Google recently rolled out valuable new analytic insight for Google My Business pages. You can now see total views to your website, and who found your practice from Google Search and from Google Maps.z
Understanding how people find your practice online is powerful insight that can make your marketing program more targeted and more effective. Google recently rolled out new analytic insights on Google My Business (GMB) pages to show business owners the source of their views and how users found their local listing.
GMB is the one-stop portal to establish your practice online. Your practice can use the new analytic insights to improve your search engine marketing efforts.
The portal’s enhanced insights on GMB include:
- Total views on your GMB page
- Where visitors to your site are coming from: search or maps
- How they found your page: from a direct search or a discovery search
Where Are Your Website Visitors Coming From?
Many businesses have wanted to know where exactly their website visitors are coming from when they land on their GMB pages. There are two sources: Google Search and Google Maps. Both send traffic to GMB pages.
Now when you log into your GMB page, you will not only see the total number of views for your listing, but also you’ll see a breakdown of how many are coming from Google Search vs. Google Maps.
This chart shows how Google presents this insight:
How Are New Visitors Finding Your Website?
Though some people search for your practice on Google by your name or your practice’s name, others search more generally for your type of service. There are two ways visitors find your GMB page:
- Direct Search. Some people find your page by directly typing your business or brand name into the search bar. This is a direct search for your specific business.
- Discovery Search. Other people, who don’t know your practice by name, find your page by searching for keywords related to your practice, such as “medical doctor” or “general medical practitioner.” This is a discovery search. According to Google, 76% of these people will consider more than one business before making their final choice.
Now Google’s new insight shows you a comparison between who visited your listing after searching for it directly, and who discovered your business while looking for a broader discovery category.
This chart shows how Google presents this insight.
Checklist to Boost Your Search Results
According to Google, search engines are the most popular way for people to find information about local businesses. The company’s internal data finds that the average well-maintained GMB listing gets five times more views than listings that haven’t been claimed by their owners.
With deeper insights on how people are finding your business on Google, you can ensure your efforts to maintain and promote your practice are paying off.
Google recommends several ways to improve your results on your GMB page, including these three key steps:
- Keep your listing up-to-date. Regularly check the details of your practice, including your name, practice name, specialty, address, phone, and any other relevant facts. This information will be distributed to other Google platforms, including Google maps, Google Analytics, Adwords, and Google+
- Add photos. People love images. That’s why photos have been proven to positively improve marketing results.
- Respond to reviews. Reviews are one of the most powerful ways to boost your marketing program. Monitor and respond to reviews on your GMB page for better results.
Keep in mind that Google uses three primary factors when ranking local search results: relevance distance and prominence. Relevance is how well your business matches what people are seeking. Distance is your vicinity to the online searcher. Prominence is how well your practice is known.
Following all of these guidelines will help users find the exact information they’re searching for online—and help your practice stand out in online searches.
Note: With the addition of these new insights Google will no longer include Google+ statistics in the GMB dashboard. However, Google has plans to introduce even more new insights to GMB pages in the near future. Stay tuned!
