Google has come up with four new Google map updates for searchers & businesses. This will undoubtedly improve users’ experience in a number of ways. Google has been adding a host of features to Google Maps for the last many years, and it has yet again come up with four new updates to help its users reach their destinations safely amid the COVID-19 mayhem.
These four new Google maps features will help users keep up-to-date, connected, and most importantly safe. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Google has added 200 plus new features to Google Maps in an endeavor to adapt normally to a new normal. These four additions are in line with this aim — and if you are planning to get out of your cocoon, these features will make it happen. These new features will help you navigate through your journey safe & healthy.
Let’s read to find everything about this new development.
Let’s get started:
- Messaging from Maps and Search
This particular feature will improve communication between customers & businesses. Businesses that are verified will now get an option to send messages to their customers through the Google Maps app. These messages will appear in the updates tab business messages section. It will also have the option to enable or disable mail using Google My Business or Google Maps apps.
Google is also planning to very soon add this feature for businesses to enable them to send & receive messages from their computer by adding messages directly to the search. Customers can use the business messaging through the Google posts update. In addition to that, from the Google My Business message, customers can easily start a conversation.
- Updated Performance Information.
There was an update a few months ago in Google My Business related to the new performance data set. Google adds yet more metrics to this performance data that will help gauge the performance of a business (through the number of engagements from search & Maps). Google is working to add more improved performance data stats, that will help with the following information:
- Performance comparison with last year’s performance.
- The total number of searches for your business profile.
- The number of times your business appears on a search term.
- List of search terms that people use to search your business profile.
All of these performance data will be available for six months. Google will be adding more such data in early next year providing information on whether customers came to know about your business through search or Maps and whether they saw it on desktop or mobile.
- Community Feed
There will be a new community feed added to the Google Maps Explore Tab. This feed will allow users to get access to the articles, photos & latest reviews from the people they are following, companies & local experts. This will mean (for food & drink companies) — the more pictures & relevant content they are adding, the more chances for them to be discovered by people who are interested.
- Street View User Contributions
Per this Google Maps update, users can now post images using their phones to Street View. With the help of the Street View App, users (while they move down a path or street) can record a series of relatable images. Google will automatically do all the required adjustments (position, rotation & sequence of images) once the images are published. This feature will be pretty helpful for businesses where the best Street View coverage is not available.
Takeaways.
This detailed granularity added to the Google Maps aims at bettering the user experience. These four new features will help natural features look easier to see. Google Maps is supported by almost 20 million people every day — as they enrich the user experience with updates to business services, reviews, photos & more. With this new update, Google aims at adding more to the user experience. To keep up with the latest updates from Google follow the link.