Google began to invite a limited number of businesses to examine the possibility of sending SMS messages to the business directly from the search engine. Apart from a message on the help page dedicated to the message feature, which says that the instructions sent in the email should be followed, Google does not share information about how to join or how to get an invitation to test the new feature.
How It Works
As of today, business owners with the feature available have two options from which they can choose how they prefer to correspond with the client:
- The usual SMS software that we all have on our mobile
- Google Instant Messaging App – Google Allo
Google behind; Bing is doing it better
Google’s announcement comes just a day after Bing announced a similar feature in its search engine. Unlike Bing, Bing opened the possibility of sending messages directly from the search engine to a larger number of businesses, and enables the use of a larger number of applications: Standard SMS application, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and more.
Rules of thumb
If you are among the lucky ones to have the feature available, there are a few points to consider and pay attention to before signing up.
- Response availability
Before signing up, it is important to make sure that we really have the ability to be available to the surfers’ messages. Like Facebook, Google shows surfers your average response times.
Google also announced that it would prevent the use of the feature from business owners whose response times are too long. - Make sure that the number you entered can receive SMS messages
If you have already started using the feature, it is important to ensure that you enter a valid phone number that can receive an SMS, otherwise the surfers will not be able to contact you. - Avoid sharing sensitive content
Do not share or ask for sensitive information from surfers during the correspondence. Sensitive information includes: credit card number, passwords, ID card, etc.
Source of the article: Search Engine Journal