Q&A: Questions asked and answered by people and/or by the owner in the case of GMB.
Q&A is short for ‘question and answer’ or ‘questions and answers’. These are also the two parts of the Q&A.
The Google My Business questions and answers work to encourage customers and general people to be inquisitive about a business.
The Q&A is publicly visible on a GMB below the appointment URL.
If questions have already been asked by others, the user can view them by clicking on ‘See all questions’. The number of questions is also given next to the text like ‘See all questions (5)’.
Clicking on the gray ‘Ask a Question’ button enables the user to ask a question on the listing.
Who can ask and answer a question? Here’s the answer:
- GMB Owners
- Google Local Guide
- Other users
The questions could come from anyone. The people asking may be existing customers of the business, a person interested in the company, a Google Local Guide, the company owner, or someone else.
Likewise for answers. Any of the prior mentioned parties can answer questions. Anyone can ask or answer as long as they have a Gmail account. These questions and answers are publicly tied to the account.
A question can have more than one answer (one from the owner, one from a Local Guide, etc.).
There is no limit to the number of GMB Q&A that can be added.
For companies without any questions, there will be a link that says ‘Be the first to ask a question’.
The GMB owner will receive an email and message (opt-in required) if a new question has been asked on their GMB.
If people keep asking the same/similar questions, consider converting the Q&A into frequently asked questions (FAQ) and adding it to the website.
Be sure to answer all existing questions before asking and answering your own. Also, check the previous Q&A once every month to make sure your answers aren’t out of date.
DigitalBull GO Tip: If you are just starting with the GMB, the best way with Q&As is to put together a good list of potential questions that you would expect to be asked and add plus answer them yourself.
Q&A Audit Parameters in DigitalBull GO
Here are the subfactors/parameters for Q&A that are analyzed in the DigitalBull GO Local SEO Audit Tool: