You can earn money by evaluating Google Maps or selling SEO consulting services through Google My Business. You can also use services such as Google AdSense or Google Ads. To boost online traffic to your business listing, however, you must have a GMB. A Google My Business page is the greatest method for your ideal customer to find you and acquire the most up-to-date information about your company. (More than 60% of smartphone users contact a company via their GMB).

According to Bright Local, 64% of consumers have used a GMB to get contact information for a local business. Getting your business listing to the top of the SERPs, on the other hand, takes time and skill. As a result, you must understand how to use local SEO strategies such as keyword research and site audits.

You may also use paid platforms to create ad campaigns that convert while taking a portion of the earnings. If you want to generate money using GMBs, build a local lead generating firm and earn passive revenue.

Here are some easy ways to make money with Google My Business.

Make Money With Google My Business

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 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. (Or you risk your listing being suspended or pending). Then, once your Google My Business page reaches the top of the search engines, 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. 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.

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-$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 acquire a Google review. Or you can add regular citations, backlinks, a Google post, 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:

• Google keyword planner & site audit
• A mobile and user-friendly website
• An optimized Google Business Profile
• Active social media posting & engagement 

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.

Make Money With 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.

First, find local companies that don’t have a website or a ton of online reviews. Or a local business that still needs to claim its GMB listing. Then show the owner how you can get their business in front of people actively searching for their product or service by leveraging basic SEO tactics to drive more traffic to their GMB. (The goal is to get them listed in the 3-pack at the top of the maps).

You can make money reviewing on the Google Maps platform. This is a new ocean strategy with a massive opportunity. Your job is to help a business owner get more reviews and optimize their listing. For example, you can leverage specific keywords that meet local search intent. Or get them more citations on sites like Yelp, Angie’s List, Home Advisor, etc. Then you get paid for your services, and they get more calls and can make more money.

Another option to make money with Google Maps is to join affiliate programs. First, pick a super niche-specific market. Then create a blog or YouTube channel. The key is to publish unique content for your target audience. So you need to develop an angle that includes relevant and long-term keyword searches. (To drive clicks to your affiliate links). You can also leverage Google Ads or PPC programs to get some fast wins if you have the budget and are willing to spend.

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. But you can make a ton of cash if you know how to create campaigns that convert and increase a business owner’s revenue.

Read Also: How do I Make my Google Business Page Public?

First, you need to prove you can deliver the best 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. But if you’re good at what you do and know how to find clients for Google Ads.

(Like companies already using paid ads or not ranking well in the search engines). 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.

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 either:

• Educate
• Entertain
• Solve a problem

You need a compelling hook and quality images, copy, or videos to grab the attention of your ideal market. So first, build a following and engage on other social media platforms to generate a buzz around your site. Then you can connect with a high-ticket affiliate program. One that aligns with your audience’s interests, and you get paid every time someone clicks your affiliate link.

How Does Google Make Money?

Google’s position in ecommerce is enormous as a leading technology business. Google is bound to feature in your journey, whether you’re a business owner optimizing your online store to cater to the world’s greatest search engine or a customer discovering new things.

But how does Google generate revenue?

With Google’s ad revenues in the billions and rising year after year, it’s apparent that advertising is one of the company’s most important revenue sources. However, that is not the only method it makes money.

Alphabet is a collection of different businesses. Most know it as the parent company of Google, with its Class A and its Class C shares. But the company also offers a variety of software and internet-related services and solutions, including web browsing and searching, cloud computing, streaming entertainment, mobile operating systems and applications, and more. Alphabet leverages its various platforms and services to generate a substantial portion of its revenue from advertising.

One of the primary ways Alphabet generates revenue through advertising is through its Google Ads program. Whenever you use Google’s search engine, an algorithm generates a list of search results. The algorithm attempts to provide the most relevant search result for the query as well as related suggested pages from a Google Ads advertiser.

Google generates fees from advertisers when users engage with the ad in some way, such as by clicking on it or by simply seeing the ad. Advertisers pay Google to have their pages suggested to users and will attempt to outbid each other for the top spot on the search result list.

Alphabet also generates ad revenue from the Google AdSense program, which works similarly to Google Ads. But it differs in that it enables non-Google websites to incorporate Google display advertising on their pages. When a visitor clicks on a display advertisement on a member’s website, a portion of the revenue is paid to the site owner while Google keeps part of the fee.

Alphabet competes with companies that provide online platforms for connecting people with information and relevant advertising, digital content and application platforms, enterprise cloud services, and more.

Alphabet provides a breakdown of revenue and operating income for its three reportable segments: Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. It also reports certain unallocated corporate costs, including corporate initiatives, finance and legal costs, and costs associated with certain shared research and development activities.

Corporate costs also include hedging gains (losses) related to revenue. All of these corporate costs are excluded from the segment breakdowns below.

Now let’s take a look at Alphabet’s individual reportable segments and how they earn money.

Google Services

This segment primarily generates revenue from advertising through Android, Chrome, hardware, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. Other sources of revenue include app sales, in-app purchases, digital content products, hardware, and fees received for subscription-based products such as YouTube Premium and YouTube TV.

Google Services generated revenue of $253.53 billion for the 2022 fiscal year. That’s about 90% of its total revenue. Operating income came in at $86.57 billion. This figure surpassed Alphabet’s total consolidated operating income of $59.97 billion due to operating losses in the other two segments as well as unallocated corporate costs. Google Services is thus the only segment that currently makes positive contributions to Alphabet’s overall operating income.

Google Cloud

The Google Cloud segment is comprised of Google’s infrastructure and data analytics platforms, collaboration tools, and other services for enterprise customers. The majority of the segment’s revenue is generated from fees received for Google Cloud Platform services and Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite) collaboration tools.

Google Cloud generated $26.28 billion in revenue in 2022, comprising about 9% of total revenue. The segment is still not profitable, posting an operating loss of $2.97 billion during the year.

Other Bets

The Other Bets segment is comprised of a number of different operations that are not individually material. Some of Alphabet’s Other Bets include its autonomous driving business Waymo. Most of the segment’s revenue is generated through the sale of internet services as well as licensing and research and development (R&D) services. The segment reported revenue of $1.07 billion and an operating loss of $6.08 billion in 2022.

Google

According to recent data, Google’s top revenue source in 2022 was search ads. Of the $279.81 billion in revenue the company brought in, a whopping $162.45 billion came from search ads. This includes ads on its search engine results page and other products like Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Play. 

This Google revenue breakdown shows that search ads made up the majority—or 58.1%—of its total revenue worldwide last year. This is no surprise, as search ads have been Google’s largest source of income for years.

Google’s second-biggest income source is its Google Network ads, which generated $32.78 billion in revenue, or 11.7% of the total. This includes ads that appear on Google’s partner sites. This is followed by YouTube ads, which were Google’s third-largest income source. At $29.24 billion, revenue from YouTube ads made up 10.5% of Google’s total revenue. 

Fourth and fifth on the list of Google’s top revenue sources are apps, hardware, and content, as well as Google Cloud, respectively. Revenue from the company’s apps, hardware, and content hit $29.06 billion, contributing to 10.4% of the total. Google Cloud was responsible for $26.28 billion, around 9.4% of the company’s 2022 revenues.