New Features and Updates for Google My Business and Image Search

 Posted on July 13,2017 in Changes with Google

This week, Google rolled out new updates and features regarding image search results and Google My Business. Google was testing the updates and features earlier this year and late last year, and has now decided to deploy them.

Google My Business Messaging Feature

A new messaging feature for Google My Business is now fully available on mobile phones throughout the U.S. The managers of Google My Business accounts can now directly chat with potential customers or clients through the Google local panel in mobile search. 

So, when potential clients see your Google local panel when searching for your company in mobile search, a “Message” icon will appear next to the “Call,” “Directions,” and “Website” icons. 

To activate this feature, go to your Google My Business account home page and click the “Turn on Messaging” button in the section titled “Message with Customers.” You will then be prompted to enter the mobile number of the phone you want to connect to your account (your phone must have a messaging app installed).

After you verify the number, you can set up an autoreply message that will be sent to people who use the messaging feature. 

Google My Business Insights Email Update

Google My Business has also updated the monthly insights email they send to business owners who have a Google local listing. This email details the analytics around the performance of your local listing on Google. Previously, the email included data showing the number of views your business received in Google searches, the number of people who called the number from your business listing, and the number of people who clicked on the “Directions” icon of your Google business listing.

Now, the monthly insights email also includes data on the number of visits to your website, the search words or phrases your business was found for, and reviews. The insights email now also compares how your local listing performed from month to month. 

Image Search Update

In the latest update to how search results are displayed, Google will now show both recipe and video data in mobile image search results. The update may have come from the newly supported schema that surrounds images which allows developers to make this type of content available directly within image search results.

When an image result is clicked on, information for the video or recipe is provided alongside the image. If the result is a video, a “Watch now” button will appear. On an Android phone, the Watch now icon leads to the video being launched in the YouTube app. 

So far, the video results in the image search seem to mainly consist of videos from YouTube. 

Contact OVC Lawyer Marketing, Inc. Today

If you have questions or concerns about how to expand the presence of your business on Google, contact our online marketing professionals at OVC, INC. We can assist you with improving your business’s ranking on Google search as well as provide you with a variety of online marketing services including SEO, PPC, social media marketing, and video marketing. Call us at 630-635-8000 or contact us via our website.  

Sources:

http://searchengineland.com/google-begins-rolling-messaging-feature-within-google-business-278790

http://searchengineland.com/google-business-updates-insights-analytics-email-sent-businesses-278817

http://searchengineland.com/google-image-search-now-shows-videos-recipes-278704