Google My Business, statistics and video uploads are changing
It does not stop the work of updating of Google My Business, the free online showcase available to activities that want to emerge in the Search and local SEO: The latest news in chronological order concern Google My Business Insights and the settings for uploading videos, whose maximum size has now fallen to 75 MB.
New limits for the upload of videos in GMB
We start indeed from this second significant change, with which marketing professionals will have to start to deal with: Google has decided to reduce the maximum size of videos uploaded to GMB, passed from the previous 100 MB to 75 MB.
The change – noted by some analysts who had problems with uploading videos, as told by the Search Engine Journal – is made official in the help page of the tool, where now we read that the maximum size of videos on Google My Business is precisely 75 MB, while the other basic requirements are a maximum duration of 30 seconds and a resolution of 720p or higher.
At the moment Google has not provided an explanation for the choice to reduce the file size of video uploads, and you just have to comply with the novelty.
GMB, here come changes to the statistics’ data
The second update – in addition to those told in recent weeks – concerns instead the reports on the performance of the profile of the activity offered to the owners of the profile, who now have more data available to work with and improve performance.
According to the tool guide, data is now more integrated with the profile on Search and Maps and it is possible to access other metrics of the main profile directly from the activity profile. The first – and more interesting – report is that of “interactions, which allow you to know how many people have contacted you”, along with that of the queries used to find the activity.
In the coming months, it is already announced, “other metrics that will include detailed reports on the searches and the number of people who have visited the profile”.
How to use GMB statistics
The data now added has never been displayed before on the Google My Business Insights page.
As local marketing operators can attest, a Google My Business profile can be as effective in attracting customers as a website and sometimes even more important: for this reason, having quick access to important metrics can help make GMB profiles even more effective and thus improve the performance of the activity.
The interaction metrics will be updated daily, while the other metrics will be updated monthly.
The data will be available for up to 6 months and entrepreneurs can review their performance by selecting custom time intervals and comparing data.
The steps to examine the Google My Business performance report
To analyze the new metrics from the company profile you need to consult the section of GMB performance reports and follow these steps:
- Sign in with the account used to register to Google My Business.
- Connect to the profile of your business, searching on Google its exact name.
- If necessary, select View Profile to manage the activity profile.
- Select Promote and then Performance.
- At the top of the page, select a range of dates for the report and click Apply.
Metrics are available for download and via the API. Those who have only one activity can download the statistics at https://business.google.com/locations; those who manage multiple company profiles must follow the procedure to access the statistics in bulk.
The history of incoming calls
American users are trying to preview and beta another feature, called Call history, which is basically a history of calls received from the activity through the local tab of Google My Business.
Thanks to this feature you can keep track of the phone calls of customers who found the activity on Google Search and Maps and clicked on the “call” button, so you have the opportunity to find all incoming calls, discover any missed calls and stay busy with their customers.
All calls received through the activity profile, remember the guide page, “will start with a short message informing you that it comes from Google”.
