Google My Business (GMB) now shows you who found your business. In this new performance report, which is an upgrade from the Insights report, a section has now been added to show who viewed your business profile. 

Also in this new section, it further shows how people found your local listing, such as if they found you via desktop or mobile, or either through Google Search or Maps. In order for you to get access to this new feature, as well as the reports, log into your GMB account-- if you do not have one, we are gonna go into how you can go about simply, seamlessly setting up your GMB profile later on, so hold tight. 

For now, if you do have a GMB account, when you are logged in, you may now see after you click “Insights”, at the top of the page you will likely see a message that says “Your insights are moving”. And then when you<

What Is Google My Business?

Google My Business (GMB) is a local business listing service powered by Google that is completely free of charge to you and the only requirement is you must have some form of face-to-face interaction with your clients. 

So if your business is 100% online, without an address or P.O. box you cannot really have a GMB listing. In your GMB listing you can list the services you offer, add an FAQ section and few photos, and allow customers to leave reviews about your business. Also in your GMB listing, you can add a few more interesting attributes that will display in your Knowledge Graph, like Online Care, Book an Appointment, Online Estimates, and Schedule an Online class. 

For instance, if you have ever looked up something on Google, you will have seen a company’s GMB show up in Google search results. Furthermore, Google allows you to claim your business, so when someone (a potential client) looks for something you provide, your site will likely come up in their search results. Your GMB listing can appear in a variety of ways to clients such as on the search engine, in the knowledge panel and local pack, and in Google Maps. 

As for GMB insights, these give you a behind the scenes peek of how your users interact with your GMB listing. You can see everything from how your customers view your business, such as via direct (searching your business by name or location), discovery (generic search like breakfast food near me), and branded (a brand your business sells -- and you may not be the only one listed). And, through insights, you can also see where your customers view your business, like whether they looked you up via a traditional Google Search or Google Maps. 

While GMB Insights may have a copious amount of data for you as the business owner, it does come with some boundaries. The first one being the history of data offered, which doesn’t go past 90 days, and some insights are even limited to just one month. So this can make it a tad harder to see whether you’re improving over time, and can lead to some misleading results.  

Another roadblock can appear if your business has multiple locations. In this case, you have to download the data to see how each location is performing and, instead of having the ability to look at interactive graphics, you have to take that data from a spreadsheet. This in turn takes more time on your end to evaluate how your business and its multiple locations are performing individually, and in comparison to one another. 

Recently this year, GMB Insights has added a new section that breaks down your insights, such as how many people have looked at your business listing on both Google Maps and Search. And Insights has even further broken down by mobile and desktop. Furthermore, GMB insights has an upcoming display of you being able to see and track driving directions, website clicks and bookings. 

The Benefits of Having a Google My Business 

Now it’s easier and more efficient than ever to promote a product or service. With many people on their phones each and every day, potential customers are using their smartphones to search for a local business, such as a store or restaurant to find something. By setting up, verifying, and properly optimizing your Google My Business account, you have the chance to get your business at the forefront and utilizing this feature to its full potential. And if you are still on the edge about whether or not you should have, or even create, a Google My Business, here are some things to consider as to why having a GMB may be beneficial: 

• It is free of charge to you

• Makes you visible, such as in Google Maps and Local Pack Listings

• Allows people (clients or customers) to leave comments 

• Ensures online consistency, so your customers know about changes to your business

  • Keep your contact information up to date so your customers don’t have to jump through hoops to find you. 

• Provides a great first impression 

• Improves SEO 

• Gives you customer insight 

• Offers an official website for your business 

  • Once you create your GMB account, your website will auto-generate info from your profile, as well as tailor it to your brand by being able to customize text, photos and design themes. All you need to do is purchase a domain and connect your Google Analytics account 

Singing up and creating a Google My Business is a small step in giving your brand more visibility. GMB is just a tool in your Business tool box. Don’t forget to optimize and keep your GMB up to date by reviewing it either weekly, monthly or quarterly. GMB has so many benefits and ways you can use it to leverage your company, but it is up to you whether or not you want to put it to use. 

How to Set up Your Google My Business Page

To set up your Google My Business account (page or listing), take these following steps: 

               1. Set up a new Google account (or gain access to your Google My Business (GMB) log in, if you have one) ​

               2. Head to google.com/business, then click ‘Manage Now’ 

 If you have the same name as another business, GMB autocomplete function will suggest those businesses for you. It allows you to see if your business listing already exists elsewhere, in order to avoid accidental duplication, as well as to add a new GMB profile to an existing business if you have opened a new location 

               3. Then, Enter your business name 

 If you have the same name as another business, GMB autocomplete function will suggest those businesses for you. It allows you to see if your business listing already exists elsewhere, in order to avoid accidental duplication, as well as to add a new GMB profile to an existing business if you have opened a new location 

              4.  Next you will input the address of your business location, do keep in this is ONLY if your business has face-to-face contact with customers. 

If you are unable to have customers at your business address, enter your address if you can and leave it blank if you cannot, do not forget to check the box then ‘hide my address’ box that will appear below 

              5. Specify service areas before you choose your business category, you will need to specify the areas you serve, so Google can accurately show your business to searches in that area, even without a physical address. Then, enter one or more regions, cities or zip codes your business serves. 

              6. Choose your business category 
This is an important field that will not only impact the types of search terms you appear in Google for, but also on your GMB profile. So it is important to research your competitors and look through a full list to find the most accurate category for your business. 

              7. Add a contact phone number and website URL 
This feature offers call tracking. And if you do not already have a website, GMB offers the option to create a new Google Website as well based on the information you provide. 

              8. Complete your GMB verification 

Google needs to be able to prove your business is where you say it is, which can either be done through a postcard, phone or email verification. And there are two other options for instant verification, these are only available if you have already verified your businesses’ website with Google Search Console or bulk verification for a business managing ten or more locations. 

Also, if you are getting ready to launch your local SEO, your Google My Business listing is a great place to focus your early efforts. Since when people usually search for a product or service near them, most of the time they are super close to making a purchase. It is crucial that your business comes up when people search Google your GMB is accurate, complete and optimized as much as possible. Keeping in mind that according to Google, businesses who have photos on their listing see about 35% more clicks on their site and 42% higher requests for driving directions in Google Maps. 

Some further steps you will want to take to ensure your GMB is optimized are: 

• Adding media such as photos and videos to your listing 

• Writing and optimizing an attractive business description 

• Using GMB posts to showcase offers and promotions 

• Start asking and managing Google Reviews 

• And using GMB app to update business hours, locations, contact information and description 

• Looking at GMB Insights to see how many people visit your site, called, viewed your listing and how your business stacks up against the competition in your industry. 

Setting up and optimizing your GMB account is just the beginning of your local (or even international) marketing journey. Competition within any industry can be hard, yet you have the tool of GMB in your hands to help you better understand your audience and make your presence known. So get to creating a GMB account, if you haven’t already, and begin optimizing your account with the steps outlined here.

Why You Should Care About GMB 

There are many reasons why you should have a Google My Business (GMB) account-- it increases your visibility on the web, helps you share information with your potential clients, helps you reply to potential customers in real time, and acts as a free platform of advertising. 

Also, GMB helps in your local marketing strategy since it targets people in a small geographical location. And to be outfront among your local competitors you will want to have regular engagement and keep optimizing your listing. Furthermore, the data GMB provides gives you a better peek into how your customer and users are finding your business. With the more information you have, the more informed you can be when helping your customers, closing deals, and building a more withstanding brand.