Menu for Pest Control?

[EmilyW]

I'm seeing a menu option for a brand that we represent that has 17 locations in the US. Primary business category is pest control, second is lawn care. Is this a glitch? It is a SAB with public brick and mortar office with the address visible.

 

[Stefan Somborac]

Hi @EmilyW,

Just think of that as the "services" menu. The knife & fork icon is a legacy of its origins as a feature first offered to restaurants. (It really is time for an update!) You can populate it with items relevant to your client.

 

[EmilyW]

Hi @EmilyW,

Just think of that as the "services" menu. The knife & fork icon is a legacy of its origins as a feature first offered to restaurants. (It really is time for an update!) You can populate it with items relevant to your client.

Do you happen to know which business categories include menus? Its not for every business category. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Stefan Somborac]

@EmilyW GMB has about 3950 categories. I don't have a list of which ones include the menu option. As far as I know, that information is not published anywhere AND is changing all the time as the feature is introduced to new categories.

Idea: Look at any one of your clients' competitors. If they have a menu then they've obviously used a category that offers the menu option and your client should be able to do the same.

 

[EmilyW]

@EmilyW GMB has about 3950 categories. I don't have a list of which ones include the menu option. As far as I know, that information is not published anywhere AND is changing all the time as the feature is introduced to new categories.

Idea: Look at any one of your clients' competitors. If they have a menu then they've obviously used a category that offers the menu option and your client should be able to do the same.

I have the list of business categories, but there is not a list that I've found that shows which category offers menus. Just like you said. I like the idea of looking at other competitors profiles. I'm concerned that the menu option for a pest control service is just a glitch, and that it will be corrected as soon as we put together menus of services. LOL!

 

[EmilyW]

@EmilyW GMB has about 3950 categories. I don't have a list of which ones
Idea: Look at any one of your clients' competitors. If they have a menu then they've obviously used a category that offers the menu option and your client should be able to do the same.

Follow up in case you are interested--I found several competitors using the menu features, most were not. It turns out 7 out of 17 of our locations have the menu option. Ten do not have a menu option. It feels unstable to me, so we are going to focus on Services for the time being. Thought this was interesting and worth noting!

 

[Stefan Somborac]

@EmilyW I suspect the competitors who have a menu are probably all using a GMB category that gives them the option. That is, I'm not sure it's a case of some have it / some don't or a sign of instability in the system. (The system is wildly unstable, yes, but I don't think this is what you're seeing here.)

Darren Shaw (@whitespark) describes how you can find out what categories your competitors are using here: Local Search Hacks You Probably Haven't Seen Before

Hat tip to @JoyHawkins who gave Darren that hack.

 

[EmilyW]

@EmilyW I suspect the competitors who have a menu are probably all using a GMB category that gives them the option. That is, I'm not sure it's a case of some have it / some don't or a sign of instability in the system. (The system is wildly unstable, yes, but I don't think this is what you're seeing here.)

Darren Shaw (@whitespark) describes how you can find out what categories your competitors are using here: Local Search Hacks You Probably Haven't Seen Before

Hat tip to @JoyHawkins who gave Darren that hack.

Actually, that is likely not the case as I can see our 17 locations and which business categories they are in. 7 of ours are showing menu option, 10 are not. Same business categories. Thats what's making me concerned it might be an unstable feature.

I love this hack to see their business categories! Very very helpful. Thank you!

 

[Stefan Somborac]

@EmilyW

I missed the detail about 7 of YOUR locations showing a menu, the other 10 not.

Strange behaviour from GMB!

The menu option could vary across countries. But if your locations are all in the same country, then maybe the feature is slowing rolling out across the category.

But that's all "coulds" and "maybes". Bottom line: I don't have an answer.

 

[EmilyW]

@EmilyW

But that's all "coulds" and "maybes". Bottom line: I don't have an answer.

The great mysterious Oz! Ha! Thanks for the ideas....I'm going to keep tracking, and see what happens!