Want to know when the best time is to visit a business? Well, Google Search will tell you. This new feature pops up when users perform a search for any kind of business on Google. Simply click the title and you’ll get access to the basics like address, directions, hours, phone number, etc. But now, you’ll also see a graph of the most visited times for the business. Scrolling through the bar chart takes you through each day of the week so you can view peak times, and, ideally, avoid those times. This comes in especially handy if it’s a coffee shop, for instance, and you want to grab your daily cup of joe. Avoiding long lines when you’re trying to get to school or work will save you some time if you check Google Search beforehand. Same goes for the gym, the grocery store and your favorite restaurant.
Avoiding Peak Times
According to Google, this feature can be used for millions of places around the planet, accessible via mobile phone, provided users have an Internet connection. You can also use it as part of Android’s Google Search App. You’ll find pretty much any business on there that gets a lot of business, but not EVERY business is listed. Think print shop vs. coffee house. Which one would you check to see the busiest times? Google provided another example of a Google Search for “Blue Bottle Williamsburg” located in Brooklyn, which illustrated the intense popularity of the shop on Fridays and Saturdays compared with other days during the week. In addition, it go busy during the late morning and afternoon compared with other times of the day.
One Platform
In the process of being rolled out now as we speak, one of the intentions of Google Search is to better inform Google Now users of what to expect at any business they’re going to. It’s not yet integrated into Google’s smart assistant Google Now, but it will be soon. Sure, there are apps out there that tell you the wait times for certain business, such as NoWait for restaurants or theme park apps that post line length times, but those are largely individual in nature. With Google Search, you get access to a variety of businesses within one location. Another perk for Google? This search breakthrough gives Google the ability to collect information from millions of smartphones. This is because the company can collect data from users of its Google Maps application to learn things like traffic patterns and conditions on the down-low. It’s this GPS-backed technology that is powering the new Google Search.
Google said in a recent statement: “Much like we compute traffic data based on the anonymized aggregated movement of people on the road, we are able to determine relatively how busy a place is.”
Business Boost
But Google Search isn’t just advantageous to consumers; it’s also giving a big boost to local business owners. Besides the obvious benefit of providing more clear information to consumers, Google Search also gives owners a better understanding of their own traffic patterns and their peak hours so that they can plan and accommodate for those times. It’s not uncommon for business owners to already employ the use of traffic counters and other tools to present accurate idea on their daily customer encounters, but this new feature gives them a larger platform on which to get the big picture. Business owners can use this information to tweak their product stock, staffing scheduling, hours of operation, and even timing of sales events, points out Entrepreneur. It’s also useful if you don’t have the budget to perform fancy retail analytics, as well. That’s not to say Google is sending the traffic pattern information directly to business owners. They will have to search for the information on apps and online just like everybody else.
Want to learn what Google Search means to you? Get in touch with your Google Certified Partner, Aqaba Technologies, today to find out how this new feature will impact your business and how you can use it to your advantage. Meanwhile, check your Google location card listing to see if you’re included in the new Search feature!
Author:
Ramsey Sweis
President and Founder of Aqaba Technologies
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/RamseySweis
Twitter: @AqabaTech
