They recognized the logic – but many had strong criticisms.
Over the weekend, Google surveyed small business owners about their appetite to pay monthly subscription fees for a number of potential Google My Business (GMB) enhanced features and services. Some of the suggested offerings included request a quote, automated review/message responses, booking buttons, remove ads from a profile, Google search results placement, Google Guarantee, verified reviews and several others.
“We take a very thoughtful approach when determining whether to offer paid experiences and this survey is just one effort to help us understand how we can bring more value to these businesses,” Google has said.
But reactions from leading local SEO practitioners about the proposed services and features, as well as what they believed their customers’ reactions would be are very mixed, with some features welcomed (e.g., better customer support) and others derided (e.g., search results placement).
Many SEOs we asked believe that the introduction of GMB subscription services is logical, given Google’s position in the market and revenue pressures. As for their perception of Google’s motivations, what particular services were striking to them and whether their customers would be willing to pay $30 per month (or more) for GMB bundles, see thier responses below, which have been slightly edited for length.
Original Article https://searchengineland.com/local-seos-sound-off-on-prospect-of-google-my-business-subscription-services-316211
Original article by Greg Sterling on https://searchengineland.com/