How to Use Google Maps: Features For Businesses

A new article on Search Engine Journal reports that you can find tips and tricks to help you get the most out of using Google Maps features for business and in your digital marketing campaigns.



Google Maps is packed full of features to improve the local search experience for users as well as businesses who rely on the platform to reach customers. Here's a look at some of the top features for businesses and how they can be a useful part of your marketing strategy.

How to Message Customers From Google Maps & Search

Google provides messaging capabilities in Maps and Search to facilitate easier communication between businesses and their customers. Businesses with a verified profile can now message customers directly from the Google Maps app. Messages from customers will appear in the business messages section in the updates tab. Messaging can be turned on or off from the settings panel of the Google Maps and Google My Business apps. Google will soon add the ability for businesses to see and respond to customers on desktop by adding messages directly in Search. Customers can already utilize business messaging from search results when viewing a Google My Business profile.

How to View Google Maps Performance Insights

Google tracks key marketing metrics within the performance insights of Google My Business. These insights track how well a business is performing by measuring the number of customer engagements initiated from Maps and Search. In addition, the performance insights show business owners which queries people are using to find their listings in Maps and Search. The dataset tracks the following information:

• Total amount of searches that triggered your business profile.
• Whether performance is up or down from last year.
• A list of search terms people used to find your business profile.
• How many times each search term triggered your business profile.
• Other insights include data on how many customers are finding a business via Maps and how many are finding it via Google Search, and whether the business was found on a mobile or desktop device.