How can I set up Active Sync?

In order to set up Active Sync, you need to make sure that you've purchased it for that Location. To find out how, click here. 

You also need to make sure the Location you want to use Active Sync for is set to Active, otherwise, you will be able to connect to publishers, like Google and Apple, but you will not be able to sync changes between BrightLocal and the publishers. To find out how, click here. 

1. Once you have purchased Active Sync for a Location and set it to Active, you need to find the Location in 'Locations Overview' and click the 'View' button.

2. In the next window, click 'Location Manager' and then 'Core Information'.

You'll see a bar at the top which tells you which social media and analytics platforms are connected.

In the example below, Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is connected but the other platforms aren't.

To learn how to connect Google Business Profile click here. To learn how to connect to Facebook click here. To learn how to connect to Bing click here. To learn how to connect to Apple Maps click here. 

3. For any platforms that are connected, click the 'Sync on' toggle to sync them up. 

If you see an error message asking you to fill in missing fields. Add the information required and then scroll down to click the 'Save and Sync' button before continuing. 

Next, check the details in the 'Business Details' section. If you add or change anything here, scroll down to the bottom of the page and hit the 'Save and Sync' button before moving on. 

4. In the 'Additional Categories' section, select the platform that you want to update using the tabs. 

5. Then update the categories that you want to appear on that platform.

6. Add the business's opening hours in the 'Opening Hours' section. If you want to add the same opening hours to ALL of the platforms simply check the 'Apply to all' box 

7. If you don't want to display business hours on any of the platforms, check the 'Opening hours are not supplied' box.

8. To add any special hours, click the + button in the 'Special Hours' box and fill them in.

9. Next, fill in a description for the business in the 'About the Business' section. This will be applied to all of the platforms. If you want to write a unique description for each platform, turn on the 'Use unique descriptions for each publisher' toggle and write your descriptions in the boxes that appear. 

10. The 'Additional Data' section is where you can add any extra information that the different platforms allow. Simply use the tabs to navigate between the platforms. 

For example, if you hit the 'Refresh' button in the Google Business Profile tab you can add additional Google Business Profile Attributes that are available for your type of business. Simply click on an attribute to apply it. 

11. If you plan to use our Citation Builder service for the business you can add the business's contact details to the 'Citation Builder Data' section. (BrightLocal will never use this information to directly contact your clients.)

12. If you would like to let any colleagues or clients know that the data you have submitted has been updated, add their email addresses one by one to the 'Email Alerts' section. You can add up to five email addresses. The Account Manager will automatically receive an email and does not need to be added here. 

If you and any colleagues or clients would like to be alerted of any connection issues, add their email addresses one by one to the 'Email Alerts' section. You can add up to five email addresses. The Account Manager will automatically receive an email and does not need to be added here. 

13. When you're ready hit 'Save and Sync' to save and update the profiles you have activated Active Sync for. 

To learn what to do when you receive alerts from Active Sync, click here.