How To Ask and Answer Questions About a Local Business on Google

If you haven’t noticed yet, users can now ask and answer questions about a local business directly on your Google Business page.

Google, the world’s largest search engine, is constantly testing out new features that will help searchers find the answers they’re looking for in the shortest amount of time possible.

The Questions and Answers addition allows potential customers to ask questions directly to business owners and receive an answer that the public can see.

This relatively new feature was originally announced back in August and is now on just about every local business listing on Google.

So, how does it work and how can it help your business?

Directly on your Google Business page, you will see the option to ‘Ask a question’ and ‘Answer quick questions’. Additionally, if a business has had questions asked and answered previously, they will automatically appear with your Google Maps listing.

For example, in a search for Toronto plumber, this is a local business that appeared:

As you can see, a potential customer asked a question whether this plumbing company performed a specific service. Using the questions and answers feature, the business owner was able to quickly answer the question. Anyone searching for a plumber who sees this business’ Google Business page will now be able to see this question and answer.

This can provide tremendous benefits to business owners. People are constantly asking location-specific questions, and they can now find quick answers to them directly from the business itself.

If you’re a business owner and receive a question from a searcher (or even if you happen to see a question on a different listing that you know the answer to), you can quickly and easily post a response.

Going back to our previous screenshot example, click ‘See all questions’. If there is a question posted on a page, this option will automatically be shown. Once you click on the link to see all questions, you will be able to see all of the previous questions and answers posted. Simply click on the ‘Answer’ button under the question you want to answer and type your response.

The ask and answer questions feature by the Google Business team is yet another way Google is actively coming up with ways to provide searchers with direct answers in the fastest way possible. This can also be an effective way to quickly ask and answer frequently asked questions that your customers typically ask.

The questions and answers feature combined with reviews for your local business will undoubtedly prove to be an important aspect when customers are researching businesses.

If you actively answer questions asked about your business and combine them with positive reviews, it makes sense that more people are going to trust your company and translate into more leads.

To learn more about the new ask and answer questions feature on Google and to learn how you can turn on/off notifications for when your business receives a new question, check out the Google Maps Help page.

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