Did you know that your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business profile) has a questions and answers feature that lets any user ask -- or answer -- questions about your business? If not, you’re not alone. Google’s Q&A feature is frequently overlooked by merchants. However, when it’s monitored and used correctly, it can be a valuable tool for staying ahead of the competition.Google’s questions and answers feature is crowdsourced, which means anyone can ask a question by visiting your local listing and clicking the “Ask a question” button. Questions are asked, and answered, through the Business Profile.Unfortunately, many business owners find it difficult to keep track of which questions they have been asked. That’s because questions and answers are not shown to business owners in the Business Profile Manager dashboard; just like ordinary users, business owners must check the Business Profile and answer questions there.Luckily, Google has started sending email notifications letting the owners and/or managers of the Business Profile Manager dashboard (formerly Google My Business dashboard) know when new questions are added. If you don’t have notifications enabled, it’s possible for notifications to go unnoticed and for questions to go unanswered. To ensure you never miss any questions posted through Google’s Q&A feature, you should make sure the proper notifications are set up in your Business Profile Manager dashboard, and, as a failsafe, plan to manually check for new questions at least once each week.
To find out if your business has been asked any questions, follow these steps:
Step 1: Search for your business name and find the Business Profile. Make sure you’re logged in with the same credentials you use to manage your Google Business Profile.Step 2: Scroll down to the section titled “Questions & answers,” and then click “See all questions.”Step 3: If you see any questions you haven’t answered, answer them. You can do this even if another user has posted an answer as well. Your answers will show up as “From the business owner.”If you believe someone is misusing the Q&A feature for example, posting reviews instead of questions or being abusive -- click “Report This Question.” You can review Google’s guidelines to determine what is considered prohibited content in the Q&A section.Additionally, if you are looking to get a jump start on answering common questions, Google will allow you to pre-populate your Q&A with frequently asked questions and answers. Supplying the answers to common questions will make your listing more useful and help it stand out when potential customers search for your business online. If you need help managing your Google questions, you can work with a company like SOCi and its Google Owner Q&A feature.
