4
Set the frequency
Weekly posting and monthly scanning is a sensible baseline. More produces noise, not results.
- 5
Scope it per location
A site that operates differently should run differently. Do not force one setup everywhere.
- 6
Turn on the failure alerts
A routine that stops silently is worse than one you never set up.
- 7
Read the log monthly
It tells you what actually ran, which is not always what you configured.
What changes when you use it
- Automating the replies
- Turning everything on at once
- No failure alerts
- Setting the frequency too high
- Never reading the log
- Recurring work always loses
- Bursts do worse than steadiness
- The baseline should not depend on attention
- It buys time for judgement work
- Silent failures are the real risk
Recurring work always loses
The jobs are easy. Doing them every week forever is what nobody manages, and that is what automation is for.
Bursts do worse than steadiness
A month of effort and three months of nothing produces worse results than half the effort applied evenly.
The baseline should not depend on attention
If routine work only happens when somebody has a spare afternoon, it does not happen in the months that matter.
It buys time for judgement work
Automating the routine layer is what frees a person to answer the difficult review properly.
Silent failures are the real risk
A routine that stopped six weeks ago and told nobody is worse than no automation at all.
A log makes it checkable
Automation nobody can inspect is a black box, and black boxes get switched off after the first surprise.
What it measures
- Routines running per location
- Actions completed automatically per month
- Failures and how long they went unnoticed
- Locations with no routine running
- Runs paused or overridden
- Time between a failure and its alert
Reports you can send
Every output can be exported and carries your branding, never ours.
Routine schedule
What runs where, and how often.
Activity log
Every automatic action, dated.
Failure alerts
Which routine failed, where and when.
Coverage view
Which locations have which routines running.
Exception report
Runs that were paused or overridden.
Branded export
Automation activity in a document with your logo.
Who this is built for
Keep the baseline running for every client without a person on each account.
The same routine at every site, including the ones nobody is watching.
A network baseline that runs whether or not a franchisee is engaged.
The weekly jobs get done in the weeks you are busiest.
Get more out of it
- Automate the routine layer and keep judgement work manual. Be strict about the line.
- Start with posting. The effect is visible quickly and the risk is low.
- Weekly posting and monthly scanning is enough for most businesses.
- Scope routines per location rather than forcing one setup everywhere.
- Turn failure alerts on before you turn anything else on.
- Read the log monthly. What ran is not always what you configured.
Automating the replies
Anything a customer reads as coming from a person needs a person. A templated reply to a complaint does more harm than silence.
Turning everything on at once
Automate one routine, watch it for a month, then add the next. All at once means you cannot tell what went wrong.
No failure alerts
A routine that stopped six weeks ago and said nothing is worse than never having set it up.
Setting the frequency too high
Daily posting produces noise, not results, and leaves you with a profile that reads like a feed.
Never reading the log
Automation nobody inspects is a black box. The first surprise is what gets the whole thing switched off.
By hand, or with this
| Doing it manually | With GMB Automation |
|---|---|
| Routine work when somebody remembers | The same work every week, automatically |
| A burst, then months of nothing | A steady baseline all year |
| One setup forced on every site | Routines scoped per location |
| Silent gaps nobody notices | An alert the moment a routine fails |
| No idea what actually ran | A dated log of every action |
| Replies automated along with everything else | Judgement work kept manual on purpose |
- List the work that genuinely recurs
- Draw the line at anything needing judgement
- Turn on failure alerts first
- Automate posting and watch it for a month
- Add review requests and rank scans after
- Scope each routine per location
- Read the activity log every month
One of 42 tools on the same plan
Every tool below is on the same plan at the same price. Nothing here is an extra, an upgrade or a separate subscription.
Rank & Visibility
Manage Profiles
Posts & Automation
Reviews & Reputation
Reports & White-Label
Questions people ask
What can be automated?
Posting, media publishing, review requests and rank scans. Each one can run on its own schedule, at each location or group.
What should never be automated?
Anything needing judgement. Replies to complaints, sensitive situations, anything a customer will read as coming from a person. A templated reply to a complaint does more harm than saying nothing.
How often should routines run?
Weekly posting and monthly scanning suits most businesses. Running things more often produces noise rather than results.
What if a routine fails?
You get an alert. A routine that stopped six weeks ago and told nobody is worse than never having set it up, which is why alerts go on first.
Can different locations run differently?
Yes. Routines are scoped per location or group, because a site that operates differently should not be forced onto one setup.
Is it a black box?
No. Every automatic action is logged with a date, so you can check what actually ran rather than what you think you configured.
Where should I start?
Posting. The effect shows quickly, the risk is low, and it is the routine that lapses first in almost every business.
Every tool. One price. Nothing extra to buy.
$5.33 per location per month gets you GMB Automation and the other 41 tools.