You can make money with Google My Business mainly by offering SEO consulting services to business owners. You can also leverage platforms like Google AdSense or Google Ads.

To drive online traffic to your business listings, you need to have a profile on GMB, which is the best way for ideal customers to find you online and get the most up-to-date information about most businesses. Today, over 60% of smartphone users contact a company through their GMB. Bright Local also reports that 64% of consumers use GMB to find contact details of local companies.

Before making any money with Google My Business, you need to get your business listing to the top of search engine results pages. Knowing how to employ local SEO tactics like keyword research and site audits can take time and skill. To gain knowledge on GMB and SEO, you can look up courses like Rank Daddy Elite by Brandon Olson or Rank And Rent Mastery by Jordan Stambaugh. 

In this feature, we highlight 3 main methods you can use to make money with Google My Business (now Google Business Profile) and also show you how a local lead generation business can help you earn passive income.

3 Ways to Earn Cash With GMBs in 2024

1. Set Up and Rank Google My Business Listings 

You can make money with Google My Business (now called Google Business Profile or GBP) by setting up GMB listings and ranking them at the top of the SERPs. Then you can build an online business on autopilot and generate a steady cash flow. A concept taught in the Chad Kimball Google Maps Elite (Arbor Academy). 

The premise is simple. Set up a GMB listing under a business name, then let it sit for a couple of weeks; don't do anything with it. Google Search Console trusts aged sites and listings that have been producing traffic for a long time but they're always suspicious of anything new.

So you need to set it up right the first time. Don't make any mistakes because you don't want to have to make any edits. Otherwise, you risk your listing being suspended or pending. Once your Google My Business page reaches the top of search results, it will begin producing calls. You can then sell those leads to a business owner for a monthly fee. 

Chad's program is a lot like the local lead generation business model taught by my mentor Dan Klein, the founder of Job Killing - our lead generation coaching program. The difference is that Dan's coaching teaches students how to use local lead generation websites to produce organic traffic and employ GMB traffic as a secondary avenue. 

"70% of clicks in Google analytics search results go to organic, with 30% going to AdWords." (SEO Inc)

Chad doesn't teach his students how to rank and rent websites. Instead, he only focuses on ranking each Google Business Profile listing to create a steady cash flow. You can charge $500 to $1000+/month for Google My Business services. Of course, your price tag depends on the type and number of benefits you provide a business owner.

For example, you can supply reputation management and help businesses acquire Google reviews. You can also add regular citations, backlinks, Google posts, images, etc., to optimize a business listing. Another option is to offer search engine optimization consulting and set up a Google Business Profile. 

You can also provide strategies like:

You can also employ lead generation methods by setting up and ranking map listings to produce leads you sell to business owners for profit. But if you can improve a business's ranking and get its GMB in the map pack, you can earn some serious cash in 2024.

2. Help Businesses Improve Their Presence on Google Maps

You can make money with Google Maps if you know how to help businesses meet local search intent. For instance, listings that include a geographical reference, a 'near me' phrase, or a service provided by a local establishment get more traffic and sales.

Pavel Ketsuk, creator of the SWAS Accelerator course, has a video on YouTube where he shares how people can earn $100 to $300 per day or $1,000 per month on Google Maps.  

The first step is to pick a city and a business niche to focus on. In Pavel’s example, he searched for roofing services in Las Vegas, Nevada. Next, he went around looking for businesses with only a few reviews or do not have their own websites. You can also target businesses that have yet to claim their brand on Google Maps.   

Here are more examples of that using the keyword "home cleaning Portland Maine":

After gathering these details, you can start contacting companies to let them know that your goal is to help them “rank a bit higher” on Google Maps. 

“When (a customer) Googles any kind of service, they're not going to go all the way down to page 2 to hire someone,” Pavel emphasizes. By helping businesses improve their listings, you are helping them attract more customers and increase their revenue. 

Once they accept your services, you can then help them with website creation, review management, and Google Maps listing optimization. You can also hire freelancers on Fiverr to do SEO work for the business.

Can You Make Money Reviewing on Google Maps?

No, you can’t make money reviewing on Google Maps. Google does not directly pay reviewers any money. The search engine company also does not allow brands to pay for reviews. “Contributions to Google Maps should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business,” reads the Google policy. “Fake engagement is not allowed and will be removed.” This includes “paying, incentivising or encouraging the posting of content that does not represent a genuine experience.”

On Quora, digital marketing expert Jisan Biswas says that there are 4 workarounds for people who want to "indirectly" earn from writing reviews. For example, becoming an influencer or a blogger can allow you to make money online from creating sponsored posts, displaying ads, and joining affiliate marketing programs, among others. You may also offer consulting services for businesses who need online reputation management. You can help brands encourage their customers to leave genuine reviews or to respond to reviews on their Google Maps listings.

3. Pay for Profits With Google Ads

If you're willing to pay for profits, you can make money with Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords). The key is to be an ad genius and have the skills to leverage the best keywords for the lowest CPCs. You can make a ton of cash if you know how to create campaigns that convert and increase a business owner's revenue.

First, you need to prove you can deliver the best return on advertiser spend (ROAS) then you need to develop a campaign that drives high-quality leads to their listing. You can also leverage YouTube ads and publish scroll-stopping videos and reels to increase brand awareness and engagement or generate more sales calls.

Of course, a Google ad costs money. So you need to keep a close eye on your ad spend and budget to make sure you're not losing money. If you're good at what you do and know how to find clients for Google Ads, you will earn cash for your skill set. You can also offer your services as a Google Ad Manager and handle all the backend SEO strategies like posts, updates, reputation management, etc.

How Can I Make Money on Google Without Investing?

You can make money on Google without investing by creating a blog or using YouTube to drive online traffic to affiliate links. The goal is to publish unique and valuable content in a specific niche with an active online audience. Your content needs to educate, entertain, or solve a problem.You also need a compelling hook, along with quality images, copy, or videos to grab the attention of your ideal market.

First, build a following and engage on other social media platforms to generate a buzz around your site. You can then connect with a high-ticket affiliate program. Look for one that aligns with your audience's interests, and can give you a good earning every time someone clicks your affiliate link.

How Do You Make Money From Google AdSense?

You can also make money without investing by leveraging Google AdSense. To do this, you need to be approved and make sure your Google account meets the eligibility requirements. For example, you need an active website that is at least 6 months old and gets a steady flow of traffic.

You also need to be active in one of their host partners such as Blogger, YouTube, or other approved platforms. Once approved, you can monetize the platform and post Google ads to earn extra income. Google will find offers that will benefit your audience based on their interests or locations. Advertisers then pay you as your audience clicks their ads on your site.

Google AdSense is a strategy that allows you to earn money from GMBs and websites without spending money. Of course, both monetization strategies have pros and cons but if you follow the rules and start producing organic traffic - or if you can connect with affiliate partners that offer high payouts - then you can make money on Google without investing in 2024. 

How To Get Your GMB To The Top Of Google

To get your GMB to the top of Google, you need to send the right signals to show them why you're relevant. You need to include the following:

The platform favors listings with an accurate Google Business Profile Account. So you also need to make sure your listing has a solid online presence with things like:

The best way to optimize your GMB is to put the customer first and add accurate information for Google. Use local SEO tactics like adding high-quality images, getting customer reviews, and posting consistently. You can then rank higher and attract more eyeballs on your business.

Start by choosing the correct primary category, which is among the top GMB ranking factors that will boost your listing. It needs to match your top keyword. You can then max out your secondary category with applicable keywords like location, description, etc., as an additional classification.

The benefit of having a Google My Business is that an optimized GBM can get you a higher ranking and improve your local SEO. As a result, your business will be more visible on Google Maps and be seen more by real users actively searching for what you offer. As a result, you get high-quality leads and more paying customers.

Why Lead Generation Is The Best Business Model If You Want To Make Passive Income

Google My Business is vital to driving online traffic and producing high-quality leads. It's also a cornerstone in the lead generation business model. However, the primary focus of local lead generation is organic traffic. According to HigherVisibility, "53.3% of all web traffic comes from organic search." It produces the highest quality leads on the internet, which is the foundation of lead generation. 

The premise is simple with lead gen. You build and rank generic websites to the top of search results so they can produce leads for small business owners. You can sell those leads to secure passive income of $500 to $3,000 per month.

With lead generation, you need to learn the skills to leverage Google algorithms. You also need to understand the parameters around a niche, population, and competition. Once you get your systems in place, you can build more than one site at a time so you can grow your business more.

For example, my Grand Rapids tree care website only took me around 10-15 hours to build. However, it has been making me $2,000 per month since 2015 and is only one of the over 80 sites I own and rent out to local business owners. Together, they result in a steady cash flow of up to $52,000 per month. When your sites achieve top ranking, they don't need much maintenance so not only do you earn passive income, but you can harness time freedom. that will allow you to scale faster.