Google took a huge shot at the current model for search engine marketing and tracking, and most marketers missed it.
As those in the new practice of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) started touting the power of FAQs for AI citations, Google removed an important platform for FAQs. They took the Q&A section right off their Google Business Profile pages.
Let’s dive into what that means and how it impacts your marketing.
What are Google Business Profile Q&As?
The Q&A section of Google Business Profiles is (well…was) an opportunity on any company’s Google business page for customers and prospects to write answers about the business, and users as well as the business itself to answer those questions. It was also an opportunity for businesses to ask and answer common questions so prospects didn’t have to. What a great way to steer the conversation! Businesses could redirect common confusions or concerns into selling points.
Specifically in the United States, business profile Q&As no longer exist. Now, we have “Ask Maps about this place.”
What is “Ask Maps about this place”?
Here is the least surprising sentence I will write all year: The newest business profile feature from Google is an AI-powered feature.
Instead of relevant individuals being able to directly answer submitted questions, AI will do the answering, based on content within the business profile, content on the company’s website, reviews, content on other websites, and really any source that Gemini uses to answer AI prompts elsewhere in the Google ecosystem.
Prospects and customers can still ask unique questions, though the business profile feature will first present options for them to select instead of typing their own question. As with most AI tools, you can ask as many follow-up questions as you’d like or as the system is able to answer. That is, unlike many AI chatbots, this system may actually admit it doesn’t know something, by telling you, “There’s not enough information about this place.”
Keep in mind this is most prevalent within Google’s apps more than the browser, especially within the Google Maps mobile app.
What Does This Mean for You?
This means two very important things for you:
- Your traffic will decrease
- Your content strategy must change
1. Your Traffic Will Decrease
We at Arc Intermedia have been declaring for a while that attribution is changing, and much of the success of AI visibility efforts will rely on old school measurement and direct business impact, like brand awareness and sales. One of the greatest powers of digital marketing — specific and deliberate attribution — is fading.
This is a prime example.
A prospect can search for something the old-fashioned way, by Googling it, and find your business profile, all of which is fantastic.
And then that prospect will ask a question or select one of Google’s prompts. And then perhaps submit a follow-up. And possibly another. And the business profile will provide the answers. And maybe the prospect will even be happy with the answers and decide to take the next step, possibly by calling the number right there in the business profile. In that scenario, you just got a great lead, and the prospect never visited your site. And your marketing efforts never got credit.
This is the future. Get used to a world where it’s harder to justify your efforts and tout your successes. This doesn’t mean your leads or sales have fallen, just the proper attribution of them.
So, how do you ensure the leads and sales don’t fall?
2. Your Content Strategy Must Change
If you have a good GEO and AEO agency, you’ve probably already done this, but the key to success here is to make sure the content you want promoted exists elsewhere.
Put another way:
- Step 1: Gather common questions, concerns, and confusions your audience might have, which you previously would’ve posted on your business profile Q&A.
- Step 2: Ensure that content exists in detail on your website, as well as other places online that aren’t your website (forums, external partner sites, etc.)
- Critical Element: Ask a question the way a curious prospect would, and then answer it in a helpful manner.
Really think about the questions you want to ask and answer. They should cover:
- What you do
- Why you do it
- How you do it
- How well you do it
- How long you’ve been doing it
- Why you’re the best at it
- Why you are worth the cost you’re demanding
- Why alternatives aren’t worth the same
- Why alternatives aren’t as good
- Why your solutions are superior
- Why customers choose you
- Examples of customers who have chosen you
- How to purchase your offering
- All the details and steps that go into a purchase or action
- How to use your offering
- How to return/cancel your offering
- And anything and everything else that a prospect may want to know, a customer may be upset about, etc.
Addition considerations:
- Reviews: Get them, more of them, positive ones. And respond to the negative ones.
- Images: Get them, more of them, as many photos as you can. Actually, more than that; get to as many as you can, then come up with even more.
- Posts: Treat Google Business Profile like another social media platform. Publish content on it!
- Other Social Media: Cover the same topics on your other socials.
- Other websites: Cover the same topics on external websites and platforms.
Don’t Worry
It can be confusing, I get it. A consultant tells you to use more FAQs, and now here I am saying Google has removed FAQs. But the principle here is what’s most important. The principle can be applied to everything in this new age of AI answer engines:
Post content all across the internet — on your website and on other websites — that directly answers questions prospects have about the types of products and services you offer.
Sound simple and not really that confusing? It is. At it’s core, good marketing principles are always simple. It’s the execution that’s difficult.
Want some support? We’ve been at the forefront of AI visibility since ChatGPT made AI visibility a thing. Have a short and enlightening chat with us and find out how we can help you thrive in this new world.
