Google SMB Summit in India – Some Interesting Announcements (might go global later)

written by Gagan Ghotra

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In October Google organised two different events in India, these were Google for India and SMB Summit. I’ve already written about some interesting SEO related announcements that Google previewed in Google for India event.

Because recently I noticed that Google is expanding (or testing I’m not sure) question answers for adding inventory in Google Business Profiles globally. Previously on 4th of October Google previewed this in SMB Summit.

My good friend Amit Tiwari attended that event and he has also recorded a YouTube video summarising what was announced (Note – video language is Hindi but captions can be used for English translation)

Here is a quick overview of what Google shared in that SMB Summit, already they are showing one of the GBP related feature outside of India probably sooner or later other features previewed in this summit by Google might be expanded to different countries too.

QR Code in Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile will show a QR code button which can be used for generating QR unique for the business profile. Business owners will be able to print this and maybe have it stamped in their business’s physical location or they can also share this with others why are social media.

Scanning this QR will open up Google Business Profile.

Here is how this looks in Google Business Profile dashboard.

Screenshot of a Google Business Profile dashboard on a mobile device, highlighting the "Get Google QR" button circled in red.

Clicking that red dotted outlined button will show following.

Screenshot of the "Get your own Google QR" screen within the Google Business Profile interface. It features a preview of the printable QR code, along with text explaining its benefits for driving walk-in traffic.

Question answer for adding products in Google Business Profile

This is exactly what people outside India now noticing (on 28th Oct) in their Google Business Profiles while Google previewed this in SMB Summit on 4th October.

This is the reason I’m writing this page LOL

Here is what Google showed to attendees of summit

Photo of a presentation slide from the Google SMB Summit showing the new question-and-answer interface for adding products to a Google Business Profile. The screen depicts yes/no/skip questions about specific inventory items.

Google said that business profile owners will be able to answer yes/no/skip questions and be able to add inventory in their Google Business Profiles. Right now for all of my clients I’m using Merchant Center for adding products in GBP.

I think that this new feature would be handy for some business which have small inventory but if its around 50 or 100 or even more than its not practical to answer these many questions rather just use Merchant Center feeds.

Google Ads App for running PMax

Google Ads app for small to medium size business, Google said that this business owners will be able to use this app for quickly creating & running Performance Max campaigns.

Photo of a presentation slide showcasing the Google Ads app interface for creating and running Performance Max campaigns, targeted at small and medium-sized businesses.

Google Business Profile managing functionality in Google Pay for Business App

Business owners will soon be able to be manage their Google Business Profile from Google Pay for Business App making it easier to have payments and managing business profile from the same place.

Photo of a presentation slide announcing the availability of Google Pay for Business on iOS. The screen displays the Google Pay app interface with various business features.

Google Pay to send pop notification for leaving a GBP review

Whenever customers will make a payment using Google Pay app they will get a notification to leave a review on the Google Business Profile of that business too.

Diagram illustrating the process of leaving a Google Business Profile review after making a payment with Google Pay. The flow moves from the Google My Business dashboard to the business profile, then to a map view, and finally to the Google Pay logo.

Some Last Words

I don’t know if Google will be rolling out or launching these features in other markets too but I guess its always good to know what Gugu (Google) is doing in other markets even if your client base is in Australia (like me) or perhaps some other country.

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