New Search Data in Google My Business Insights

There's new search data in Google My Business Insights. The dashboard which is part of your listing on Google Maps and Google+ will now include more detailed information on customer visits.

For the first time you'll be able to see the total number of views for your Google listing, and also whether the visitors came from Google Search or Google Maps.

Google will also now show whether visitors have found your listing by searching for your company name, or by using a more general search. For instance, if someone searched for 'Smart Domain Group' or for 'Web Design in Kent'. That will give a better insight into how your listing performs compared to your nearest local rivals.

The other change to the Insights information is that Google+ statistics are being removed. That may be another sign that the Google+ social network will have much less importance in the future, but it can still drive traffic and good community activity in some niches. If you're already active and getting success on Google+, you should continue with your efforts, but it may not be worthwhile staring new marketing campaigns on it in the short term.

How To Use the New Search Data in Google My Business:

One thing that the new Insights data is certain to show is the importance of being found for your relevant categories as well as your name. The percentage of people who are aware of your company is likely to be smaller than the potential people who could benefit from your services. So you need to know what potential customers think are the most relevant categories, product and service terms.

That can come from all available sources - speaking to customers themselves, Google data including Analytics and Search Console reports, and from the various keyword research tools.

Then you can make sure you know how well your business is doing, and what you need to improve to get more visitors and, ultimately, more sales.