Once you set up a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) listing for your business, it gathers useful information that you can use to help improve your online marketing strategy. That information can be found in Google Business Profile Insights, which shows you how customers interact with your business listing through Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Ads. Here’s everything you need to know about Google Business Profile Insights!
How Customers Find Your Listing
The Google Insights for Search will show you a chart that details how customers find your business listing. The chart will report the total number of searches and break those searches down into individual categories. This search information will include hits from your Google Ads. There are three different ways a customer could find you: direct searches, discovery searches, or branded searches.
Direct Search
A direct search is when a customer searched for your business name or address. These searches are typically completed by returning customers or potential customers who found your business through an alternative marketing channel. Either way, they knew to search for your specific business.
Discovery Search
A discovery search occurs when a customer searched for a category, product, or service that you offer, and your business listing appeared as a result. The better optimized your Google Business Profile listing is, the more likely your business is to appear in a discovery search.
Branded Search
The last type of search is a branded search, which occurs when a customer searches for your brand or a brand related to your business. This category will only show up in Insights if your listing has appeared for a branded search.
Where Customers View Your Business on Google
Google Business Profile Insights will also show you where customers find your listing on Google. You’ll see the number of views your listing received in Google Search and Google Maps, and you can also see if customers are using a desktop or mobile device. It’s important to know that these views are impressions, meaning the data doesn’t differentiate between someone who simply saw your listing and someone who actually interacted with it. However, this information can still be helpful, depending on your goals. For example, if you’re trying to drive traffic to your online store, you’ll want to see a majority of your results in Search. But if you’re looking to increase foot traffic, you’ll probably want to optimize for Maps instead.
Search Queries
The Search Queries section of Insights shows a list of search terms customers typed into Google to find your business. Next to the search term is a number that reports how many people found your listing using that term. While the search query numbers might seem lower than you expected, Google only shows queries that meet its privacy threshold. Understanding what terms people use when they look for or find your business can help you better optimize your website with similar keywords. It can also help determine if you’re missing out on a certain market and need to add keywords to your current website strategy.
Popular Times & Visit Duration
If your business has a decent amount of foot traffic, Google Business Profile Insights will display information on Popular Times at your business and your customers’ Visit Duration. The Visit Duration estimates the average time customers spend at your location. The data for Visit Duration is calculated from the last few weeks, whereas Popular Times is averaged over the last few months.
Customer Actions
The Customer Actions section of Google Business Profile Insights explains what customers did after they found your local business listing. A chart will show the number of website visits, direction requests, phone calls, and messages. Some of these actions have their own section to provide more insight into customer behavior.
Direction Requests
This section shows the general areas where customers were when they requested directions to your business. The insight is broken down by ZIP code, city, and state, which can help you identify places, such as specific neighborhoods, where you’re most popular with customers. This information can help you better understand your customer demographics and allows you to better target your advertising strategy. You can even compare the number of direction requests with how many sales or in-store visits you’ve had on a certain day.
Phone Calls
In addition to the total number of calls customers made, this section provides information about which day of the week and what time of day customers call your business. This information can help determine when your customers are looking for your products or services. It can indicate when your staff is busiest, and it can even help you schedule social media posts or Google Ads.
Photo Views
Insights tracks the number of photo views on your Google Business Profile listing. This data is often more helpful for businesses like restaurants that feature photos of food or hotels that feature photos of rooms and event spaces. The Photo Views insight will also compare your views to businesses similar to yours, which is helpful when gauging interest in comparison to your competitors.
Photo Quantity
In addition to Photo Views, Insights also provides information about the number of photos on your listing. The Photo Quantity insight includes photos you’ve uploaded to your listing and photos uploaded by your customers. Most importantly, the insight compares your photo quantity to businesses similar to yours, so you can decide if you need to adjust how many photos you have on your Google Business Profile listing.
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