There is apparently a new bug that is impacting the reporting of listing/profile views in the GMB Insights dash. According to GMB, this client’s views flatlined for 9/19 & 9/20:

Google My Business Reporting Bug

If I were a business owner this GMB Insights graph would freak me out. However, thanks to campaign tagging we can see that Google Analytics is telling a different story:

Google Analytics Report Exposes GMB Bug

What’s interesting is that this may not be a bug, but rather be a discrepancy in how GMB Insights reports page views. If they don’t include seeing a listing in a SERP as a view then it would be possible to click through to the website without ever recording a “view.” If you are seeing this drop and have your own theory we would love to hear from you in the comments! Special thanks to Matt Storms for sending us down this rabbit hole!

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5 Response Comments

  • Phil Rozek  September 22, 2014 at 10:44 am

    Good find, Dan. I’ve noticed this in one or two accounts.

  • Amber Robinson  September 22, 2014 at 12:02 pm

    Hi Dan,

    I noticed this too but assumed it was due to all the flux with Local results displaying one day for a term then gone the next.

    I am curious what you mean by campaign tagging and how that helps tell a different story.

  • Dan Leibson  September 22, 2014 at 2:36 pm

    Hi Amber,

    We use Google Analytics campaign tagging on the URL that we put on a GMB page. It lets us track how GMB traffic performs on a client website. Here is a link to their knowledge base article on custom campaigns:

    https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033863?hl=en

    So while GMB Insights shows how many “views” your page has received, I can look in Google Analytics and see how much traffic the GMB URL sent to the client website. That’s what the second screenshot is of, and you will notice that the website got visitors that came from GMB even though GMB Insights said no one viewed the page.

  • Amber Robinson  September 22, 2014 at 4:26 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing!

    I am so excited about implementing this!!

  • Boris  January 7, 2015 at 9:10 am

    Hi, I find in general that the Google Places for Business “insights” reporting seems to be very inconsistent. With all the redesigns of Google Maps, usage on Android phones, iPhones and new design for SERPs it seems there are heavy fluctuations for the reporting.
    Are you aware of a guide that clearly explains how actions and impressions are reported and how for example driving directions and navigation is reported?