Maximising Your Business Exposure Using Google Search Marketing

Why Should You Prioritise Marketing Your Business on Google Search?

Google Search Marketing is key to expanding your business’s reach and visibility. It includes both Local SEO, optimising your landing pages for local searches, and PPC, where you bid for your ads to appear in Google search results. A Google Business Profile and website can enhance your visibility, but this requires strategic setup and continuous effort. When you get it right, though, it’s worth it.

Table of Contents

• Why Should You Prioritise Marketing Your Business on Google Search?
• Not Everyone Uses Facebook; But Most People Use Google As Their 21st Century Phone Book
• Article FAQ
• What you can do now for free is take control of your Google Business Profile Listing
• Broadening Your Reach with a Website
• Websites and Exposure: Caution
• Two Pathways for Local Businesses to Take Advantage of Google Search Marketing: Local SEO and PPC
  • The Power of Local SEO
  • Organic Listings
  • The Pros and Cons of Local SEO
• What is Google Search Advertising or PPC?
  • PPC: It’s Not Just About the Highest Bid
  • Customise Your Advertisements
    • Target Specific Locations
    • Limit What You Want to Spend
• Next Steps
• We Can Help

Not Everyone Uses Facebook; But Most People Use Google As Their 21st Century Phone Book

By only having a Facebook Business page and not a website, your reach extends to Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—only. That’s if they’re all set up. However, if you’re not present on Google Search, you’re excluding many potential customers who use Google, and they use it like the old Yellow Pages. Only Google is like the Yellow Pages on steroids.

Article FAQ

What you can do now for free is take control of your Google Business Profile Listing

Every business is entitled to a free Google Business Profile (GBP). It’s like a mini website that can show up in searches in your local market. With a well developed GBP, you can show up for searches even without a website. Although a link back to your website from your GBP will improve your profile listing and give people the option to visit your website for more information. This will also drive traffic to your website.

Watch the video below for some quick tips on how to optimise your profile to make sure you reach more people, in more places, more often.

You will need a Gmail account and be logged in to following along with this video. If you don’t have a Gmail account, click here to set one up.

Broadening Your Reach with a Website

A website doesn’t just connect with all your social media profiles. It can link to your Google Business Profile (GBP) and improve your GBP listing.

Your GBP listing can help you appear in some Google Searches, even without a website. However, connecting your website to your Google Profile will improve your search exposure on Google. That’s if it’s set up well.

For example:

You can have multiple landing pages, each providing information on a unique service or product. The goal of each landing page is to target multiple search phrases used to find that service or product. This leads to multiple search engine listings, increasing your market exposure and attracting more potential customers to your website.

Websites and Exposure: Caution

Having a website doesn’t automatically mean your business will be discovered when someone searches for your services or products. To ensure your website gets traffic, you need to:

• Optimise for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), allowing your website to be found for relevant search terms. This can take time, ranging from weeks to months, depending on your objectives and market competitiveness.
• Set up a Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign. This can put your products or services on Google Search within days.

Two Pathways for Local Businesses to Take Advantage of Google Search Marketing: Local SEO and PPC

The Power of Local SEO

Local SEO is all about optimising your landing pages, so they appear on Google Searches. People search for your business or the products or services you offer. Unlike browsing on Facebook, Google searches are specific, with a higher level of engagement with the topic.

The Pros and Cons of Local SEO

Pros

• It enables you to be found for the services, products, and information you provide when someone is actively seeking them.
• Once set up, a listing can generate significant sales for years, depending on competition.
• Local SEO increases your reach and exposure in your local area. Maintaining those listings rarely incurs ongoing costs; unless it’s competitive.
• Local SEO shows your business as an authority by answering customers’ questions effectively.

Cons

• Getting listed on Google can take weeks or months, but once you do, your exposure and leads increase exponentially.
• If you’re in a competitive market; you may need a professional SEO specialist to keep your listings on the first page. This can be costly.
• To keep your site relevant, you need to add fresh content at least once every quarter. If your customers only see outdated content, they may wonder if your business is still around.

What is Google Search Advertising or PPC?

Also known as Pay Per Click (PPC). Google Search Advertising can position your business and your services on Google in your local market—quickly!

Using Google Keyword Planner, you identify keywords that people use when searching for your service and include those in your Ad Sets. If your bid is competitive and the search meets all your set conditions, your ad will appear when those keywords are triggered.

PPC: It’s Not Just About the Highest Bid

With PPC, you bid an amount you’re willing to pay per click. While the bid amount matters in a PPC ‘auction’, the relevance of your landing page to the advert is just as important.

Customise Your Advertisements

Target Specific Locations

Target the specific locations your business operates in. This prevents your ads from appearing in locations you don’t or can’t service. You can also have your advert dynamically include the location the person is viewing the advert from in your Ad. This is a great way to get someone’s attention and to show you are truly a local business.

Limit What You Want to Spend

You can set a maximum limit for what you’re willing to pay per click and how much you would like to spend each day. I recommend starting with a budget of $300 per month and not running your ads every day.

If you would rather not handle enquiries over the weekend; don’t advertise on those days. Over time, you’ll discover the most effective times to run your ads, and you can schedule based on that info.

Next Steps

1. Take Control of Your Google Business Profile:
   Start by claiming and optimising your Google Business Profile to improve your local search visibility.
2. Setup a website:
   A well-designed website not only improves your Google Business Profile, but also significantly boosts your overall search exposure. Optimise it for relevant search terms.
3. Set Up a PPC Campaign:
   Consider setting up a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign to get your services quickly in front of a targeted audience.
4. Regularly Update Content:
   Keep your website and Google Business Profile updated with fresh content to maintain your search rankings and customer engagement.

We Can Help

If you would like some more information on how you can get all this going, you can read this post on our 1 Page At A Time strategy.