The way in which your real estate business is found by potential clients has changed drastically over the past decade. Traditionally, you would list your estate agency’s company details in the Yellow Pages and other print business directories or publish your contact details in the local Phonebook. However, the internet has changed all of that and has given the consumer free, easy access to information at their fingertips.
Users are now Googling for business information and as a direct result, Google has now evolved into the world’s largest business directory, replacing the old Yellow Pages and Phonebook with a superior, more interactive, digital equivalent. Once you have listed your estate agency on Google My Business you will not only be found on Google Search and Google Maps, when users are looking for real estate services in your local area, but you will also be given insight into exactly how users are finding your business, where they are finding it and what they do once they find it.
Google My Business Insights provides you with this information, helping you gain a better understanding and ultimately get the most out of your business listing.
“How Customers Search for Your Business”
In this section of your insights report you will see a pie chart that shows you how many times users have searched and found your Google My Business listing. This information is broken down even further into; Direct Searches (users finding your listing by specifically searching for your business name or address), Discovery Searches (users finding your listing by searching for a general term, category or service) and Total Searches.
When your listing is found by a high number of direct searches, it is a good way to gauge the popularity of your real estate brand in comparison to other industry players. This being said, you also want a high number of discovery searches - when your discovery searches are too low you may have to enhance the quality of your Google My Business listing.
“Where Customers View Your Business on Google”
The next metric on your Google My Business Insights shows you a comparison between the number of views / impressions of your listing received on Google Search vs Google Maps. Here you can clearly see exactly how many times your listing has been viewed on both of these Google platforms and compare the two.
If you pick up on an increase of views on either your search or maps, this would be a great time to assess how your listing is being displayed on these platforms. Ensure that all of your details are accurate and that you add images including; a street view photo and business logo to your profile.
“The Most Common Actions Customers Take on Your Listing”
The final section informs you on how many users have engaged and interacted with your listing by taking a specific action. This is why it is important that your Google My Business landing page provides visitors with clear signals, which will drive them to take these actions. If you want them to visit your website provide a link, if you want them to visit your physical location make sure you are mapped correctly, if you want them to call you include your office or cell number.
Website Visits
This information will give you a good idea of how many visitors are finding your real estate website by conducting local searches and where these searches are taking place.
Direction Requests
Direction requests show that users are interested in your real estate business and the number of requests can be compared with office walk-ins or other influxes in your business. The direction request section will also display a heat map, which illustrates where visitors are searching from – as a result you are able to better target and market your brand to these specific neighbourhoods and cities.
Phone Calls
This segment shows the most popular day and active time for phone calls, this metric is useful as you are able to see if your business is receiving calls after hours (which you should have stated clearly on your Google My Business listing). If you do not want to lose out on prospective buyer or seller inquiries it may be a good idea to redirect these calls to a personal line.
Photo Views
The number of times people view your Google My Business images will be displayed alongside the number of times your competitors’ images are viewed. If your images are visited less frequently - ensure that you upload better high-quality images, which accurately represent your business.
A Google My Business listing is a must-have for every estate agency. As a property professional you can’t afford not to be found on the world’s biggest business directory. Not only do you occupy prime real estate on Google Search and Google Maps, but by using Google My Business Insights you will get a better understanding on how users are finding your business, where they are finding it and what they do once they find it. This then allows you to optimise your business listing and overall marketing strategy – leading to higher-quality leads and more sales in the long run.