The Google marketing platform is the winning search engine with 85% global market share. With all this Googling going on it remains the most used platform for business marketing. And to give credit where it’s due, how Google categorizes and ranks keywords is what has essentially shaped our search engine optimization (SEO) best practices and marketing strategies.
Whether searching for the best deal on a product to finding a local service provider, billions of people are discovering their options in real time on Google. That is why utilizing Google, in addition to social media marketing, is a must for any business
Below is a breakdown of the top six best strategies for marketing for Google.
The first step is to build a Google Business Profile (GBP). Previously called Google My Business, think of this profile as your company’s first impression to potential customers.
The good news about a Google Business Profile – it’s a marketing effort that is 100% free – and business owners have complete control over how their profile appears on Google Search and Google Maps.
From sharing information like hours of operation, contact info, and special offers, you can also include a logo, photos, and posts that portray your business’ personality. You can also make your business stand out even more by adding attributes like women-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQ+-friendly, and more. You can also respond to customer reviews and direct messages, post responses to FAQs, show what products and services you offer, provide pricing quotes, and so much more.
Just claim your Google Business Profile and verify that you own the business. Then you can manage it directly from Google Maps, Google Search, or your Google My Business page. Focusing your Google Business Profile will increase your brand awareness and prove to be one of the most profitable marketing strategies you can do for your business.
Social proof is powerful on all marketing channels but especially on Google. According to these stats, 95% of consumers say they read reviews before they buy anything, 72% say they use Google Reviews to find businesses, and businesses with 200 reviews or more generate twice as much revenue.
So it’s best to rack up as many 5-star customer reviews as possible. You can do this by placing a Google Review link in your post-purchase emails and asking customers on the spot when they give positive feedback face-to-face. Glowing Google Reviews build trust and credibility and will ultimately bring in more business.
Have you noticed how YouTube videos now show up in Google Search results? That’s why having a YouTube channel also counts as a Google marketing strategy.
If you’re new to video marketing and need help deciding what to post, we’ve done a whole blog on How to Drive Traffic to Your YouTube Channel and offer a ton of content ideas too.
In case you didn’t know, YouTube is owned by Google and is the second most visited website after Google Search, with more than 2.5 billion monthly users. So having a YouTube channel for your business is highly beneficial for reaching new audiences, attracting qualified leads, and converting customers.
Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, are paid marketing campaigns displayed at the very top and bottom of the search results page when the ad is related to the search terms a user enters. It is a powerful way to reach your target market and target audience with business messaging businesses, as it can expand your audience significantly.
Depending on your business type and marketing needs, you can choose from various Google Ad campaigns, including Display, Video, Shopping, App, Local, and Smart. All follow the PPC (pay-per-click) model, so you only pay when your ad is clicked, can set daily budgets, and pick the most relevant keywords for your business.
Research what keywords and search phrases your potential customers are using to drive more SEO traffic to your business website. Then create blog posts and video content on those topics and place them on your website.
If you need help identifying SEO keywords, Google Keyword Planner can help. Here’s a hint: Pick keywords with low to medium competition that you could realistically rank for but not so low that hardly anyone uses those keywords.
In addition to developing content based on SEO keywords, make sure to use backlinks too. These are internal or external links from one web page or website to another. Backlinks signal to search engines that your content is valuable, giving it a higher search ranking. Also, internal backlinks (links to different pages on your own website) help search engines understand and rank your website even better.
For more ways to drive website traffic, check out our blog on SEO Hacks for Small Business.
Google Analytics is the tool to use to determine successful marketing strategies. It provides a short-term and long-term look at how your content is performing, what content is driving people to your website and landing pages and highlights the performance of your social media channels.
You can access many data points when it comes to your website using Google Analytics.
Get ranking on Google by following these strategies for marketing and give your business the boost it needs in your local market place. If you’re hungry for more help with digital marketing, click here to set up a free consultation with our team.
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