Pixelrage.net

If you do internet marketing for a franchise business, have multiple offices, or even one office – a new feature that just came out for Google Local Business is going to make you very happy: per-building analytics for the Google 7-pack is finally here!

If you didn’t already know, this is what the Google 7-pack looks like. It’s that map result with pin points that gets displayed at the very top of the page, usually above organic results:

This is perhaps one of the most wanted features at my job. When you log into Google Local  Business Center, check your list of businesses. You should be seeing a “New!” tag next to a “View Report” link within the Statistics category:

Click that “View Report” link, and you’ll be taken to this sexy page:

…which offers activity charts (impressions & actions), top search queries with the number of impressions for each, a driving directions request counter, and something that appears to be a virtual cork board of events that you can constantly update on a manual basis, which will display live on your Local Business SERP.

Why on earth Google never advertised this feature is news to me (could it be that it was rolled out in certain parts of the country or world, first?), but it was something I’ve wanted for a really long time. Finally, a feasible way to track analytics from the Google 7 and 10 pack: see how your individual franchises or offices are doing in terms of what people are searching for, what ZIP code or town they’re coming from, and how many of them are using the 7-Pack to “find driving directions” to that location.

Now, your franchisees can stop complaining about not knowing the level of activity they’re getting in local search ;)