How Google My Business Insights Work | A Quick Guide 2021

How Google My Business Listing Insights work

Google My Business is a free platform by Google where businesses can create a digital presence. It has tons of features to make managing your online presence easier. One of the best tools available is Google My Business Insights, but it does come with its curbs.

In this blog, we will explore Google My Business Insights and everything it covers under its umbrella while also looking at its limitations.

What are GMB Insights?

Google my Business Insights is a tool that helps businesses track their online presence, like how users search for you, what actions do they take while looking at your listing, etc.

To access your Google My Business Insights, log in with your GMB account using your credentials and click on the ‘Main Menu’ > ‘Insights’ tab.

Don’t forget to read our blog on the “Top 7 ways to optimize your Google My Business profile.”

What does GMB show?

You will see the following pointers in the Insights page:

  • How customers search for your business
  • Where customers view your business on Google
  • Customer actions
  • Directions requests
  • Phones calls
  • Popular times
  • Photos

How customers search for your business

how-customers-search-for-your-business

The first data that will appear before you is how your customers search for your business. You can look for data dating from 1 week to 1 quarter ago. You will have three options next to the pie chart – Direct, Discovery, and Branded.

Direct

Direct search refers to customers who find your listing by typing in your business’ name or address directly.

Discovery

Discovery search refers to customers who find your business through searches like ‘salons near me.’ This falls under a particular category – product or service.

Branded

Branded search refers to customers who find your listing via brands related to your business.

Where customers view your business on Google

where-customers-view-your-business-on-google

The data in this graph shows where your customers are viewing your business on Google. Whether it’s on the search page of Google or Google Maps. Depending on the higher amount of impressions, you can optimize your website for better ranking and traffic. E.g., If customers are looking for your listing on Google Maps, make sure to put in the right directions and address with basic information for their convenience.

Customer actions

customer-actions

As the name suggests, this graph shows you what exactly your audience is doing on your website. From browsing through your website to requesting directions or contacting you. You can click on each pointer and look for specific numbers to understand your customer’s interactions with your listing in a better way.

Directions requests

directions-requests

Below Customer Actions, you will find Direction Requests displaying exactly how many times a customer has requested directions to your listing. Since the requests show zip code, city, state, you can use this information to target your ads to that specific area.

Phones calls

phone-calls

Phone calls show you a graph that displays the number of times a customer has called your business via your Google My Business listing, and an additional option helps you know what time you receive the most calls from your customers.

Popular times

According to the graph, you can see when your listing is crowded with your audience during the day. The graph is updated on an hourly basis, and you can use this information to schedule updates and posts about your listing to draw attention and bring in more traffic.

Photos

photo-views

Under this section, you will see Photos Views and Photo Quantity. The photo views graphs show the number of times a customer has viewed pictures from your listing or compared it to other listings. The photo quantity graph shows the total number of pictures appearing on your listing. Uploading pictures on your listing is a great way to bring in more traffic since customers usually refer to photos to understand a product better.

Author avatar
Ramona Crasto