This week, Google announced the launch of the Google My Business API aimed at making it easier for big businesses and third parties to integrate with the Google My Business platform and publish updates to customers on Google Search and Google Maps.

One way businesses can use this is to set special holiday season hours (a feature Google added last month), and update them across all locations through an API.

Developers will be able to use the API to create locations with names, addresses, phone numbers, categories, business hours, etc. They’ be able to manage special hours, mark a business location as permanently closed, manage business photos, list/invite/remove managers on locations and business accounts, read listing state to identify Google update, duplicate and suspended locations, search/filter locations by name/category/label, and set the service area for a business by specifying a point and radius or Place ID.

You can see a sample java function to create a new location and set special hours here.

To work with the API, you’ll need to have a basic knowledge of RESTful APIs. Otherwise, you might want to stick with the Google My Business user interface.

You can get started with the API here.

Image via Google