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Tracking phone calls gives a lot of valuable information with accurate data to help grow your business. You can now get the most out of your consumer phone calls thanks to Google My Business. 

Google My Business is testing Call History, an exciting new feature that will allow businesses to track customer phone calls that are associated with and linked to Google Search/ Google Maps. This new feature is in the early trial stages, but since only a select number of businesses currently have access, you can opt into receiving a notification when this feature will be released! 

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a free app and web browser that helps Businesses and Companies of all sizes manage and organize their online presence. This includes Google Search and Google Maps. Google My Business gives you the ability to update your days and hours of business, location, phone number etc. 

Using Google My Business allows you to post photos, respond and monitor customer reviews and grow your online presence by creating and tracking the performance of Smart campaigns. You will be able to find valuable information regarding how people find your business, and how many people call your business directly from Google. 

How does Google My Business Call History work?

The new Google My Business (GMB) Call History feature will track missed calls that are linked from Google Search or Google Maps. The phone number a consumer clicks on is your business’s number, however once they click “Call” they are transferred to a unique forwarding number. The forwarding number may resemble your businesses area code, other local numbers, or if nothing similar is available a toll free Google number. You can view if the call was missed or picked up by opening your GMB App. 

Once you open the app you will see a call tab. In this tab, the information shown is “a comprehensive list of the time, date, and phone numbers that called them” along with the location. If the call is dialed from Google and then answered, you will hear a recorded message that says “Call from Google”. Missed calls will stay on the GMB App for 45 days and then will permanently disappear, so you will want to analyze those calls prior to the expiration date. 

It should be noted that the Call History feature will only work for phone calls and will not track text messages. If you currently have Call History and have opted in, you won’t be able to opt out. Once the feature launches, you will be able to turn it on and off. 

How can Google My Business Call History benefit your business?

Call volumes have highly increased since the start of COVID-19. Consumers have been calling more often with concerns on new store hours, COVID-19 safety precautions and product inventory. With an increase in phone calls there is a chance of missing them. Being able to see the calls you have missed will help to greatly improve your customer service. It will also help you collect data including when your highest call volumes are, the locations of the calls, and where the connection of your phone call and Google search meet. 

One way to take advantage of this information is checking to see what location calls are coming from and potentially expanding your reach by using the data collected. Finding out the link between your phone number and search can also help you discover new keywords.

To find out more information head over to Google My Business’s Learn More Page. At the moment, only “a select group of businesses in the US” have this feature so far. Soon we will all be able to take advantage of this informative new feature!