EVERYONE WANTS TO RANK IN THE GOOGLE MY BUSINESS/MAPS AREA OF THE SEARCH RESULTS. READ BELOW TO FIND OUT HOW.
The chances are good that you have searched for how to rank your My Business page. In the process, you might have landed on one of our blog posts discussing the above guidelines. The more you read, the less you want to do this on your own. You are after all a business owner and your time is better spent on the running of your daily operations.
That’s where we come in. Our Google My Business services take the task off your hands. See our packages below. If you have any questions regarding our packages, please fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
Platinum Package
If you’re serious about improving your My Business rankings, this package is made for you. We’ll add citations, optimize your page, find inconsistent citations and set in place a strategy to get more reviews.
After paying through PayPal you will be directed back to our website where you can fill out your business’s details.
Google Local
- Add Business Listings
- Business Listings Clean Up
- Google Reviews
- Website Recommendations
Platinum Package
$499
+5% TAX
- 50 Business Listings
- Strategy + Implementation
Frequently Asked Questions
Question – Which 50 directories are my business listings going to be added to?
Over the years we have used Bright Local software to gather a list of over 200 business directories. Bright Local are leaders in local SEO software and have ranked each of these directories according to their trust with Google and other search engines. We will find out where your business is currently listed and list your business on the top 50 directories you are not listed on.
Question – Do you add all 50 business listings at once?
Yes, we create all 50 within a 10 day period.
Question – Will all 50 listings be live right away?
The majority will be live. Some directories take a week to approve the listing, and others require phone verification.
Question – Will you send me all my listings?
Yes, we send out a spreadsheet with links to all of your listings along with login details for each listing.
Question – What does business listing clean up mean?
Google has stated in their GMB support area that all businesses need to establish an accurate presence across the web on third party websites. Here is a screenshot direct from their GMB support area which talks about establishing a strong and accurate presence on the web.
If you have changed business names, phone numbers or addresses, we’ll find all those listings. From there we will request to update each of those listings up to four times. If after the fourth try we are unsuccessful, we will not pursue any further as the directory owner is deemed unresponsive.
Question – What are the two review strategies?
At this time we cannot give this information out as it’s top secret! Reviews are important not only for the rankings of your GMB page, but also for generating more leads and clicks to your website.
Question – What are the website recommendations you will make?
Often times we work with clients whose websites need changes to be made to improve their GMB pages rankings. We will look at how well optimized the home or landing page is, which is linked from your GMB page. We’ll also look to make sure your business name, address and phone number are listed clearly on your website.
Question – What if I don’t have a GMB page already?
If you don’t have a GMB page listing already setup, we can take care of that for you. We’ll create your page and add all the necessary business details.
Question – What if my GMB page is claimed by someone else?
We can walk you through the steps to claim the page and make any changes needed.
Question – I want my GMB page to rank in the top 3 in cities I am not physically located in. Is that possible?
Since Google wants to provide users with closely located businesses, the answer is no. In some cases we have seen businesses rank high in cities they are not physically located in, but we have not seen these businesses rank in the top there. Read this post on proximity for more clarification. You can also use this surrounding city SEO strategy to rank an organic page for a city your business is not physically located in.
Question – What country does my business have to be located in to sign up?
As of this moment we are only working with businesses located in Canada and North America.
Question – How long will it take to improve my rankings?
This is a difficult question to answer for a few reasons. At the top of this page we have stated a few factors that Google looks at when ranking the GMB results. Depending on those factors, the city you are located in and how many competitors you have, it can take anywhere from 3-8 months.
Question – Will my GMB page rank in the top 3?
We do not guarantee top 3 results, but you will see an increase in rankings and visibility.
Question – Do you offer discounts if I have more than one location?
We do offer multi location discounts. Please use the contact form below our testimonials for more information on our discounts.
Please use the contact form below our testimonials with any additional questions.
What is Google My Business?
Also known as GMB, Google My Business launched in 2014 and has quickly become one of the largest business directories online with its integration in Google Search and Google Maps. Any business type can create a GMB profile to manage their business information and optimize their local SEO. Businesses that have a storefront can update their store hours, address, and contact information to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information for potential customers that search in Google.
Why is it important?
Potential customers turn to Google Search at different points in their buying cycle, whether they are looking for more broad information like “things to do in Canmore” to more specific requests like your business name. Your local business is indexed and interpreted by Google based on the information Google has. If Google has accurate, up to date information on your business it will be able to do a better job matching your business with relevant search queries.
Brand Search vs. Non-brand Search
Both are important, and GMB plays an important role in the search visibility of these 2 types of searches. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is more complex than ranking your business on GMB alone, but by optimizing your GMB page Google will have more accurate information on your business category and association with your website to help with non-brand search.
Brand Search is your business name, and variants of your business name.
Example: “Alpine Helicopters Inc”Variant: “Alpine Canmore” “Alpine Heli” “Alpine Helicopter Tours”
Non-brand search is more broad, made up of search terms that are relevant to your business.
Examples: “Tour Operator Canmore” “Sightseeing Tours Canmore” “Things to do in Canmore”
Getting Started With Google My Business
It’s best to have one Google Account to use for all of your business-related Google products. You can create one for free by registering here: https://accounts.google.com/SignUp
Once the account is created, you will have a Gmail account (ex. “yourbusiness@gmail.com”) for your GMB, and if your business has Google Analytics, Google AdWords, or other Google products you can use the same account to stay organized, and link them together if needed.
Now that we have a Google Account, we can check to see if a GMB page already exists for your business. Sometime GMB pages will be automatically created if Google can see other social media profiles or your business information on trusted websites.
The example below displays an unclaimed Google My Business profile from Kokanee Park Marina. By clicking the “Own this business?” text linking in the profile, you will be able to claim the page, verify it by phone or postcard, and begin updating and making changes to the page.
Note: sometimes adding “google plus” or the city to your business name in your search query may help discover your GMB knowledge panel.
If your GMB page does not exist yet, you can create a new one by starting here: https://www.google.com/business
Optimize Your Location Page
Now that we have a verified page (or pending via sent postcard) we can begin filling out the profile with useful information to improve the quality of this page. Start with the “info” tab and check to make sure all your business information is correct. Under the “photos” tab you can upload you business logo, profile and cover photo. These images are important for the less popular Google Plus, but they can also be used in your GMB profile.
Reviews can be managed from the same dashboard. If you have positive (or negative) reviews you may want to respond to them, to let everyone know your business values feedback and you’re active on this page.
The Insights tab let you know how your GMB page is being used and its visibility in Google Search and Maps. Google refers to “Direct” and “Discovery” as the brand and non-brand search terms explained earlier.
Generate a Sharable Review Link
The reviews your business collects on your GMB page are powerful for social proof and building trust with potential customers. Google treats reviews as a kind of 3rd party testimonial about your business experience, so encouraging your happy customers to leave a review on your GMB is a win-win.
The best way to generate a review link for your GMB page is to find your business page in Google, and click the “reviews” linked text.
From there, click “Write a Review” and copy the URL in the address bar. This URL can then be shared in an email to your customers as a part of your follow up.
Note: your customers will need a Google (@gmail.com) Account in order to leave a Google review.
Note: your customers will need a Google (@gmail.com) Account in order to leave a Google review.
Example Review URL:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Grapevine+Restaurant+1055+Camp+Road+Lake+Country+BC+V4V+2H4&rlz=1C5CHFA_enCA721CA721&oq=Grapevine+Restaurant+1055+Camp+Road+Lake+Country+BC+V4V+2H4&aqs=chrome..69i57.223j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x537def7112150d03:0x9913e7c27521bfa0,3
URL a bit long? You can run it through Google’s URL shortener by pasting it here: https://goo.gl/
Now you have a sharable review link that looks like this:
Create your own short URL to make it super easy for your customers to share their experience on your GMB page. Some of our clients use this same practice in an automated email follow up or by reaching out personally to ask for a review.
Setting Google My Business Hours for Seasonal Store Locations
If you’re a seasonal business, you probably have found it’s almost impossible to communicate your season dates to your customers through Google My Business. Fret no more: the easiest way to update your store hours for seasonally closed businesses is here.
First, ensure your location in Google My Business has regular hours & a ‘store code’ entered. If these don’t exist, we will have errors later on.
1. Open a new spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets
2. In a column, enter your first closed date in Year-Month-Day (example: 2018-01-22) format. Drag that column down until your last closed date. The spreadsheet program should automatically fill in the dates between
3. Under the ‘Format’ menu, change your entire dates list to ‘plain text’
4. In the another cell, enter
=TEXTJOIN(“: x, “, TRUE, A1:A120)
where A1:A120 is replaced by your column of closed days. The result should look like the image here:
5. Create a new spreadsheet. In A1 add a column heading ‘Store code’ (no apostrophes). Below in A2 add your store code as it appears in GMB
6. In B1, add a column heading ‘Special hours’ (no apostrophes)
7. In B2, paste the list your list from the previous spreadsheet by selecting ‘Paste Values Only’. You should end up with something like this:
8. Export your spreadsheet. In the Google My Business dashboard, hit the blue ‘+’ circle in the bottom right and select ‘Import Locations from a file’. Add your file and confirm your list of closed dates appears without errors. The end result is shown below:
Bulk Verification for Franchises & Multiple (10+) Business Owners
Google My Business allows you to bulk verify, and organize you locations in a Business Account folder. Google will provide a spreadsheet template to collect all locations for a bulk verification submission. We have helped clients with this migration, and more information to start this process can be found here: https://support.google.com/business/answer/4490296?hl=en
Once all your locations are claimed and verified, you can assign a store code to each location and make bulk changes to the store hours, cover image, business category and more.
What is a Google My Business Store Code?
A store code or shop code in the Google My Business dashboard is only viewable from the person managing the locations (potential customers don’t see this). Google encourages you to assign a store code to your page once it’s verified, and it doesn’t really serve a purpose other than uniquely identifying your store location for local inventory ads. Businesses with multiple locations can run Google shopping ads and have the feed refer to their Google My Business listing store codes to display local inventory information. This is pretty advanced, and most small businesses can either leave it blank or assign any label to use as their store code to replace the “missing store code” item from the dashboard (at least for now – Google might have for plans for this later).
GMB has room to grow
Google has designed Google My Business to be easily self-managed by any small business owner. New features are constantly being added, so keep an eye on your dashboard.
One new feature shows foot traffic to store locations. Businesses that see a lot of foot traffic might see the “popular times” information in the GMB knowledge panel. This feature gathers location data from smartphone users who have opted-in to Google’s location services. I expect this type of real-time information to become even more common in Google products moving forward.
Questions? Leave em’ in the comments!
