(Source: E-Icon, 2016)
If you’re a small business, getting yourself noticed can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare. Sure, you might make a quiche lorraine that makes even my grandma’s cooking look like a ready meal on Easyjet, but you have to get people through the door before they can realise that! So how do you do it?! Well search engine optimisation using Google could be your answer. But before we look into how registering your business on Google can specifically help your business, lets have a look at the broader picture of search engine optimisation.
The what, why and how of search engine optimisation
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is “any activity that attempts to improve search engine rankings” (Tracey, 2015). But how do search engines such as Google rank pages? Well Google ranks it’s pages by ‘Authority’ meaning that it gives priority to web pages that have received high levels of traffic or are seen as reliable sources of information; hence why whenever you Google a topic there’s a Wikipedia page not far down the results. So therefore to get your website higher all you technically need to do is write fantastic, useful content that uses words and phrases used by people who search for your products and services. Easy right? Thankfully for those of us who aren’t the Ernest Hemingway of website building, there are other ways with which to optimise your website for SEO. Although this can get a bit complex, Enache (2014) breaks down ways with which to make your website more search engine friendly:
- Key Word Research: Do your research, find keywords that your target audience are using. Click here for a helping hand from Google.
- Get Indexed: This gets search engines to check out your website quicker and thus ranked quicker. Click here to learn how to submit yourself for Indexing with Google.
There are also aspects of the website itself you can edit to improve your ranking on search engines, this is called ‘On-page optimisation’. These include:
- Page Title: Your page title is used as a suggestion for the title in Google’s search results. Describe your business in a concise, informative phrase.
- Domain Names: These are an important part of Google’s search results. Choose a descriptive and easy-to read domain name for your website. Sub-pages should also be easy to read.
- Meta Descriptions: These are page summaries often used by Google and other search engines on the search results page. Write unique descriptions for each page in 160 characters or less.
- Use keywords: Use the keywords that you have found!
However, the simplest method of getting your small business noticed quicker through SEO, is by simply registering your business on Google.
(Source: Google, 2016)
Making the most of Google for your small business
Why register your business on google? Simply put, connectivity. Google processes over 100 trillion searches per year; registering your business on google offers an unrivalled opportunity to connect with a huge variety of customers. Google also allows searchers to see precisely where your business is located. By placing your company on Google, when an individual searches for a product such as coffee, a list of cafes in order of proximity will be offered to them. This allows small businesses to take full advantage of trade such as lunch time and out of town trade, who are either time poor or lack local knowledge. Registering your business on Google also allows customers to leave reviews of their experience of your business. Small businesses are renowned for the hard work and the pride that they put into their businesses; Google offers the ability for that hard work to be appreciated and allows others to see this feedback by a simple Google search. If that’s not enough, statistics show that 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendations (Engine Land, 2012), making these reviews a powerful marketing tool.
However, often people’s concerns of registering their businesses online is the lack of clarity to what information will be publicly available (we all receive more than enough spam emails already). The information offered to searchers is basic information designed to help small businesses get the most from Google’s potential. The information includes:
- Your businesses name and small description of your business
- An address and opening times for your business
- Contact information such as a telephone number
- Reviews left by customers
However the crux of all of this is that you can place as much or as little information as you see fit, Google simply allows you to make as much use of its service as you see fit. Click here for an example of a business listed on google, or for those of you short of time here’s a screenshot.
(Source: Google Search, 2016)
So now you know how and why, make your business more search friendly with SEO!
References
E-Icon. (2016). Search Engine Optimisation . Available: http://eicononline.com/. Last accessed 10th Apr 2016.
Enache, M. (2014). OPTIMIZATION METHODS AND SEO TOOLS .International Conference “Risk in Contemporary Economy”. 1 (1), p98-103.
Engine land. (2012). Study: 72% Of Consumers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations. Available: http://searchengineland.com/study-72-of-consumers-trust-online-reviews-as-much-as-personal-recommendations-114152. Last accessed 10th Apr 2016.
Google. (2016). Google My Business. Available: https://www.google.com/business/. Last accessed 10th Apr 2016.
Google Search. (2016). Mojo Coffee. Available: https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=mojo%20coffee&tbs=lf:1,lf_ui:4&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=50830532,-134270,793&tbm=lcl&oll=50.8305328,-0.13427095&ospn=0.010679. Last accessed 10th Apr 2016.
Tracy, T et al (2015). Social Media Marketing. 2nd ed. London: Sage. p137-155.