As a digital marketing agency, we get a lot of great questions from our clients.
“Which of these three Google products is the most important for my business?” is one of our most asked.
So we’re going to answer it here, publicly, for all to see!
But first, a little introduction to each of these valuable products.
Google Ads
Google Ads is an online advertising program. Through Google Ads, your business can create online ads to reach people, based on their general Google search engine use, exactly when they are interested in your products and services.
No minimum spending commitment exists; you can control and set your budget.
You choose where your ad appears and can easily measure the impact of your ad. Google Ads is a great way to get interested customers into your website when they’re searching for your product or service.
Google Local Search Results
Local Results appear for people who search for businesses and places near their location. They’re shown in a number of places across Maps and Search.
For example, you’ll probably see local results if you search for “Italian restaurant” on your mobile device.
Google will try to show you the kind of nearby restaurant you’d like to visit. In the image below, Google uses Local Results to suggest some options.
The great thing about Local Results is that it’s easy to update your business contact details, trading hours, or address if they change. There’s even an app for that. Use the Google My Business App to update your business details wherever you are quick.
Here are five other ways to supercharge your Local Search Results.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is improving your website and its presence on Google’s Search Engine.
The SEO process requires quality content, technical changes to the website as per Google algorithm, and backlinks from other high authority relevant websites to rank higher in the organic listings of Google.
When you tweak and improve these factors on your website, you’ll notice a significant increase in traffic through organic search results.
Improving the content, trustworthiness, and mobile phone accessibility of your website will significantly improve the ranking of your website on search engines.
Although it might feel like SEO is “free,” it actually takes a lot of time to implement an SEO strategy in Melbourne on a website properly. As well all know, “Time is Money ?!”
Which is best?
All three!
If you only use one of these methods, your business is going to miss out on a whole lot of potential customers.
If you don’t optimize your local search, your business won’t be as discoverable to people nearby.
The same applies if your website ranks below Page 1 on Google – you are ultimately sending a range of potential clients to your competitors’ websites rather than your own.
And finally, if you fail to run relevant ads for your products or services when potential customers are online searching for keywords, you are missing out.
Using these three Google products together has a cumulative effect. The more you can put your brand in front of your potential customers, the more likely you are to gain their attention, prompting them to take action and enquire about your product or service or, ultimately – make a purchase.
If your business website can get a high position in all three Google Search categories, you will see more traffic than if you focus on only one.
So, when evaluating your business’s digital marketing strategy, incorporate all three to ensure success for your business.
Why You Need Local SEO for Your Business Website
Google now places much more importance on local search results, making local SEO crucial for businesses, even if it’s national or global. There are approximately 7.5 billion local searches per month, and 87% of people who search locally online will contact one within 24 hours. This makes the need for local SEO clear, as the important thing online is what people are searching for, how the internet responds, and the actions people take. Search engine optimization has changed and continues to change.
This is why you need to get local SEO for your business. It can make a difference in the long run.
At one time, local businesses could get away with relying on foot traffic and more traditional forms of advertising to compete. Still, many more people are using search engines to find local businesses today. With the creation of Google+Local, local SEO has become a necessity. Even if SEO is already a priority for your business, the ranking factors for local SEO differ from traditional SEO. This is particularly true of link building.
Updating Your Business Information Will Help Your Local SEO Strategy. But Make Sure It’s Perfect…
Updating NAP information (name, address, and phone number) accurately and consistently on your website and across online directories and social media. This is not simply so that people can contact you but also for effective local SEO. Something as simple as a typo in the name or the address of your business in a single directory can negatively affect your business’ ranking. That is why you must take your time to ensure you can adequately manage your local SEO strategy. If you don’t, you risk missing out on many positives (which we will mention below). But before that…
Update It As You Go. You Don’t Want To Fall Behind.
If your business has ever changed its name (even slightly), moved addresses, or changed/added a phone number, it can hurt the consistency within directories if this information isn’t the same on your Google+ page, Yelp, Foursquare, etc. Other important aspects to include in your website and online social media profile include hours of operation, forms of payment accepted, pricing, general product/service information, reviews/testimonials, links, and proximity to the customer’s location.
You must focus on ensuring that your local SEO is up to the shape of your strategy. It can make a difference in the long run. So focus on it and focus on doing it right. There is one more factor that can also help: Google Maps. If you keep reading below, you’ll find out about it:
Local Maps Overview – How It Makes The Difference.
To appeal more to small and medium-sized businesses, the major search engines have implemented a local map system that identifies and provides information on businesses from a local perspective. These local maps are integrated into the search engine. People can now search for a particular type of business within a particular locale. Search engines reward businesses that take the time to set up local profiles on Google Maps. Because the major search engines are all geared towards local search now, companies that perform well on local maps will also be bolstered in national and international search engine listings.
What Are You Missing Out On When You Don’t Have Local SEO?
Without utilizing all of these online strategies, your local Melbourne business will undoubtedly be left behind. Even the smallest local businesses and cottage industries use powerful SEO techniques, and substantial global companies compete locally with the latest search engine optimization strategies. With this in mind, it’s clear that all business websites need local SEO even to get noticed. Yet, with suitable attention to detail, they can also be highly effective and will thrive.
The Tips to Master Local SEO for Your Website
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is surrounded by different strategies and ideas – many counter-productive or outdated. This short article should help you to keep things simple and stay on the right track with your local SEO.
Tip 1:
Keep content of high quality with good keywords relevant to your business and with plenty of links to related local businesses. There are different approaches to SEO content depending on the intentions of the company. We are assuming here that you want to build a successful website for the long term, which will also help build your brand and identity within the local community.
Tip 2:
The second tip, then, is: don’t overdo it. If you are engaging in so-called ‘black hats’ tactics such as keyword stuffing or spamming, you will likely cause more harm than good to a local business. Use keywords sparingly and treat all visitors to your website (and all internet users) with respect, just as you would when they walk in through your door.
Tip 3:
Ensure your name, address, and phone number are prominent on your website (your NAP details). First, these details are essential for people to contact you, but the search engines will also rate your website much more highly if these details are present and up-to-date.
Tip 4:
You should add your business to local business directories and provide as much information to them as you can. This gives you backlinks from trusted and popular websites, which strengthens your SEO and means that local people could find you within those directories.
Tip 5:
The more you create pages on social media sites and link back to your website, the more relevant and valuable your website will appear. For example, if you run a taxi firm in Melbourne, you want to pop up on mobile phones when people search for a ride home. If you are present on all the social media sites, you can have recommendations and links galore. The SEO Melbourne benefits of linking back to your website are also invaluable.
