If you’re reading this book, there’s a good chance that you already have some knowledge of Google. You probably use Gmail as your primary email and search the internet from time to time. In fact, in 2002, the American Dialect Society declared “Google it” to be the most helpful phrase on their list. Despite the fact that there are a few various search engines available, Google has made such an impact that “Google it” has found its way into the Oxford dictionary in 2006.
All of this is to demonstrate Google’s significance on a few levels. In today’s world with internet connections on numerous scales, the search engine has made a significant impact. Many small-business owners, though, still view Google only as a search engine and are unaware of how to utilize it to promote their company and attract new consumers. If this describes you as well, it’s time for a fresh look at the big G.
Yes, you could claim that you’ve been employing techniques like Search Engine Optimization to boost your website’s rankings. However, today there are far more advantages for your company than there were a few years ago thanks to Google.
If you want to expand and leap above the competition, this book will undoubtedly be of assistance. Throughout the course of the book, we’ll show you several methods to use Google to brand your business, connect with potential consumers, enhance your credibility, and increase income for your company. Read on to learn all that we have for you in the guide.
Understanding Exactly How Google Works
If you’ve been employing SEO methods to boost your online presence, you’ll undoubtedly be familiar with some of Google’s functions. The main objective of Google is to provide its users with the best possible experience, which places them at the top of the priority list. The primary aim of Google is to satisfy end users. Users’ experience is more important to Google than any other factor. The search engine is interested in demonstrating that it delivers the most precise answers for clients as quickly as possible.
As a business owner, you should take advantage of this and get the attention of the appropriate people. You want to make sure that people who come to your website through the search engine are looking for your products or services. That implies you may receive a lot of Google qualifying leads.
Google has also supplied you with various tools to help you better manage your business profile and information, making it even more interesting. These tools make it simpler for laser-focused individuals to discover your company.
When it comes to connecting your company to the right individuals, Google is a fantastic instrument that you may use to link people with your business. So, you should consider how to build your website in order for Google to trust it so that you rank higher than your competition on the SERPs.
The good news is that you can achieve this. The first thing you should do is learn how Google views and assesses local businesses while looking for a business to recommend to searchers. In most situations, Google considers four local search signals. They are as follows:
Prominence
At all costs, Google is seeking for legitimacy. So let it know that it can trust your website by having quality links back to it and a lot of high-quality written material. That’s how you achieve visibility on the search engine.
Recency
Google doesn’t want its users to be directed to a firm that is out of business or inactive. It wants a current and relevant source of information for its customers at all times. Consider how often you update your content. Is it true that you post new material about your company on your website on a regular basis? When Google sees new material on your website, it tells them that you’re active and won’t cause any problems suggesting it to their customers. When people notice fresh material on a website, they experience the same thing.
Relevance
Google wants to see that its customers have the most probable answers to their questions. This method has gotten a lot more sophisticated in recent years. However, as a business owner, your job is to make use of all of Google’s tools to help the search engine better identify your company so that it can consistently suggest it to ideal searchers.
Proximity
This is a major consideration for local businesses. Google will always suggest the closest enterprises to the user. This indicates that when suggesting businesses to the searcher, businesses in the same area or region as they are will be considered first. For instance, if the searcher searched for something like “roof replacement in Sacramento, CA, Google will not likely direct such a user to a company located in Ohio.
How Google Rose to its Giant Status
Google indexes a growing number of sites on a daily basis. But you don’t have to be concerned about it. Your primary concern should be how to develop a respectable online presence that distinguishes you from similar firms in your market and region.
Google is not simply a search engine. Developers have made Google into a powerful tool for connecting and interacting with real consumers over the years. Thanks to the different tech offerings added to the search engine. Some of Google’s offerings include:
- Google Maps
- Gmail
- Chrome
- Google Docs
- Search engine
- Google AI Smart Ads
- Photos
This is just a sampling of the goods Google has to offer. If you have an interest in technology, there’s a good chance Google has a solution for you. This is a win-win situation for both consumers and businesses. It makes it simpler for users to discover their favorite channels faster since all of their data is stored in the same ‘data center.’ Businesses can also use this to develop content and advertisements that are tailored to the demands of their target audience.
As a company owner, gaining Google’s trust as quickly as possible is critical. For instance, updating your information on Google Maps and contributing to the efforts of local guides to review other businesses will help you get noticed by Google, making it easier for searchers to locate your business.
The god eyes: How Google Views Your Website
Customers’ methods of moving through the purchase funnel have evolved dramatically over time. Before they can become active leads, consumers must have viewed you online several times. It’s entirely possible that someone using a search engine or Google Maps to look for a local business will see your ad. All of these have the ability to convey trustworthiness to both Google and your target demographic. Therefore, it is important you pay special attention to the many ways available to you to build a presence and digital footprint for your business.
Reviews
Google frequently considers reviews when deciding which company to rank first for a certain query. Another significant aspect of reviews is that consumers trust them. Consumers say they check review sites and read more consumer evaluations on a product before making a purchasing decision.
If you’ve avoided conducting reviews in your company’s marketing plan, now is the moment to reconsider. Concentrate on finding out where your company appears and asking your consumers to provide evaluations there if they have a positive experience. With each additional star in your rating, your sales will increase by 5 to 9%, so reviews are a vital tool for boosting income and meeting corporate goals.
However, don’t solely encourage your consumers to submit reviews for you; instead, provide competent staff on your team to manage them. To improve the client experience, let them react promptly and effectively to each review.
A third point to consider is that you should always reply to every review posted on your company listing, positive or negative. As a result, you’ll need to delegate the responsibility of handling consumer reviews to individuals who can handle any issue that may arise as a result of one.
Look at the raw data
There are several resources available to assist you in obtaining the information that is relevant to your business. Make use of Google Analytics, Search Console, My Business, and Webmaster Tools. Your social media also includes analytical tools to help you assess the numbers you need to improve your brand message and target your leads.
You’ve already implemented all of the tactics detailed in this book. However, you may use these tools to see which keywords consumers use to locate your company and where their traffic is coming from. This will give you a road map on how to increase your marketing effort while still getting maximum return for your investment.
Structured Data
The items you have in your structured data are your site’s structure, categories, and tags. You must arrange these data in a certain way so that Google may better understand your website and ensure that it is shown to the proper people when they search. The first and most crucial step is to use geo-specific SEO and codes to help Google determine the closeness of your visitors.
Stick with WordPress
Many people ask why we always advocate using WordPress. It’s because WordPress is open-source software, so you have a lot of options for customizing it to reflect your business. WordPress also has a large pool of developers working to keep the platform up to date with new features and improvements. This is beneficial for you since it allows you to maintain your online presence without having to hire a full-time developer.
Blogs and Social Media
It is critical to keep your blog and social media presence up-to-date with fresh and high-quality material. With this, you will have more credibility and relevance among your audience. However, make sure your material is suited to your target audience. Also, be sure that the data you’re presenting is relevant and useful.
Consider adding more local content so you may easily reach more people in your community, and update the site to include new offers or sales. Keep in mind that you’re a local business; your ideal consumers are individuals who live around you.
You may need to go beyond simply posting local content on your blog and social media to gain people’s confidence. It might also include promoting local causes, as well as appearing in local events. When a company is mentioned in print or online, it generates a followback and consumer loyalty.
Fast loading & Optimized website
One thing all searchers have in common is that they want to obtain a solution to their problems as soon as possible. That implies ensuring that your company places a high value on excellent user experience, whether it’s via a mobile phone, desktop computer, or tablet. You must test your site for quality in all browsers and devices on a regular basis, especially if you make any modifications.
Voice search
Voice search is becoming more popular. And, as a local business, you must consider voice search in your SEO and marketing efforts. Have you ever considered whether you should cater to voice search as well as SEO keywords? Voice search has become increasingly essential than previous SEO as the majority of consumers speak their searches into their cellphones. Furthermore, voice search queries and phrases are distinct from those you would use in a search bar.
Mobile first
There’s a reason why Google is currently ranking mobile websites first. Users are increasingly using mobile devices to search the internet. Three out of four searchers use their smartphones today. That is why, whether you have an online presence or not, any company that needs to be mobile-friendly has a duty to pay close attention to it.
Making your website mobile-friendly will guarantee that you and Google are on good terms. You might also want to look at the AMP version for smartphones. This will make your website load significantly faster on mobile devices.
Taking Valuable Real Estate on the Search Results with Google Ads
If you’re searching for a highly effective strategy to reach your target audience in your region, Google Ads is a good option. Do you want more interesting results from your Google Ads campaign? Let’s show you how to make your advertisements more successful so that you may earn even more money.
Simple Steps to Build a High Converting Lead Generation Campaign
#1: First things first, what’s the customer’s pain point?
When developing your ad, keep in mind the types of problems that consumers are experiencing and what type of solution they want. Translate what you do into how they search for things. Put yourself in their shoes and try to figure out how you’d look for your items or services.
When writing your advertisement copy, keep in mind that you’ll need to mention any present deals and your own value proposition. What makes your company different? Add relevant phrases to the text, as well as a match for the keyword on your site’s landing page.
#2: Create Ad Groups for related keywords and ads that match
If you’re creating a new account, this should not take long. However, if it’s an old campaign, you may reorder it. You can group relevant keywords together into the same Ad Groups.
#3: Pay attention to keyword match type
Exact match, phrase match, and broad match are the three types of matching. So, before you employ any of them, be sure you know what they’re capable of. If you’re utilizing exact match, for example, make sure your wording isn’t convoluted.
#4: Target exclusions and negative keywords lists from the start
Exclude terms and negative keyword lists from your ad copy to prevent it from being presented to people who utilize certain keyword lists. You should be able to clearly identify searches that may have inadvertently brought people to your ad reproductively after doing some analysis of your ad performance.
#5: Ensure you properly set up your conversion tracking
Conversion tracking lets you fine-tune your advertisements. As a result, make sure they’re all set up correctly. This will show you which ads are obtaining clicks and with what search terms. This information will assist you in optimizing high-converting advertisements for greater conversion rates.
#6: Enable all relevant Ad Extensions
Extras about your organization that may be included in your Google Ad are known as ad extensions. This might include your contact information, physical address, hours of operation, professional evaluations, and more. You should be aware, however, that Ad extensions are rarely seen by searchers, so keep the most essential information in the text ad.
#7: Analyse your search term report
Keep track of everything that can be measured. Set up your Google Ads with Google Analytics to keep track of your search term reports. You’ll have a deeper understanding of how your keywords and exclusions perform by using this method. It is recommended that you check your analytics on a regular basis, whether it’s every few weeks or once a month.
Generating High Quality Local Leads with Google Maps
Google’s algorithms are becoming increasingly sophisticated, enabling them to anticipate where potential customers will be looking for local goods and services based on simple keywords. Google is all out to assist local companies to succeed by advertising to the right people as more consumers turn to their search engines. Google’s primary goal is to make the information on the internet more accessible and useful for searchers.
The conversion frequently begins on the search engine results pages, right away. This is generally due to your Google My Business and Google Maps. To minimize users going offsite for vital information about a company, Google is working hard to provide them as much information as possible without requiring them to leave the site. The majority of your conversions will happen before your clients even get to your website – the majority of their purchase decision was made before they click through.
This also implies that you may not receive as many organic visitors to your site. This makes it critical that you use the Google Maps and Google My Business tools to ensure that your data is reliable and accurate.
Building a Digital Empire for your Business Leveraging the power of GMB
The Google My Business platform offers businesses with the tools they need to be discovered online by potential consumers. To grow your business and attract your ideal customers, use the following technologies straight from your GMB.
Messaging
This is a good indication of how well your ad is working and whether or not you rank well on Google. It’s also critical that you respond to any communications as soon as feasible, regardless of the circumstance. You may consider adding it to mobile so that you can stay on top of this and reply in a shorter amount of time.
Google Post
A Google posting usually appears on the right-hand side of a search result page. Imagine if you were the only local company employing these tools; that means your company will appear in search results 100% of the time for relevant local searches. That’s certainly a positive thing for your business.
However, putting up a Google Post is not hard. All you have to do is create a basic post in your GMB account. That’s all there is to it – that’s how you get more search result pages for free.
Creating a blog post takes very little time. You simply add a picture, text, link, and button type to your blog before publishing it. That’s all there is to it! You may also change these blogs at any time to include new deals, important occasions, or seasonal changes.
Videos
Videos are popular on Google. As a result, consider adding video to your GMB page. This may help users in search results and boost your click-through rate.
Takeaway
We’ve outlined the essential tools you may use to create a strong digital presence on Google, stay on top of your game, and crush your competition in this article. Google isn’t simply a search engine; it’s a complex mix of services for both businesses and consumers. Optimizing your company on Google will ensure that you continue to receive a consistent stream of high-quality leads that you can nurture and convert into paying customers.
It’s now or never to take advantage of all the fantastic tools and resources Google has to offer.