According to Google, mobile queries that contain “insurance near me” grew by more than 100% from 2017 to 2019.

With such a drastic uptick in consumers looking for insurance in their area, it’s important for your agency to have a presence on Google. And since you know prospects and customers are Googling insurance near where they live, you want to make it easy for them to contact you directly on Google.

One of the simplest ways to stand out when prospects are searching for insurance is to be available for any questions they might have right where they are—on your business profile on Google.

Although Google Business Messages have been around for some time, this feature is new to the desktop interface, and not many businesses are using it yet. It’s a good idea to set it up now so you can be ahead of the competition.

Setting up Google Business Messages takes just a few minutes

• Log into your Google business listing on your computer. You can do that by going to business.google.com and using your business account information to sign in.
• Locate the “Messages” option in the left-side navigation and turn on messaging.

You’re all set. A “Chat” button will be added to your business profile on Google. Make sure to turn on your notifications so you know when there’s a question waiting for you.

You can also enable Google Business Messages on your Android or iPhone by downloading the “Google My Business” app. Sign in with your business profile, navigate to “Customers,” choose “Messages” and then select “Turn On.”

And, some great news: you can now respond to Google messages in ClientCircle, along with your texts and web chats, so all your client conversations live in one place. If you use ClientCircle, we'll help you set everything up and activate your Google Business Messages for you.

Looking for steps on activating Facebook Messenger as well? Here’s how.