Table of Contents
Google Keeps Adding Things to Your Business Profile
The rest of the week, in bite-sized pieces
"Search Console says we have dozens of 404 errors. Are we being penalized?"
Epic Web Studios
Epic Insights
Edition 44  ·  Nov 3, 2026

Your Business Profile Has Other Editors

Your Google Business Profile has more editors than you. Google, connected apps and even strangers can change what customers see there, and last week Google added a few things to some profiles on its own. Nothing here is scary, but it's worth a look before a customer spots it first.
The Big Story

Google Keeps Adding Things to Your Business Profile

Some business owners got an email from Google last week saying it had automatically added a Facebook Messenger link to their Business Profile. The link opens a chat with your Facebook page. That's handy if someone answers that inbox, and a lot less handy if nobody's opened it since 2019.

It's a new example of something that's always been true. Your profile is pieced together from more than what you type in. Google pulls hours and details from your website and social pages, connected apps can push changes, and anyone searching can suggest an edit. If Google trusts the source, that edit can go live without you approving it.

To be fair, Google handed owners more control last week, too. Restaurants can now switch off specific delivery apps on their profile right from the dashboard, instead of asking each app to remove itself. And Google's free AI messaging assistant, which answers routine customer questions by text and hands the tricky ones to you, is reaching more businesses.

Here's where it gets interesting. Some owners turning on the message button are now being asked for their EIN and a privacy policy link, then waiting three or four working days while "a Google partner" reviews their details. So whoever answers those messages, you or an AI, is speaking for your business, and Google's starting to treat it that way.

None of this calls for panic. It just means your profile deserves a look every month or so. It's often the first thing a new customer sees, and you'd want to know if it changed.
What this means for your site
What customers see on your Google profile can change without you touching it. A quick monthly look catches surprise links, wrong hours and chat buttons nobody's watching.

Your move: Search your business name on your phone this week and tap every button on your profile. If one leads somewhere nobody's checking, change it, or reply and we'll take care of it.
Quick Hits

The rest of the week, in bite-sized pieces
Opting Out of AI Answers Cost One Site Clicks
An SEO tested Google's new switch for keeping a site out of its AI answers. The AI traffic disappeared, as expected, but regular search clicks dropped too. It's one small test, and Google hasn't commented.
Your move: Leave that switch off unless you have a specific reason to flip it.
Some New Google Reviews Vanish Within a Week
A study tracking nearly 5 million Google reviews in August found just under 2% of new ones were gone within seven days. Glowing reviews that arrived in sudden bursts were removed more often, and ones with a quick owner reply less often, though the researchers can't say why.
Your move: Ask every customer for a review as you go, and reply within a couple of days.
Google Says AI Shortcut Content Gets Caught Eventually
Asked about sites pumping out hundreds of AI-written "best of" lists to show up in AI answers, one of Google's search advocates said its systems catch tricks like that eventually, the same way they caught keyword stuffing.
Your move: If someone pitches you hundreds of AI-written pages, say no thanks.
If Your Site Runs on WordPress, Check for 7.1.4
WordPress released 7.1.4 on Oct 28 to fix more than a dozen security problems, including one that could let an attacker run code on your site during an update. WordPress says to update immediately, and security firms are already logging attack attempts.
Your move: Make sure your dashboard shows 7.1.4, or ask your host to confirm it.
Ask Epic

"Search Console says we have dozens of 404 errors. Are we being penalized?"

Nope. Not even a little.

A 404 just means "page not found." Google put out a video last week saying it plainly: there's no penalty, and a pile of 404s doesn't hurt the pages on your site that work fine. They don't eat up Google's attention for your site, either.

They show up for boring reasons. You retired a service, renamed a page, or someone linked to a typo. Search Console lists them so you can decide whether any of them matter.

Here's our rule of thumb. If the old page has a real replacement, point it there. If it's gone for good, let it stay a 404. What we wouldn't do is send every missing page to your homepage. Google says that confuses people, and it muddies your reports.

The one upgrade worth making is a friendly 404 page with a search box and links to your main services, so a lost visitor has somewhere to go.
What Epic's doing for you this week
This week we're watching rankings after more unconfirmed movement on Oct 24 and Oct 27, and going by your Search Console numbers rather than the rank trackers. We're checking that the WordPress sites we maintain are on 7.1.4, and we're looking over the Business Profiles we manage for links or buttons Google added on its own. If we find something on yours, we'll let you know.
Your 15-minute self-audit

See Your Profile the Way a Customer Does

1. Search like a stranger. On your phone, search your business name and read your profile top to bottom. Check the hours, phone number, website and every button. Anything you didn't add? Write it down.

2. Check who has the keys. In your Business Profile settings, look at who has owner or manager access. Remove anyone who's left your business, and any old vendor you don't work with anymore.

3. Answer your last five reviews. Any without a reply? Write a short, real response to each one.

Found something odd? Reply with a screenshot and we'll sort it out.

Thanks for reading! Got questions? Ideas? I'm all ears. Share your thoughts with me and help shape future editions of Epic Insights.

— Kristy Freeman
Epic Web Studios
k.freeman@epicwebstudios.com
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