Setting up and optimizing your Google Maps listing, in my experience, is the number one thing that all Reiki Practitioners should do. When optimized correctly your Google Maps listing can cause your practice to be seen by thousands of people every month.

What makes Google Maps so powerful is the fact they feature reviews on your listing. It is essentially word of mouth advertising online, which is how most Reiki Practitioners secure their new clients. Yet it being online makes it far more scalable then traditional word of mouth advertising can be. So what is Google Maps? Well it is a website (www.google.com/maps) that allows people to search for local businesses. Not only that, but it is an app that a huge majority of people use on their phones. Google Maps was the most used application on smartphones last month, with over 50% of everyone owning smartphones using it at least once last month. Not only that, but 70% of people aged 35-55 say they use Google Maps to find local services. Even more powerful is that 70% of those reported that they trust online reviews as much as their friend referring a service to them in person.

Google Maps is perfect for Reiki Practitioners because it allows you to use the power of word of mouth advertising online to reach your exact target market. There is no other marketing technique I have come across that is free to set up and only requires a one time investment which will continuously drive new clients to you year after year.

So what experiences have I had that have convinced me of how powerful Google Maps is? Within the first 3 months of optimizing my first clients Google Maps he was receiving so many new patients that he was booked out for weeks. He ended up needing to bring in another Message Therapist into his office so he could see all the new patients. Fast forward years later when I created and optimized a nutritionist’s Google Maps. At the time she was renting out a space in a wellness center. Six months later her business had grown so much she was able to buy out the rest of her contract and bought her own wellness center. She has other healers renting space from her now and has a full kitchen so she can teach nutrition classes.

Reiki has helped me so much in my life that I decided to put together this compressive guide on how to get listed.

Video 1: Setting up google maps:

Video 2: Setting up google voice (US only):

Video 3: Inside the dashboard:

Congratulations! You are now listed on one of the most powerful tools for driving new clients to you. However, in order to really see new clients lining up for your services you will need optimize your Google Maps listing. It’s a bit more information than I can cover in a blog, but I want to cover a few of the basics.

1. Upload 5-10 photos onto your listing. This both helps your ranking and helps convert people who view your listing into new customers.

2. Pick good categories (you can pick up to 10) and use those categories in your introduction as keywords. This will make it so you show up for more search terms and you will show up higher up on the rankings.

3. Make sure have at least 5 reviews. Why 5? Well your star rating won’t show up on Google unless you have 5 reviews. Having a 4-5 star rating on Google Maps makes a massive difference in how many people both click on your listing and how many people will make an appointment with you.

4. Citations! Citations are the #1 factor Google looks at in terms of where you are ranking on Google Maps. Why do rankings matter? Well the higher the ranking the more views you get, the more views you get the more customers you will bring in. So what are Citations? Well they are other websites your business address is listed on other then Google Maps. Places like your local chamber of commerce, your website and other local listing websites. There are hundreds and hundreds of places you can get citations from yet there are a few that are VERY Important to get listed on. Now these are a trade secret, I have spent 100s of hours collecting my massive list of citation sources and I have never given any of them away before, however, I am so passionate about giving back to the Reiki Community because of how much you helped me during my time of serious health issues. So below are 5 of the best citation sources for you to be on.

Top Places to get listed for Citations: Please note that most of these places require verification because they are very high-end listings. Verification is often done by the phone, they will call you or send you a text message with a code you will need to ender into the website. These listing will take each 10-15 minutes to set up. However, the most time consuming aspect of getting listed on each of these sites is actually finding where you need to go to sign up. That is why I have provided the direct URL below on where to go to get listed on each of the sites below.

1. Yelp (International)

2. Manta (US)

3. AngiesList (US)

4. YP.com (US)

5. Expressupdate (US)

6. Cylex (UK)

7. Freeindex (UK)

For listing sites in other countries check out these great links: Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada.

Congratulations! While certainly not fully optimized if you completed the above citations you will start getting hits and driving new traffic to your business. The whole process + the citations + reviews will take most of you 2-3 hours to complete. This is nothing compared to the long-term benefits of having a listing will bring to you.

To all the Reiki Practitioners reading this, I want to truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have made a major impact on my life. I hope that I can return the favour and help you find success in whatever you are doing. I would love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at helpinghealers42@gmail.com for any questions for feedback - Isaac.

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