If you are not already using Google My Business, we think it is time you start! Google is in the process of rolling out new performance reports which can be found in the insights section within Google My Business. 

These reports are finally being rolled out as Google has been teasing us with this idea since August 2020 and then again in December. However, the time has come for you to be able to access these reports and give it a test ride. 

Businesses can access these reports by logging into their Google My Business account and clicking on ‘Insights.’ There is a chance you may see a message at the top of the page that says, “Your insights are moving.” 

Below is a screenshot of what the new insights reports look like.

As you can see from the screenshot, the metrics show the number of calls and messages the business has received within a 6-month timeframe. Google goes further by providing a graph with the data displayed month by month. Further down there is data showing the search terms that were used to trigger your business profile in Google Search and Google Maps. 

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Drawbacks

Whilst this new data is insightful, there are a few metrics that are not considered, such as website clicks and driving directions. Furthermore, since the search terms trigger your profile to be seen on Search and on Maps, the insights do not show if searchers found your business profile through Google Search or Google Maps. While we are speaking about Google Maps, these reports do not display the photo views, compared to the older performance reports which included photo views and other metrics. 

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Why do we care?

Although there are a few drawbacks, these new reports give businesses 6 months worth of valuable data, which is twice as long compared to previous data reports. However, it is missing key data points. It can be assumed that this is an early release, and we can hope that Google will include all the data from the insights and performance reports in the future. If you do not already have a Google My Business profile, I suggest you set one up. This profile can improve your brand loyalty, here’s how. 

Tags: digital marketing, google, Google My Business