Google My Business Messaging Feature

January 23, 2020

Did you know Google My Business had a messaging feature?

The landscape of Local SEO is evolving, Googles messaging feature allows google searchers to message/text with your business directly from your Knowledge Panel in search results (shows up as Message and send a message– both on mobile and desktop), and in Maps (as Message and send a message). Enabling this feature would mean customers can send their questions to you immediately and get a response from your business.

Should Your Business Use This Feature?

The answer to this is going to differ for every business owner and business types. If you have the staff and ability to respond quickly to a chat enquiry and if it makes sense for your business, then this feature may be ideal for you. Two-way messaging can improve a customer’s experience, particularly if it’s a customer that does not want to call to ask a quick question and text is their preferred communication method.

If you are not going to be readily available to answer messages for your business and the response time will be delayed, this isn’t an ideal feature for you. This is an “on-demand” type of features which then means expectations for a quick response time will be high.

*The Messaging feature is not available for all countries or listings, so if you don’t see it for your business, you may have to wait to gain access.

What you should know about the Messaging feature:

Business owners do have the option to turn the feature on and off. Ideally you keep the messages on during your business hours and turn it off when no one is available to respond.
Google has a response time requirement. When you receive a new message it’s important to answer within 24 hours. This will promote trust and encourage engagement with your business. To support quick responses, Google may deactivate messaging for your business if you don’t respond within the time frame.
Your typical response time also shows up on your listing.
You cannot respond to messages in the GMB dashboard on desktop.
The person who responds on behalf of the company will share their full name and Google avatar image with the customer.
Customers cannot call directly from the chat; this is specifically for messaging.
You can create a welcome message of up to 120 characters.
There are chat policies that you also will need to follow, so if you are going to start using this feature make sure you are up to date on the current on the rules.

How to Setup Google My Business Messaging Feature:

To enable this Messaging feature you have to download the Google My Business App from Google Play store and the Apple App Store.
Then you need to log into your GMB account.
If you have multiple locations attached to your account, click the top business name that appears when you login, and select the business that you want to manage/turn on messaging for.
Then you need to tap Customers -> then select Messages on the top bar -> then Turn On (if you don’t see the turn-on slider right away you may need to click the little “more” icon in the top right corner of the App, and go into Messaging settings).
Messaging is now live and active.