Looking to market your business? Then you need to find data on your customers. That’s a daunting prospect for many business owners. Where do you even start? Google Business Profile is an excellent tool that most business owners can easily get to grips with. Here’s everything you need to know about Google Business Profile, and why it’s so important.
WHY COLLECT DATA INSIGHTS?
Before you use Google Business Profile Insights, you need to know why it’s so important that you use it. Right now, marketing the focuses on the individual is the most effective. The more targeted your marketing is, the more effective it’s going to be. By using tools like Google Business Profile, you’re able to gather data that helps you create that personalised marketing experience.
When you have that data, you can also keep track of how well your marketing is working. You’ll be able to see what works and what doesn’t, so you can keep tweaking your approach. That way, you’ll be able to perfect your marketing as you go along.
WHAT IS GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE
Google Business Profile is just one of several tools that Google has for business owners. Google Business Profile, Google Analytics and Search Console all help you see who’s searching for your business, and what they’re saying about you.
Google Business Profile Insights are where you’ll be able to gather info about how people are searching for you online. Once they find you, what do they do with that info? Insights is where you’ll find these answers. With that data, you can make improvements to your marketing, so you can easily reach your audience.
HOW TO USE GOOGLE BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Now you know what Google Business Profile Insights are, now you can use the tools here. You’ll be able to measure your listing’s effectiveness, and make changes and improvements. Where do you start?
When you sign into Google Business Profile, you’ll see a box on the right hand side that details your listing’s performance over the last 28 days. To get more detailed analysis, you can select ‘Insights’ from the left hand tab.
CUSTOMER SEARCH DATA
First, take a look at how customers search for your business. In the Performance box, you’ll see you can search for Views, Searches, and Activity. Click Searches, and you’ll be given data on Direct and Discovery searches.
A Direct search is when someone types your business name into Google. This shows you who already knows about your business and is searching for it directly. Discovery searches, on the other hand, are where someone has searched for a vaguer term, such as ‘greengrocer in my area’ or ‘electrician available now’. This has lead them to you. If your Discovery figure is lower than your Direct figure, you’ll need to improve your SEO to help more customers find you online.
QUERIES USED TO FIND YOUR BUSINESS
This is found in Insights, and is highly useful info. It lists the top search queries that people use in order to find a business like yours. This will confirm you’re using the right keywords in your SEO. You can also use Google Analytics and Search Console to help you drill down into this data further.
CUSTOMER ACTIONS
These Insights will show you what a customer is doing, once they’ve found your business. For example, they may call you, visit the business premises, or place an order online.
You can use that data to help you improve your listing and site. For example, if customers are searching for directions, you can include a page on your site that details how to find you. You can also add extra details, such as nearby parking or public transit stops.
PHOTO VIEWS
Having photos on your Google Business Profile listing is crucial, as it helps bring more business to you. You can use Insights to see who’s looking at your picture’s and what they do once they’ve seen them. You can also see how your pictures are faring compared to your rivals. If they’re getting more views, you’ll need to improve yours to get more views.
This is a very quick overview of Google Business Profile insights. Dive into the menu to see what other data you can get, and use it to improve your rankings.
