Features of Google My Business (Formerly Google Places)

Google has been hard at work on the local profile for business platform that is housed in the Maps side of the site. When people are searching for a local business, it is this profile that will show up. Originally Google Places, it merged with the Google Plus profile, although the Places page still existed some things changed. This time Google has shifted even further and it seems clear that the local profile is for business!

While it is still fresh off the rollout, and there may be even more features that have not been explored all the way yet, here are some cool features I spotted at first glance in comparison to the most recent version of this local business tool:

 

 

Add a Virtual Tour

You can now add a virtual tour of: your business in action, the office, a warehouse, a factory, you name it. Pretty cool idea and a great way to reach out and touch those interested in investigating your company in depth. Video is super-popular and it is a great way to add more content to your online presence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Target Specific Audience Demographics

You can now target specific audiences with your profile, taking advantage of Google’s latest Affinity and In-Market research. This is one of the most important features in my opinion. What this does is allows Google to use their segmented lists to present your listing more often to those viewers you feel are the most relevant to what you are offering. Really cool! While this aspect of Google targeting is fairly new, it is opening up a new realm of targeted marketing based on user profiles and perceived interests of the users. The way this works is, let’s say you are a real estate agency- the segment Google has already compiled of users who are interested in real estate related websites are considered more heavily when deciding which users to show your profile to. This is geared toward improved conversions. Makes sense!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Access All Business Apps with My Business

Now you can navigate to the business profile and other applications from the hub at the top right of the logged in screen. Not really a big feature but I figured I would mention it here since Google is touting it during the walkthrough.

 

 

 

 

 

Switch between business and personal profiles quickly & easily

Previously it was a bit of a pain because most of the time you would end up having to sign in again when trying to access the backend of the business profile listing.

See how all your profile components are performing with the improved interface of the analytics offered with the My Business backend. Check your visibility, engagement, and audience metrics. How many views of the profile? Driving requests? Clicks to your website? Check it all! In the future, look for Google My Business Mobile App.  In the meantime, get started here with Google My Business.