Today’s consumers crave a fully-transparent view of their favorite brands, causes and products. The 360 features developing across the board – first with iPhone Panorama photos, then Facebook 360 photos and videos, and now Google 360 Virtual Tours is literally opening the doors to consumers and giving them a sneak peek of what’s inside. However, Google is taking it all one step further with 360 virtual Google-certified tours that allow potential consumers to see the whole scope of businesses such as hotels, restaurants, new stores, and much more.
If your business jumps on this train soon, it will certainly have a leg up on its competitors. By the time the consumer comes through your doors, the chances are they are sold on the product or service you are selling. They’ve done their research online before they made the effort to visit your physical location, which increases your conversion rates. It also adds a level of comfort for the consumer because they have (virtually) already toured your facilities and know what to expect when they walk through the doors.
How will being Google Certified give your business the upperhand?
Increasing brand visibility is becoming increasingly difficult with the saturated digital market and businesses fighting for consumer dollars. By adding a virtual tour, you are welcoming customers – and potential customers – to “See Inside” in your Google My Business Listing section. It also shares details of your business such as location, contact information, hours of operation, reviews, etc. When doing a simple Google search, users are more inclined to click on the Google-listed business on the right side of the screen than your website listing on the left, so utilizing this feature will allow your business to organically increase its presence with Google. This provides a new avenue for potential customers to find – and connect with – your business.
Additionally, your 360 virtual tour will also be displayed on all of Google’s Apps, which include: Google Search, Google Maps, Google Local Search, Google Mobile, Google Plus – and all other future platforms Google creates.
Can Google 360 Virtual Tours boost your SEO?
A typical Google search result listing is a bolded and linked title with a few lines of text underneath. Easily overlooked and hard to stand out among your competitors. With a Google 360 Virtual Tour, it’s practically impossible for a user to miss your listing. This guarantees leads from a simple Google search – the way a hefty portion of our population begin their quest for a good restaurant, nice hotel, or hot shopping spot.
How to set up a Google 360 Virtual Tour for your business
The investment into a Google 360 Virtual Tour will be worth every penny. The only cost for this digital marketing feature is the set up. You will need to hire a professional company to take 360 panoramic photographs of your location and then layout the images in a clean manner to truly capture the essence of your business. From there, it’s practically free. Google does not charge users to host these images – and there is no ongoing subscription fee that businesses are required to pay. The initial investment is all it takes to give your business a boost.
Key Takeaways
- Google 360 Virtual Tours allow businesses to increase their visibility in search results, therefore generating more leads than a search result without this feature.
- They build trust with consumers before they even visit your premises.
- Your Google 360 Virtual Tour will be viewable on all Google Apps.
- The upfront cost to produce the 360 panoramic images is worth the return on investment.