Google Business Profile Releases New Business Performance API

Google Business Profile recently announced the release of its new Business Performance API.

This new API will open up opportunities for businesses to capture additional user data and performance metrics across their listings.

One of the most impactful new endpoints in the Business Performance API returns a monthly breakdown of search keywords. This means that businesses will be able to track the search keywords that led users to their Google Business Profile Listing.

Understanding which keywords that do and do not drive engagement to your listing can help to inform your business's strategy. For example, you may discover a missed opportunity in your content if a popular industry keyword is not being used in your listing's description (such as "sandals" for a shoe store). Or maybe if your business knew the top keywords driving engagement, you could add SEO optimized webpages using those keywords, fill out additional related fields on your listings, respond to reviews using those keywords, or shift marketing campaigns around these topics.

Not to mention these keywords can be a helpful starting place when evaluating how well your business stacks up against the local competition in search. If you replicate the user's journey by typing in your business's top keyword: "sneakers near me," into Google, you'll see the results that so many of your customers see on a daily basis. Does the competing retailer have three times the number of reviews you have? Do they have more images of their products? Do they make post updates more frequently than you do? It's important to recognize opportunities for improvement, especially on the search terms you know are popular with your customer base. In addition to returning keywords, the Business Performance API will also allow businesses to track key Calls-to-Action that they couldn't before:

• Business bookings
• Food orders
• Business conversations (the number of messages received on the GBP listing).

Plus, businesses will even be able to differentiate between desktop and mobile views on maps and search.

You can find a full list of the new endpoints in Google's Business Performance API here.