Google My Business : Steps to unlock quotes
Google My Business has recently offered a view plan on the home page. Many of you though have been frustrated by it. So what does Google My Business mean when it says “Steps to unlock quotes”?
In effect a well put together business listing is rewarded with quality traffic for your business and ultimately part of the steps to unlock quotes. Yes there is total confusion on the complete these tasks to improve your profile and unlock quotes message as when you do clear all the items and get a 100% complete profile the message still remains.
Google My Business (GMB) has made a lot of effort to get local businesses to sign up to its local listing and map search engine. The rewards are often quite unprecedented as being found in the local 3 pack is better than topping the search engine results page for your favourite keywords.
So lets look at two areas that you may currently experience when you log on to Google My Business
- Several areas to improve your listing as steps to unlock quotes
- A message saying to “look at my map listing”, but it constantly remains
Google My Business : View Plan suggestions
Google My Business View Plan – ANNOYING or USEFUL?
Does a Google My Business View Plan box keep flying in from the left similar to the above image? The left margin constantly demanding you do certain things to your business listing as the ultimate step to unlock quotes? Are you unsure what all of those requests from the Google My Business team mean and what it means when it wants to improve your profile to unlock quotes ?
The View Plan is there to help you complete your listing, but it doesn’t come with much help or a tutorial. It promises if resolved it will improve your profile to unlock quotes. Though its an endless loop from that point on.
This is a message that after viewing your business on the map, continues to stay. Google inform me its a bug they are aware of, though it can be tied up with the issue of being a service and not a shop.
Select one or more services for your listing. There is a need to understand the best categories you want to be found in and then sub dividing it into various services. 
Choose the photo images you feel best represent your business. Include logo, branding and team members where possible.
Speak to your potential customers here and sell your services in a human one to one way. Use terms to appeal to your potential clients and mention local areas as well to maximise the 750 characters Google gives you. 
Make sure you Share your Business Profile and get feedback from past and current customers. In this way your ratings will reflect your general status like a check-a-trade star rating. So its about expanding your branding through these special links. 
Today’s video will give you the missing tutorial and a load more help if you are a Google My Business Beginner or Expert
VIEW PLAN VIDEO TIMESTAMP
- 0:05 Introduction to Google My Business View plan
- 1:00 Where you can find the View Plan message
- 1:30 Types of demands view plan mentions
- 2:07 Showing on Desktop the View plan message
- 2:30 An Overview of Add services, Post photo, Add business description, Share your business
- 3:10 Add services and get noticed by customers in your area
- 3:57 Post photo – Let customers peek inside your business
- 4:30 Add business description.
- 5:50 Use all 750 characters in the description
Many Business owners have noticed a new header image from Google with a button to Complete Tasks and View Your Plan.
The plan is useful only if you know what to do. The idea is follow each step, Improve your profile and this will help you get to the point where you can unlock quotes.
Add services
The request to Add services to your listing is about understanding the categories you want to be found in and then sub dividing it into various services. So as it says, add your services and get noticed by customers in your area for the services you provide.
Post photos and Videos
If it asks you to Post photos then just do that. Photos and videos will bring a lot of fresh traffic . Especially if they are of your relevant work or members of the team. So photos will let your customers see how your business is run, with what results and give them a glimpse inside your business
Add business description
The request to Add business description, means you are required to write an about us type paragraph. Use keywords and relevant terms to appeal to your potential clients and mention local areas as well to maximise the 750 characters Google gives you. This area has quite an impact on you business listing. So make sure you update it and then allow customers to learn more about your business.
Share your business
Make sure you Share your business as part of the steps to unlock quotes and you can do this by using a shortened URL name. Share your Business Profile and get feedback from past and current customers. In this way your ratings will reflect your general status like a check-a-trade star rating.
The plan includes Add services, where you can add your services and get noticed by customers in your area. Post photos, where you let customers peek inside your business by adding video and photo images. Add business description, which gives you an about page in effect where customers learn more about your business and a Share your business section for building up your Business Profile and requesting feedback from past customers.
But their is one more message that has really frustrated the Google My Business community.
Google My Business : Look at my map listing – error?
The view plan from Google seems to be a way of making it easier for a business owner to understand what they need to do to complete there business. By dictating the essential needed changes the reward is to have a quote button. But its not as simple as that for some business owners.
If you find your quote button is locked up because you just can’t unlock it due to a request to complete all steps to unlock quotes, Google’s direction is to look at my map listing. But no matter how often you follow its direction it never says it completed. Its frustrating so I contacted Google and made a video to see if i could find the answer.
Google My Business Steps to unlock quotes : Service Area or Shop? Video
SERVICE AREA OR SHOP VIDEO TIMESTAMP
- 0:00 Interesting Google wants Services to not show address
- 0:20 Example of the Google My Business message
- 0:40 Overview of today GMB tutorial
- 1:00 Introduction to Zanet Design
- 1:40 The issue with Google – says view plan to unlock quotes
- 2:10 Google’s reasoning possibly
- 2:25 Service or shop in Google My Business?
- 3:00 Services should be offered to a wider area – Google
- 3:25 Change your area in info then Location details
- 3:40 How to change your address to a service
- 3:50 Example of cleaning service in London
- 4:10 Direction are now disappearing on GMB
- 4:45 Directions are less relevant to certain services
- 5:05 is it worth the change from a shop address to a service? Not sure yet!
- 5:40 My final little Google My Business Tip for new businesses
- 6:45 Get keywords in business name, description etc
MY OWN CASE STUDY : Steps to unlock quotes
Recently I received a Google My Business unlock quotes message. It said “complete these tasks to improve your profile and unlock quotes” All I had was a View plan message and a reference to learn how others view me on maps.
After clicking view plan to unlock quotes and then getting the message to view my business on a map several times over. I contacted Google directly to find out what this is all about.
According to Google they say: “Since Your Business is not a storefront business, you’ll want to set your listing up as a Service-Area business so that the address is hidden. As per our policies, residential addresses cannot be displayed online without proper signage”
Add your business address if you dare
It appears Google have long wanted you to add your business address. But it now looks like times are changing. With recent updates on Google My Business it looks like services should not be showing there address. Is that a good thing? I’m not sure yet.
So Interesting. Google require you to update your listing by removing the address and instead just suggesting the area your service covers. Google My Business Doesn’t Want My Business showing as a service. Surprisingly it seems this is the way Google wants it.
Latest From Google Representative on the view plan error
Google is aware of the issue and looking into it. They will post back when they have an update to pass along. For now, the recommendation is to just ignore the ‘view plan’ and various steps that are mentioned. They don’t believe it is impacting the functionality of the business listing itself.
Gold Product Expert
Conclusion
In Conclusion, Google wants business listings completed so they are useful for map visitors. Google wants you to complete your listing with 100% accuracy. To encourage this it recently added the side menu View Plan and an effort to automate what you need to do to complete your listing. It dangles a carrot called “improve your profile to unlock quotes” Yet it has produced quite a lot of errors and confusion among many and Google My Business team are quite slow at resolving the issues.
Google My Business is an amazing tool for your business. Don’t be put off by its demands for information. For a complete Video Guide to Google My Business then visit this Complete Crash Course
If the you enjoyed this article, agree with the advice, but the idea of doing this overwhelms you then please don’t worry. If you just want me to do this for you then I’m sure I can try my best to accommodate you. Especially if you are a local business in the Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole area. I’m sure I can get your Google My Business up and running in no time at all.
