Google My Business has added tons of great new features over the past year and a half.
In fact, the popular search tool has launched so many features that some have completely slipped under radar. One of those features is GMB Q&A, and you definitely want to add it to your apartment marketing strategy.
Read on to learn more about GMB Q&A, why it’s important, and how to use it correctly.
What is Google My Business Q&A?
The Google My Business Q&A feature appears within your property’s knowledge panel in Google Search. And as you probably guessed from the name, GMB Q&A provides a series of questions and answers related to your business.
It’s important to note that information in the Q&A section is crowdsourced by search users who are familiar with your business. That means questions can be asked by anyone who clicks on the “Ask a question” button, which is at the top of the Q&A section. Answers to these questions are also crowdsourced by users, which poses its own set of pros and cons for apartment marketers.
The Pros and Cons of Google My Business Questions and Answers
The benefits of Google My Business Q&A are indisputable.
The feature allows you to give prospects a good idea of community amenities and policies right off the bat. Answers about pet-friendliness, for example, can be found within Google Search rather than on your website. This transparency saves your prospects time and prequalifies website visitors, which is useful for Apartment remarketing campaigns.
On the flip side of the coin, GMB Q&A can threaten your online reputation if you’re not careful.
The crowdsourced nature of “answers” allows for all kinds of slip ups and abuse. Unanswered questions make it seem as though your property doesn’t care about the questions or concerns of your prospects and residents. Even worse, bad actors can answer legitimate prospect questions with harsh criticism of your apartment community.
How to Use GMB Q&A in Your Apartment Marketing Strategy
Like almost everything else in the world of apartment marketing and reputation management, taking a proactive approach to GMB Q&A is the key to success. Here are three tips we recommend multifamily pros follow to get the most out of Questions and Answers:
- Regularly check your Q&A section: You need to stay on top of how people interact with your community online. If someone asks you a question, you should quickly answer it. Treat every inquiry like one that came from a highly qualified lead. Many very well might!
- Ask questions yourself: There’s no rule that says GMB questions can’t be asked (and answered) by the manager of the GMB listing. Consider posting questions that you commonly hear in the leasing office, along with their respective answers. If you have a Respage Chatbot, consider going through some old transcripts to look for frequently asked questions.
- Boost your SEO through Q&A: The verdict is still out on how heavily Google weighs Knowledge Panel keywords for search engine optimization. But unless you’re clearly oversaturating your profile, it’s safe to say a few keywords won’t hurt. Sprinkle a few keyword phrases into your questions and answers and you might just see a boost in organic rankings.
Want to Simplify the Process?
Maintaining Google My Business Questions and Answers is an important job that never ends. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone. If you’re busy schedule doesn’t give you enough time to monitor, respond to, and optimize your apartment GMB listing, contact us to learn about our newest GMB dashboard integrations.
