From GBP Insights to Profile Performance Metrics: What’s New?

In many ways, Google is the front page of the internet–especially for local businesses. It’s the first place many people turn to when they’re looking for information online, whether they want to learn more about a product or service, search for businesses nearby, or need directions to a new place.

Your clients’ Google Business Profile (GBP), formerly known as Google My Business (GMB), is an essential part of digital marketing as it determines how customers search and how their business appears across all of Google’s platforms–including the ever-important Search and Maps. 

Not only that, but GBP comes with a set of built-in tools called Google Business Profile Insights (sometimes referred to as Google Business Profile Analytics), and Google has been tinkering with it to make it even better.

Recently, Google Business Profile officially sunset the old Google My Business Insights section as they have transitioned to their new Performance metrics. So from here on out, GBP Insights will be known as Performance Metrics.

This article will take a deeper look at the changes to GBP Insights and explore how agencies can leverage the new GBP Performance Metrics in a customizable GBP report template to boost their clients’ local search presence and make the most out of Google Business Profiles.

What Is Google Business Profile Performance Metrics? 

GBP Performance Metrics is Google Business Profile’s analytics platform dedicated to your GBP listing. It displays key metrics such as how many people viewed the profile, how users found it, and the most common ways users interact with it. 

In other words, GBP Performance Metrics measures and tracks all the traffic and activity related to your client’s GBP listings.

Why is Google Business Profile Analytics Helpful?

Many businesses treat their Google Business Profile as a simple business listing and never realize its full potential. Even seasoned marketers are guilty of treating GBP as an afterthought, focusing on getting their client’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn accounts set up first instead of the wealth of data Google business insights (and now and now Google performance metrics) provided. 

But your Google Business Profile is so much more valuable than you might think, especially for businesses with a local footprint! Agencies can leverage GBP Performance Metrics to not only drive their client’s SEO strategies but also increase their search presence, grow awareness of their business, and ultimately drive more conversions and sales.

After all, Google Search and Google Maps dominate the competition with over 80% market share in their respective categories. Meanwhile, Bing, the second most popular search engine after Google, comes in at a paltry 9% market share, while Apple Maps only controls around 11% of the navigation app market.

The Google profile is often the first thing people see, and first impressions matter, so it’s in your client’s best interests to have the best Google listing possible, and Insights can provide the data needed to achieve that.

What Insights Does a GBP Performance Report Provide? 

GBP Performance reporting allows you to track and monitor a wide range of key metrics to see how customers are interacting with your client’s business profile over time. 

How Is GBP Insights Changing?

Google is making it easier to access more profile metrics directly from your client’s business profile through Business Profile Performance reporting as new metrics continue to be added. 

According to Google, here are the metrics you’ll see in your client’s business performance report, as well as a few of the known differences from GBP Insights so far:

Note that this is not an exhaustive list, as Google will continue rolling out more metrics along with more detailed data for use in your clients’ local marketing reports. 

Accessing GBP Performance Reporting

Much like in Google Analytics, you can track your client’s GBP performance over time and set custom date ranges. However, the first thing you should do is double-check that your client’s Google Business Profile is verified because only verified profiles can access GBP insights and performance reporting. For more information, click the following link to learn how to verify your business on Google.

Once the Google Business Profile has been verified, the next step is to find it. If you’re already signed into your client’s Google account on Desktop, simply click on the Google Apps icon in the top right and click on “Business Profile,” as seen below:

Next, click on Performance, circled in red in the screenshot below:

From there, simply specify the time period for your report at the top of the page and select Apply.

Google Business Profile Reporting

AgencyAnalytics’ reporting platform seamlessly integrates with your client’s business profiles to create customizable GBP dashboards that automate GBP reporting in one easy-to-use platform. Add over 20 key GBP metrics to your client reports and marketing dashboards with ease.

Create effective local SEO reports and keep all your clients’ GBP Performance metrics under one roof. Try this exact dashboard free for 14 days with AgencyAnalytics. 

What Is the Difference Between Direct, Branded, and Discovery Searches?

Google has categorized searches into three different types:

1. Direct

2. Branded

3. Discovery

But the differences between these different search categories aren’t always clear, so let’s take a closer look at the distinctions between them with examples to better understand what they are and how to use them to your advantage.

GBP Direct Search

As the name implies, direct searches are when someone knows exactly what they want and are searching for the specific location of a business, using the actual business name and address while indicating a high level of local intent. This is also often referred to as navigational search intent.

The result of a direct search is usually a GBP listing (or sometimes a knowledge panel) for the specific location you’re looking for.

For example, let’s say you’re hungry for a Big Mac, so you grab your phone and Google “McDonald’s on Main Street” because that’s where you are. Google would count this as a direct search and provide you with the specific listing for that location.

GBP Branded Search

All branded searches contain the name of a brand–whether it’s for a business, product like Apple Watch, or service such as Uber Eats–but there are two different cases that Google considers a branded search, and it’s based on the search results that are displayed. 

The first case is a simple search of the brand name without the explicit local intent of a direct search, and this type of branded search results in the brand logo in a knowledge panel with a map pack of nearby locations underneath.

The second type of branded search results in multiple GBP listings of businesses or locations that sell the particular brand you searched for, but to make matters more confusing, this type of branded search can have local intent.

For example, simply Googling “McDonald’s” or “Starbucks” counts as a branded search based on the first type without local intent. Meanwhile, searching for “McDonalds near me” or “local Starbucks beans” has local intent and would result in a 3-pack of several listings while being counted as the second type of branded search. 

GBP Discovery Search

Luckily, discovery searches are more straightforward. When someone searches for a product or service category and the listings for multiple businesses that offer it pop up–that’s a discovery search.

So if you searched for “cafes near me,” you’ll get multiple listings of nearby cafes, and Google would count it as a discovery search.

Google Business Profile Insights vs. Google Analytics: What's The Difference?

The most important difference between Google Business Profile Performance Metrics and Google Analytics is their focus. While Google Analytics is dedicated to helping you understand your client’s website traffic, GBP Performance Metrics is devoted to your Google Business Profile listing instead.

At the same time, both GBP Performance Metrics and Google Analytics allow you to track, monitor, and report on key metrics, and both platforms also seamlessly integrate with AgencyAnalytics. 

The Most Important Tip for Google Business Profile Insights

Google Business Profile is probably one of the most overlooked and underrated marketing tools out there, but if it’s used right, it can be one of the most powerful platforms in your marketing arsenal.

While everyone else is obsessed with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn, they’re missing out on the fact that Google still dominates how we search for information and navigate the world both online and in real life. 

So take the following tip to heart, and soon, you’ll be outdoing your competition by ranking better, getting more traffic, and increasing your conversions in no time.

Do a Google Business Profile Audit

If you want your clients to get the most out of GBP, the first thing agencies should do is perform a Google Business Profile audit to find out whether your client’s Google listings are optimized. If not, then check out GBP Performance Metrics and analyze your client’s KPIs and metrics to see where their listings are lacking and execute a strategy to fix that. 

A great place to start is to make sure all of the relevant information is included and up to date in your client’s GBP listing, such as the business name, address, business hours, phone number, and website link. 

If your client’s profile doesn’t have any photos, consider adding some to make the profile more engaging, and if they already do have photos, make sure they’re high-quality.

You’ll also want to take a look at your client’s reviews and decide whether they should respond to any of them or not. A good tip is showing gratitude for positive reviews and thanking customers for feedback–even if they’re negative. It’s not mandatory to respond, but whatever you do, don’t get into arguments in the reviews or get overly defensive because that reflects badly on your client’s business.

For a more in-depth list of tips for optimizing your client’s GBP listings, check out our article on how to perform a Google Business Profile audit!