How to change your Banner Image on your GMB page

This tutorial shows you How to change your Banner Picture on your GMB page

Your banner picture is the large cover photo featured at the top of your profile and can be used to showcase your business or add your own touch of personality to your Business identity across Google.

You're free to change the image itself can be changed at any time.Remember 1st impressions last!!

1 Go to your Google My Business page.

2 Hover over the bottom right of the existing banner picture and click change change cover.

3 Select your cover photo by either of the following:

1. Select a photo from the Google's own gallery.
2. Upload an image from your computer
3. Select from a G + album that you have create
4. Choose from your previously used cover photos.

Note: The smallest photo that you can choose is 480 x 270 pixels, and the largest photo that you can choose is 2,120 x 1,192 pixels


Tip: We recommend choosing a photo that's 1,080 x 608 pixels. 

4 Click select cover photo.

5 Cut and crop the image to resize and position correctly resize the image.

6 Click Select cover photo.

Watch the video here....









For further information on other products and services  please visit our website. www.addpeople.co.uk

Creating circles - Organising your imported contacts in Google +

Now the contacts that you have imported can be categorised into Circles.


1 Login to your Google account and access your Google + profile.


2 Click on people from the navigation bar.

3 Select the recently imported group of contacts

4 From the list select who you you want to add to a circle. 

Click add:- 

5 Then click create new circle

6 Name the circle. Note that the name of the circle is not disclosed.




7 Repeat the process for all the contacts that you want to have held within specific circles.

For further information on other products and services  please visit our website. www.addpeople.co.uk

Importing contacts to Google Plus

The advantage that Google + has over other networks is that you can very simply target your posts and communicate with 'closed' group or circle of people.


Your interaction with them will be visible only to those individuals or group of people that you chose to be held within that particular circle.


Your circles may consist of High value clients, ex-customers, business acquaintances or work colleagues, the choice is yours on how you group your contacts and what name you give to the circle.


Its your choice which circle to place your contacts in and how you communicate to them.


Firstly, However you need to import your contacts from your other email accounts to your PERSONAL PROFILE and then organise them into circles.

• If you have a Yahoo or Hotmail account please login to these account, using a separate tab on your browser.
• For Outlook or Thunderbird you will need to export your contacts to a CSV file first. save your exported contacts CSV file on your desktop

Note: If your mail account is Outlook or Thunderbird you will need to export your contacts to a CSV file first. save your exported contacts CSV file on your desktop. (for outlook follow this tutorial http://goo.gl/5LCjuv)

1 Log into your Google account and click on '+your name' in the top right corner.

2 Hover you cursor over 'home in the top left hand corner of the page and select 'people'from the drop down.

3 Select and click on connect services from the drop down list and selct the profile / file that you want to import the contcats from.

4 When the contacts have been imported to your profile you will now see an extended categorised list when you select people that can now be used to communicate and interact with.

5 Now the contacts that you have imported cam be organised into Circles.

For further information on other products and services  please visit our website. www.addpeople.co.uk

Be C.R.U.E.L to improve the effectiveness of your Google business page

Why is it that your competitors are getting noticed by Google but your business seems to be left behind in the doldrums? Your business is 20 years old and you’ve had a website up and running for years, but some start-up has just begun using Google My Business and they’re really getting noticed online, whilst you remain firmly out in the cold. Where are you going wrong?

It’s all about values!

Google created their ‘My Business’ interface to make it easier for local businesses to get found online.  In this blog we will explain how keeping the acronym 'C.R.U.E.L' in mind when using your business page  can help to improve the chances of people finding your business when searching for relevant words or phrases.

Be C.R.U.E.L to gain credibility!

Take note of Google's values to get noticed

Understanding which qualities Google values is extremely important to the success of your business page.  Time and effort devoted to applying these values to your GMB profile will deliver a strong return. Consider this an ongoing process. Maintain the profile, encourage customer engagement, keep GMB relevant and up-to-date by using the following values to gain an advantage in a competitive market sector. 

To understand what kind of activity Google values we want you to think C.R.U.E.L thoughts. Use this acronym we have devised at Add People and it’ll help you to remember and understand the key principles of Google’s values. We’ll break it down for you to simplify things a little. 

C = Credible...  Google values businesses that are credible. Show them you have a good service and they’ll rate you higher. A credible company is seen as a trustworthy resource. Give your business integrity and Google will be happy to endorse your service. 

There are a number of ways you can make your business appear credible on Google my business. One option is to gain customer reviews. Encourage customers to leave positive reviews on your GMB profile. The more reviews you get the greater number of ‘stars’ you acquire. Get a five-star rating and this looks great on your page.  Not only will that attract attention from local customers looking for services, it’ll get picked up by Google as well.

R = Relevant...  Posting on your GMB profile is a good way of engaging with customers and offering extra value. Customers are more likely to engage with you if you keep posts fresh and constantly update your profile. Make sure that posts are relevant to the products or services that you sell though. 

Include relevant keywords within posts to make them more likely to show up in search results.  If you run a butcher’s shop in Basingstoke for example, use hashtags within your posts to highlight keywords relating to your business. Followers looking for ‘butchers in Basingstoke’ will be drawn to your profile if you include appropriate keywords and make your posts pertinent.    

Use Google’s free AdWords keyword planner tool to find keywords that perform well within your industry.  Keep posts relevant to your business sector and your profile has a really good chance of showing up higher in search results.  

U = Unique... Google values unique content so try to keep your posts original. Going back to the butcher’s shop in Basingstoke as an example, there are a number of tactics you could deploy to make your posts unique. You could include videos or pictures of your produce in a raw or freshly cooked state. There could be links to local companies that use your goods with testimonials stating how tasty your products are. You might want to include posts that highlight events in the local area, recipes, cooking tips or information about seasonal offers. 

E = Established...  If you want your business to rank well in local searches you need to show you are established within your industry. One way to get noticed by Google is to register your company in local business directories, just remember to use the same NAP (name, address and phone number) each time you register somewhere new.

Google will pick up on any external links that point back to your business.  The more external links it sees the more established it will think your business is. 

L= Locality...  When you perform a search for a business or service Google will take into consideration the location from which you’re performing the search and show you relevant, local businesses.  With this in mind, it's a good idea to make your posts relevant to the locality of your business or the area that you service.  For example you could include location in your hashtags - #ManchesterSEO.

Got all that? 

Keep these values in mind when using your business page to improve your business’ visibility online and get the most from your business page.

For more help and advice with your digital marketing please visit our website www.addpeople.co.uk.

Setting Up Mobile Notifications For Your GMB Page

Once you have your Google business page set up it's important to keep up with the maintenance and management of the page.  If you're a business owner then your schedule is probably pretty fully booked and you may not have time to be regularly logging in and checking your page.

That's where mobile notifications will really be of benefit to you.

When you set up mobile notifications on Google you will be alerted whenever something happens on your business page.  This could include a new review, comment or message on your page.

Setting up notifications means that you can respond to messages promptly to improve your followers' experience and to keep your page professional and your online reputation intact.

Ok, so now you know the benefits of mobile notifications, let's get them set up!

You can either follow the instructions in the tutorial video below, or alternatively refer to the step-by-step text instructions and screenshots in this post.

The first thing you need to do is, access your Business page (as demonstrated in our first video tutorial.)

Once you're on your business page, click on your business' icon in the top right-hand of the page, and then select 'Settings'.

Scroll down to the section called 'notification delivery'.

Click 'add phone number', enter your details and click 'send verification code'.

You will then receive a pin code to your mobile.

Enter the pin into the box provided and click 'confirm'.

You now have mobile notifications set up to your mobile phone.  This means that when you receive reviews or comments on your Business page you will be alerted directly through your phone enabling you to instantly respond or take action.

For more help and advice with your digital marketing please visit our website www.addpeople.co.uk.