Did you know that your Google My Business listing comes with a chat functionality that allows your potential customers to message you in real-time, directly from Google Search results. 



Google My Business Messaging is a messenger tool which allows your customers to reach out to your business directly from Google search results! With this messenger, your customers can directly send you messages at any time of the day.


This functionality can be activated by logging in to business.google.com and accessing: Messages > Settings > Turn on chat / send read receipts:


If you have created the Google My Business listing yourself, you should be able to access it directly with your Google credentials visiting business.google.com and selecting the listing you want to enable the messaging/chat feature for. If you experience any difficulties, please get in touch with us here: https://help.ueni.com/en/support/tickets/new


If you are subscribed to our Basic, Plus or Growth plan and the listing was created by UENI, you need manager access to your listing. UENI will grant you manager access to your listing at any of the following touch points: 
- During the Delivery Call with our agents when your website goes live 
- During your Growth Call with our marketing experts
- When you request it via https://help.ueni.com/en/support/tickets/new 


Please note that for this to work you will need a valid Google account and a Gmail email address to manage your Google My Business listing. 



Your customers will be able to interact with you directly from your listings:


On Google Search Results:




On Google Maps:




Once you have successfully activated your Google Messaging, you will receive the following email from Google My Business with the link to your listing’s messages section, further tips, and instructions:



Messages sent to your listing will be delivered to you via the following channels:

  • Via the email that you set up for your listing
  • Via SMS when enabled from the dashboard here
  • Via push notification when enabled from the dashboard here



You can also visualise and respond to all chat threads from the “Messages” section of your Google My Business listing in the admin dashboard:



Try to respond within 24 hours


Please note: Try to respond to messages as quickly as you can — if possible, within 24 hours. If you don’t, Google will likely remove the Message button from your listing.

This is because Google wants to make sure that customers don’t associate the feature with an unpleasant customer experience. However, if you do lose the button, know that you can reactivate it by turning it on again.


Once the Chat is activated, your customers will be able to see how responsive you are. One of several response-time options will be displayed on your profile, for example:

  • Usually responds in a few minutes
  • Usually responds in a few hours
  • Usually responds in a day
  • Usually responds in a few days


For further information regarding the usage and guidelines of the Google My Business Messages feature, please refer to the official Google My Business documentation here: 

https://support.google.com/business/answer/9114771

https://support.google.com/business/answer/7506237 


Need a hand?
If you need any further assistance, please message our support team or get real-time help on our Live Chat!