Google Places 360 walk throughs

[ErikJonker]

I had this done at our Store in 2014 and it is currently still up and available at our Google Places Listing. Is there any value to updating this regularly? Can the analytics of who's viewing this be viewed somewhere?


Sub-Question:

I want to change the number on my google places listing to a call tracking number. Is this bad? will this change affect SEO and rankings etc???

 

[Alexander Lau]

Nice post! You might find something at the source: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7069123?hl=en. IMO, it never hurts to play along with Google (360 update probably helps your organic rankings = local business), they just will not come out and say it. The same exists when paying them for paid search. I've seen small increases, as part of their algorithm.



I've suggested this service to quite a few rooftop locations over the years. I can't say that they have seen a substantial increase in their organic numbers because of it per se, but it does build trust and makes your showroom more inviting (user experience). Especially since Google is handing out a badge (yeah, I know... another frickin' badge / certification game): https://www.google.com/streetview/earn/ (don't know if they handed that out in 2014?)

It typically integrates with a number of Google products (GMC, Google Maps, Google+ Pages). I can say, it does make your Google My Business (GMB) effort look a lot cleaner (*See Inside). I wonder if there is an updated component that makes it even shaper in those products. I don't know.

GMB

Google Maps

Google+ Business Page

Google Maps for Mobile

 

[Alexander Lau]

Sub-Question:

I want to change the number on my google places listing to a call tracking number. Is this bad? will this change affect SEO and rankings etc???

Not too long ago, I would have told you that Google My Business is a top feeder (no pun intended) and when 3rd party (aggregation) bots come by and scrape that tracking number, they might update that across many properties (sites) / which would make it difficult for you in maintaining citation consistency in the local search ecosystem. You'd find it tough to go back and change IF you changed your mind about the tracking number in the future. HOWEVER, and although I don't like Whitespark (dropped the ball with me and big time), this is good advice:

Can You Use a Call Tracking Number in Google My Business?
https://whitespark.ca/blog/call-tracking-numbers-google-business-whitespark-weekly/