Did you notice your Google Business Profile’s Q&A removal? This feature to provide customers with answers to general questions, but now, it’s gone.
Google pulled the plug on Business Profile Q&As without much warning. Now AI handles customer questions instead. If your profile isn’t updated with accurate info, potential customers might get wrong answers about your business.
The Ask Maps feature leans into Gemini AI for business answers
If your GBP is updated, the Q&A replacement might seem seamless with Google Maps AI answering questions through the Ask Maps feature. For several years, one of the most important aspects of digital marketing has been to ensure customers can find you online through a simple Google search. This means ensuring you’ve maximized your Google Business Profile through optimization. This is extremely important now because without the right information, the AAI won’t be able to provide a user with the desired information, which could lead to your business losing potential sales and revenue.
Here are several ways to ensure your Google Business Profile is optimized, ensuring the Q&A removal won’t lead to a downturn in business.
Claim your business profile and fill out your information
If you’ve been in business for a while, you probably already have a GBP and might not need to claim it. On the other hand, if you’re just starting out, you’ll need a GBP and need to claim it. In both cases, it’s a good idea to perform a quick check to ensure all of your business information is filled out correctly. This helps ensure local business visibility, allowing customers in your nearby area to find your business more easily.
Your business description is key to local SEO updates
If you want to ensure the Google Business Profile isn’t harmed by the Q&A removal, it’s important to have an accurate description of your business. You can click the “suggest description” button and allow Google to generate the description once you’ve provided some information. This Google-generated description might be more useful and acceptable to the AI system, ensuring your business is found more easily when users search for the products and services that you offer.
Professional images are worth the cost
Your GBP needs images, and professional images appear much better on your website and profile than those taken with your smartphone. This is part of your business profile management task and should be an important part of your business practices. Professional images make a huge difference, especially if there’s a common color scheme and look that can be easily associated with your business and its brand. It might cost a little more up front, but the professional look can make all the difference when customers search for your business.
Use the Google Q&A to answer some FAQs
The Q&A section of your profile might be gone, but you can still build an FAQ section that allows the Gemini AI system to find answers to questions about your business and what it offers. While building this section, you’ll want to answer questions that are asked in a conversational tone and provide answers the same way. This will aid the AI system when a voice search is used to find the products, services, or information that you provide on your website.
Collect reviews to build your reputation
The Google Business Profile Q&A removal means your reviews and ratings could become even more important than before. If a potential customer asks for the highest-rated business in your category in your area, your reviews will be what support this. Some users may even ask the system to read the most recent reviews to give them an idea of the most recent interactions with your business. Continue to ask for feedback and reviews from your customers to help support your business being at the top of the list.
Continually review your GBP
With AI taking over the Q&A portion of your profile through the “Ask Maps” feature, you’ll need to ensure your profile is always updated. This means changing it every time something changes, such as holiday hours, location, phone number, or any other pertinent information included. The Google Business Profile Q&A removal means you’ve got to be more dynamic and consistent, ensuring your information is always correct and updated.
How will the Google Business Profile Q&A removal impact your business? It might not make a lot of difference if you’ve stayed consistent and kept it updated but now is a good time to review your GBP and optimize it for the future.
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