As of July 31st, 2024 Google will be sunsetting the call history and chat functionality for Google Business Profiles. Utilizing Call History enabled Google Business Profile managers to track phone calls directly within their profile using a Google provided call forwarding number, while Chat allowed them to message a business directly from the Map listing. The more impactful of these two changes is the sunsetting of Call History. For some, this may mean a slight adjustment to the way contacts are tracked through your GBP(s), and it may mean less headaches for those tasked with responding to leads.
What Does This Change Mean for GBP Managers
If you are a business owner managing their own Google Business Profile, this may mean that you will no longer have the visibility which you once did into calls generated from your Google Business Profile. Especially for small home service type businesses, this is a “big money” placement which needs to measured in order to be managed effectively. This will also mean that you will no longer receive message leads through your GBP. While Results Guaranteed ascribes to the thinking that the more forms of contact the better, the quality of leads which came through GBP Chats (which we have had experience with) will not be sorely missed.
For marketers and agencies, this may make it more difficult for you to provide proof of effectiveness from your campaigns if you relied on this form of tracking for your Google Business Profile. Verifying a unique tracking number for a Google Business Profile can sometimes create headaches. Especially with Google’s penchant to update company contact information, it is important to keep a close eye on your Google Business Profile. It may be frustrating to see a decrease in leads which were generated from Chat, however; as mentioned above we rarely see these turning into valuable customers for our clients.
How to Measure Google Business Profile Performance
Measuring a Google Business Profile’s effectiveness is crucial to understanding the overall effectiveness of your digital marketing strategy as a local business. The Google Business Profile is at the intersection of multiple marketing channels, and missing out on valuable conversions which are coming from the Google Business Profile could result in stopping marketing efforts you otherwise do not believe are fruitful.
There are three main ways which users are going to convert through a Google Business Profile. One is using an integrated scheduling software which enables users to book an appointment online. If you are a local business wondering why we make that recommendation, contact us today and we will be happy to elaborate. The other two main forms of leads are going to be a direct call from the Google Business Profile (calling the number listed) or a click to the website which results in a conversion there.
- Phone Calls from Profile – Implementing a call tracking number unique to your Google Business Profile is the best way to measure this lead. Typically, we see a lot of contacts which come through the business profile that are not truly leads. For example, calls to cancel appointments, calls to follow up on quotes, etc. This is why qualifying contacts is an important part of lead tracking!
- Conversions on Site – In order to track conversion on your website (form fills, phone calls, chats, etc) the first step is having lead tracking in place on your website. If this is the case, it is very easy to identify which leads are coming from your Google Business Profile simply by adding UTM tracking parameters to your website link in the profile.
Overall, this change is a net positive for business owners and marketers alike. For marketers, it may take a little bit of work to alter the ways in which they track, but ultimately they will be better off for it. Results Guaranteed has had plenty of first hand experience seeing where Calls being tracked by Google were not completely accurate. Additionally, we hear a lot of feedback from clients about how Chat leads are unresponsive, or low quality. By having a comprehensive tracking strategy in place you can confidently makes decisions and changes to your digital marketing strategy and ultimately get the desired outcome when you make those changes!