The idea is simple: show prospective patients pretty pictures of your big, bright, beautiful office so that they feel more comfortable about their first visit. The office tour is nothing new as far as online marketing goes. But Google has put its own twist on the office tour, and it’s something all business owners should consider doing.
Google Maps Business View is an opportunity for businesses to share photos of the ins and outs of their building in Google’s search results. Google has developed their own proprietary software, similar to Google Street View, that uses panosphere photography to give digital office tours.
To help business owners take advantage of this feature, photographers around the country are signing up to become a “Google Trusted Photographer” that can snap the pics and then set up Google Maps Business View correctly.
There are several benefits to setting up Google Maps Business View. First of all, it gets very engaging photos to show up along with your website on Google search results. These panoramic photos are modern and catchy.
Second, the photos are integrated with your Google+ Business page, and the Google Maps Business View can be posted on your website. This strengthens the connection between your Google Maps listing and your site, which can help your ranking.
A third benefit of this feature is Google will add the words “See inside” to your Maps listing. Underneath the map on your business preview, Google will show one of your images with the words “See inside” on it. This will entice people to click on the photos and take the tour. And of course once they see the elegant panoramic tour of your office, they will be picking up the phone to call you!
These Google Maps Business View photos show up on mobile, too, so by getting this done you are targeting and appealing to online users on any device!
To get started, you will need to connect with a Google Trusted Photographer. Google has a list of these photographers which can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/about/partners/businessview/get-started/