© 2019 Blake Stockton 1

Google My Business Workbook

© 2019 Blake Stockton 2

Module 1: Introduction

Module 2: Verification

Module 3: Info

Module 4: Photos, Videos, Virtual Tour

Module 5: Reviews

Module 6: Google Posts

Module 7: Q&A

Module 8: Other Features

Module 9: Insights (Analytics)

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00 Table of Contents

© 2019 Blake Stockton 3

Question: Who are the competitors in your industry’s Google Local 3 Pack?

#1

#2

#3

Question: How many reviews do they have?

Question: Describe their pictures.

01 Introduction

© 2019 Blake Stockton 4

Question: What type of information regarding their business is listed?

Question: Do you notice any differences between their GMB Listings?

For example, Pictures, Videos, Questions & Answers, About, Posts, Menu, Services, Booking? *If you are confused by these, you will be learning about them!

SEO Recap

Your #1 Goal: Create a Google My Business Listing that people like to spend time on!

© 2019 Blake Stockton 5

Question: Have you claimed, verified, and gained access to the backend of your GMB Listing?

Yes No

If yes, go on to the next Module! If not…

Resources for more help with Verification:

GMB Help Page

Official GMB Community

02 Verification

© 2019 Blake Stockton 6

Frequently Asked Verification Questions

I can’t remember my Google username or password. What should I do?

Click here to recover your Google Account info

What if someone already claimed my listing?

Go to google.com/business and try to claim your listing. When it says it’s already claimed, it will give you an email address of who has ownership.

Do you know who has that email? If not, then proceed and Request Access. The current owner will be given several days to verify they are the owner. If they don’t verify, you will be given access to the GMB Listing.

If, after that process, you still cannot gain access, escalate your situation in the Official GMB Community.

What if there’s an old business verified at my address?

Since the old business is closed, you will want to report that business as closed in Google.

What if I have more than one business location? More than 10 business locations?

If you own between 1–9 stores, you will need to verify each store one-by-one. More than 10 stores is a different story.

For people with 10 or more storefront locations, you’re eligible for Bulk Verification. Which allows you to submit your information on a spreadsheet to a specialized GMB team for verification.

What if I’m not open yet or under construction?

You will have to wait until your doors are open to claim a Google My Business Listing. If you do it early, Google may Suspend your account. And no one wants that!

© 2019 Blake Stockton 7

What if there’s more than one business at my address?

This is common and you will need to add something like a suite number or whatever address modifier the location has to separate businesses. Remember, PO Boxes are not allowed. If your building is a house, only one address is allowed.

What if I own a bunch of service area businesses?

Usually, Google frowns upon this. You will need to add one service area business that encompasses your entire area.

If the service areas are in several locations around a state or several states, make sure you have that information listed clearly on your website. Google may manually check that the information on your GMB Listing matches your website.

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Question: Did you download the Google My Business app and log in?

Yes No

Question: Did you add secondary Categories for your business?

Yes No

Question: Is your address or service area accurate?

Yes No

Question: Are your hours accurate?

Yes No

Question: Have you added your Special Hours to Google My Business?

Yes No

03Info

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Question: If applicable, did you add the Services your business provides? Or a Menu?

Yes No

Question: What are 5 different services you can provide? (If applicable)

Holidays to consider:

• New Year’s Day

• Memorial Day

• Easter

• 4th of July

• Labor Day

• Veterans Day

• Thanksgiving

• Friday after Thanksgiving

• Black Friday

• Christmas Eve

• Christmas Day

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Service Name:

Service Description:

Service Price:

Service Name:

Service Description:

Service Price:

Service Name:

Service Description:

Service Price:

Service Name:

Service Description:

Service Price:

Service Name:

Service Description:

Service Price:

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Question: Did you add all applicable attributes?

Yes No

Question: Did you add your business description?

Yes No

Description Dos:

• 1–2 sentences per paragraph

• Use close to 750 characters

• Include the services or products your provide

• Talk about your why and passion

• Add your credibility and authority in your niche

Description Don’ts:

• Display discounts

• Include a link

• Be misleading, like lie aboutwinning an award

© 2019 Blake Stockton 12

Remember

• Anyone can upload photos and videos to your Google My Business.

• You cannot choose your main photo, only make a recommendation.

• You can upload photos and videos directly from your phone through the GMB App!

Profile and Cover photo

Don’t: Make it a headshot or logo.

Do: Make it a lifestyle or action photo.

Question: Have you uploaded an accurate Profile and Cover photo of your business?

Yes No

04Photos, Videos, Virtual Tour

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Question: Have you uploaded as many high quality photos representing your business that you can?

Yes No

Photo Best Practices

• Make sure high quality! — Take a course on how to take high quality iPhone photos. (affiliate link)

• Add photos at least once a month. If a high foot-traffic business, add photos every day.

• Encourage customers to upload photos.

• Review photos customers upload at least once a month. Report inappropriate photos.

Video Best Practices

• Create a natural and authentic video similar to how a customer would

• Video content:

• Show off some type of action. For example, if it’s a plumber, a pipe being replaced. Or if a fudge business, the product being made.

• Show behind the scenes. For example, if it’s a restaurant, the food being prepared in the kitchen. Or a special event, like a wine tasting.

• Make sure the phone is not too shaky.

• Make sure to have good lighting.

• Don’t have to narrate. Let the action do the talking.

Question: Have you uploaded the first video you want to represent your business?

Yes No

© 2019 Blake Stockton 14

Virtual Tour

• If you have a storefront, a must do!

• 95% of businesses don’t have an interior virtual tour. Separate yourself from competition.

• Cost: ~$300–$500

Virtual Tour Resources:

• Hire a Trusted Google Pro To Take Your Virtual Tour

• How to upload your Virtual Tour To Facebook

• How to upload your Virtual Tour to your website

Question: Have you contacted 3 Virtual Tour Professionals and received quotes?

Yes No

Question: Have you requested examples of their previous work?

Yes No

Question: Have you ordered a Virtual Tour for your business?

Yes No

© 2019 Blake Stockton 15

Question: How many Google Reviews does your closest competitor have?

Your Goal: Double your competitor’s amount.

05Reviews

© 2019 Blake Stockton 16

Reviews Best Practices

Ideas:

• Follow up with an email or text to happy customers requesting a review.

• Use this Google Review Link Generator to get a direct link to your review page.

• Use a program like Birdeye to automatically send emails and texts to customers requesting reviews.

• Create a card with directions on how to leave a Google My Business review.

• For example, if you have a restaurant, include the Google Review card with to-go orders.

• Create a photo for a television or digital frame to display in your business encouraging reviews.

• Order your Marketing Package from Small Thanks From Google (limited to first 10,000 businesses)

• Encourage customers to leave pictures in their review.

• Reply to all reviews positive and negative.

Question: After reading the Best Practices, what will be your Review Strategy?

Resources to help you get more Reviews

• Birdeye Review Generation & Management

• Google Review Link Generator

• Small Thanks With Google (limited to first 10,000 businesses)

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Four different type of Google Posts

1. What’s New? — Content Ideas: New hires, happy customers, a previous event, showing an action of a service, product photos, and behind the scenes photos.

Question: What are 3 different “What’s New?” Posts you can make:

•

•

•

2. Event — Can be any type of event you are hosting. Shows you have an active business.

3. Offer — A discount code will be displayed in your Post.

4. Product — Can use for Services. But, need to have a photo associated with it.

*Your product posts will show as a tab in your Google My Business mobile version.

06Google Posts

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Question: What are 3 different “Product Posts” you can make?

•

•

•

Post Best Practices

• Use Sendible to schedule Posts

• Only upload quality photos. Enroll in iPhone Photo Academy to increase your skills.

• Ideal photo dimensions is 590px x 445px. Take photo with phone horizontally.

• Make the first sentence count. Up to 1500 characters.

• Add a Call to Action and link to website. For example, “Learn More” or “Book Now” or “Call Now”.

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Advanced

Add a Google Analytics UTM Link to track what people do on your website after clicking on a Google Post. This is a short article explaining UTM Links.

Post Dos:

• Be personal. Show the human side of your business.

• Include Call To Actions. If it is about a product, how can they buy?

• Highlight what makes your business, product, or offer unique. Large selection? Free shipping?

• Be timely. Use a key selling point or an offer as a hook.

• For Offer Posts, include any redemption instruction, unique codes, or restrictions on your offer.

• Use abbreviation for days and months and don’t use periods.

Post Don’ts:

• Don’t use commercial slang.

• Don’t use excessive exclamation marks.

• Don’t offer more than one theme or offer in a Post. Keep it simple!

• Don’t craft offer with too many exclusions.

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Quick Note:

Ask and answer the questions on the public side (front-end) of your Google My Business Listing. Not the admin side (back-end).

Question: What are 8 Frequently Asked Questions you get from customers and what are the answers?

1Q:

1A:

2Q:

2A:

07Q&A

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3Q:

3A:

4Q:

4A:

5Q:

5A:

6Q:

6A:

7Q:

7A:

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8Q:

8A:

Q&A Best Practices

• Thumbs up your own Questions and Answers.

• Plan for scanning — no huge blocks of text.

• Have fun with it.

• Check in once a month.

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MESSAGING

Question: If interested, have you enabled Messaging?

Yes No

Question: If you don’t want to receive messages through SMS, have you set up Google’s Allo messaging?

Yes No

BOOKING

Question: If applicable, have you connected your Booking software to Google My Business?

Yes No

08Other Features

© 2019 Blake Stockton 24

Question: When connected, have you gone through the process from a customer’s point of view and tested for bugs?

Yes No

RESTAURANTS

Question: Have you added your menu?

Yes No

HOTELS

Question: Have you added your hotel’s amenities?

Yes No

NON-GOOGLE REVIEWS

Question: Are your main review profiles showing in Google My Business?

Yes No

If not, make sure your business name, phone number, address, and website all match across directories and Facebook.

FREE GMB WEBSITE

Question: Do you not have a website? Is your website so old it looks like a caveman made it?

Yes No

If you answered “YES!” to either of those questions, you will want to take advantage of the Google My Business free website.

If you answered NO, then you won’t benefit from having the GMB website.

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Question: How many Total Searches did your business receive last month?

Question: How many searches through Direct? Discovery?

Question: What are the Top Queries use to find your business? What are unique keywords that are used more than 10 times per month?

09Insights (Analytics)

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“Top Queries” Best Practices

• Are there any keywords you don’t have on your website? Add them!

• Use this unique queries as content ideas for your Posts.

• Make sure some of the top quires are mentioned in your Google My Business Description.

Question: Under “Where customer views your business on Google”, is there a spike when people search for your business? Consider making more Google Posts during this time.

Question: Where are your most direction requests coming from? Any interesting insights from this? Use this information to target advertising.

Question: Under “Photo Views”, are you crushing your competition in the number of photo views? You should be!

Yes No

Question: Under “Photo Quantity”, are you crushing your competition in number of owner photos AND customer photos?

Yes No

If no, consider encouraging your customers to add photos to your Google My Business with a sign or digital screen.