In early October the Twitter user @SeoAllie, Director of Google My Business Services at Whitespark in Canada, was the first to spot call history data as a new beta feature in some business dashboards.
Keep on reading to get an inside look at what the new call history data provides, with details from her blog post.
What We Know
- The data is currently in beta and is only available to select GMB users
- If it is available to you, you have the choice to opt in to this feature
- The data will only be visible from the GMB app
- Call data is both from clicks in search and from maps
- Once enabled, when users click to call they are forwarded to a unique tracking number made by Google
- Calls you receive from your GMB profile will start with an automated message saying “Call from Google”
- The details that call history will collect include the phone number, duration, and time of call
- Call history is only available for 45 days after it is tracked
Here is an example of what the data will look like:
What This Means for Marketers
Google in recent months has been showing great shifts away from third-party services, and creating their own versions of tools. So while many businesses might now be using a platform such as CallRail to create unique numbers to track multiple GMB profiles, this new ability will allow them to do it all within the app.
On top of call history, Google also quietly launched a food ordering system for those in the restaurant services industry. The system allows for users to place orders directly from a GMB profile without having to go to a website or an app such as GrubHub, UberEats, or the like.
This goes to show the trend of Google expanding their services to be all-inclusive to everything business owners may want when it comes to additional features in the GMB dashboard. It will be interesting to see what else comes about in the future from their team.
Read More on Recent Google My Business Updates
- New Details Released on Upgraded GMB Badge
- Google Offers Upgraded GMB Profiles with Guaranteed Badge
- Here’s How You Can See GMB Traffic in Analytics
- New Review Attributes Rolling Out on Google
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