Earlier this week, local SEO’s were quick to notice Google’s latest effort to help local brands surface critical safety protocols they have in place on their local listings. A new set of health and safety business attributes have started to appear for some local businesses in their Google My Business (GMB) dashboard.
While these attributes have started appearing for some brands in Google Search and Maps, we anticipate all brands will be able to leverage them soon. Therefore, we recommend brands check to see if this feature is currently available to you in your GMB dashboard, to ensure customers are equipped with the information they need to shop safely and comfortably with your business.
What health & safety attributes are available?
The new Health & safety attributes available in GMB include:
- Appointment required
- Mask required
- Staff get temperature checks
- Staff wear masks
- Temperature check required
These new health & safety attributes are similar to Yelp attributes, which have been available via Yelp’s platform to local businesses for the past few months. To learn more about how to optimize your Yelp listings, read our recent post 8 Tips For Optimizing Yelp Listings for Social Distancing Terms.
Why should brands leverage all the fields available within GMB?
Customer concern over their safety remains high as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on both our health and the economy. In fact, many consumers are turning to solely e-commerce shopping rather than in-store to avoid contact with others. Retail websites generated almost 22 billion visits in June 2020, up from 16.07 billion global visits in January 2020. Additionally, in a recent survey conducted by PYMNTs, over half of respondents surveyed stated they won’t go back to their old way of in-store shopping.
To alleviate potential concern over what safety practices you have in place to limit in-person contact and encourage consumers to come into your business, local businesses should indicate the special services you have in place via your local listings.
Earlier this year, Google released several attributes that have proven to be beneficial to local businesses in various industries. Businesses also took advantage of existing attributes to better highlight their contactless services. Some of these attributes, which local brands can still leverage, include:
- Curbside pickup
- No-contact delivery
- In-store pickup
- Delivery
If your local business has not done so already, we recommend you look at all the attributes available to you to better communicate updates to your operations.
Are the new health & safety attributes available to all businesses?
Attributes, in general, vary based on the primary category you select for your business. Not every attribute is available to every business, which leads us to believe the new health & safety attributes will likely not appear for every business. However, if you are in the healthcare, service, or retail industry, it is highly likely these attributes will soon be available for you to take advantage of.
How do the health & safety attributes benefit brands?
By offering your customers more information about your business upfront, you encourage engagement and retention. You may also improve consumer’s perception of your business, who may not be aware of the safety measures you have in place to protect your customers. Additionally, attributes help cut down the inquiries your customer service team may receive if your safety information wasn’t at the forefront of your local listings.
Alleviate your consumer’s concerns by displaying pertinent information regarding your operations, hours, and safety measures in the place consumer’s typically turn to first to find out more about your business–your GMB listing.
Need help managing your local listings or implementing attribute updates in bulk? We’re here to help.