How Google Search Engine can help you boost your business
9 min read
9 min read
by Krisiana Kostadinova
Here comes a simple question – what do we all usually do when we want to find information about something? Suppose you wish to look up a product you are interested in buying. Or the nearest restaurant to grab a quick lunch with your friends. Or the box office numbers for the latest film you’ve just seen. You’re likely to turn to no one else but Google in these situations.
Aside from its accessibility and velocity, Google is also pretty handy because it won’t give you “the look” when you’re about to search for something peculiar. Let’s test it out in real-time to show just how random our use of Google Search is. Pull up your Google search on your computer or phone and see what you’ve searched for more recently. The combination will probably make you laugh.
“Googling” is so common that it’s an actual verb; this is old news. There are several reasons why things are like that, but we won’t get into the causality of turning to the Internet; instead, we’ll look into the matter from a statistical standpoint and share how you can utilize it to position your brand.
Once you type in whatever you’re trying to look up, the search engine’s algorithm finds the best result for your question based on the keywords in URL links and titles, the status and relevance of the webpage, and other pertinent information. At the same time, with the information we feed it daily, it learns and improves the feedback.
In an interview, Google’s Search lead designer, Jon Wiley, said that 16 to 20% of the daily search queries are unique. And, users look up over 40,000 questions every second, which equals 3.5 billion daily searches. While the numbers may seem high, nothing less is to be expected – after all, being curious is deeply rooted in human nature.
According to StatCounter’s analysis from June 2022, Google dominates the search engine market, followed by Bing (Microsoft) with only 3.20%, and Yandex (Russian search engine) with 1.52%.
According to information calculated and shared by Google, the average business earns 8$ profit for every 1$ spent on Google Search ads. What is more, companies receive an average of 5 clicks on their search results for every one click on their ads, which only means that investing in Google-based marketing services can be sustainably profitable for your business.
When you “google,” the first results ads someone paid for showing up there. The ads get ranked based on cookies and keywords. The runner-ups to the “business services” keyword are other more expensive keywords such as “casino,” “bail bonds,” and “lawyer,” with a CPC of over $50.
The organic results are shown right after the paid ads on the Google Search results page, which amounts to around ten results per Google Search page. With the results being “organic,” we can immediately rule out paid advertising. But how do these results get to the first page? They are displayed based on various factors: keywords, titles, descriptions, location, and more.
And being on the first page may not seem like a big deal right off the bat. But did you know that only 0.44% of users go to the second page of their search results? Additionally, it usually takes 14.6 seconds to get where you’re headed after scanning the results. The searching process is extremely quick and the sooner you appear to the users, the better your chances of being chosen will be.
Of course, the topic of your search will have an impact on these numbers. But just to paint a picture, googling something like “supplements to treat back pain” will take 22 seconds before the last click, and “how to cut your hair” will take just 10. A piece of friendly advice: Don’t cut your hair by yourself at home. Simply looking up the nearest hairdresser or barbershop on Google Search will be quicker and safer.
Statistics like these are fascinating, so here’s a graph showing the three statistics we’ve already mentioned and more!
This statement shouldn’t surprise you, seeing how important it is for everyone to position themselves on the 1st page and ensure getting more traffic.
Positioning within the first page is interesting for analysis, too. Here’s a research of the top Google searches that states that a CTR for positions 7, 8, 9, and 10 is the same. Moving from the third to the second position will result in a significant CTR boost. Moving to a lower position won’t make that big difference.
How does the algorithm decide when positioning all these results? Yes, you guessed it – we’re back at the keywords, titles, descriptions, and all that jazz. This is where SEO knowledge comes in handy.
If you want your business’ website to rank high within Google Search results, you should consider dabbling into Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short. SEO is a marketing technique for improving the volume and quality of traffic to a particular website. There are two kinds of SEO – On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO.
On-Page SEO is all about tech: researching and using suitable keywords, optimizing the loading speed of your website, link building, writing SEO-optimized titles and descriptions, along with meta titles and descriptions to use in the code of your website.
On the other hand, Off-Page SEO is everything else you do off your website. Here we’re referring to your actions to build and boost brand awareness, social media presence, marketing, brand mentions, reviews, etc.
Strengthening your connection to the Google Search Engine starts with content optimization. Information about the services or products you offer, your brand in general, and your core values on mission need to be out there in the digital world. With content marketing, you will strengthen the existing relationships and spark new ones by offering valuable and consistent information to the website visitors. One way to do that is to launch a blog page and keep it well-maintained and prosperous with relevant topics and news. The issues and blog format will heavily depend on the type of industry you’re in and your short and long-term goals. But just as an example, you can consider writing about in-house news, product launches, and events and even sharing some of the know-how. Include topics such as news, events, and how-to. Ideally, the content would keep the readers wanting to come back, which is why you need to be innovative with the topic choice and your approach to the blog. And, if you don’t have time for writing or don’t enjoy writing – think about onboarding someone who can manage this part of the business but don’t neglect it altogether.
Using keywords in URL links, page titles, meta descriptions, and headings is valuable and crucial to your On-Page SEO. Think about how someone would phrase their search and then apply that when constructing your keywords. Stay informed on keywords relevant to your branch and industry to surpass the competition. Always state the advantages you offer, such as free delivery, returnings, testing period, and other perks that make you stand out from the crowd. Also, on every page, provide contact information such as an address, phone number, and email. Place them in the header or the footer section, which will help Google find them.
Complete the GMB as thoroughly as possible – the business name, address, and phone number should be correct. Add high-quality photos of your logo and other relevant snaps of your business, improving your appearance on Google Maps. Ensure that you have selected the right category for your services, chosen the correct business hours and that your website link is up to date.
This one is relatively obvious – no one wants to have terrible reviews online. Be kind and helpful when assisting customers. Go the extra mile to keep the satisfaction rates high and encourage them to share feedback and rate your business. Having a lot of reviews, preferably positive ones, will not only improve your ranking but also help potential customers consider your services over others with lower ratings. Google also finds ratings from Facebook, Yelp, and other platforms.
Consistency across all platforms matters here, too! Make sure that information for your business is the same on every channel where a potential customer can find you online- same name, address, phone number, email, etc.
Click-Through-Rate, Check-Ins, and Clicks To Call signal that people interact with you, which is a valuable result. More interactions mean higher rankings and an upper position in Google Search.
Maintaining a presence on Social Media channels is almost a requirement nowadays. Through trial & error, analytics and insights, you will determine which channels are suitable for your brand. Check out one of our articles, which may help you with this decision.
Being on social media will allow users to interact with your brand.
Do your best to spark positive interactions because Google will be watching and deciding where to position you within its results.
If you are ready to take your business to the next level but aren’t sure where to start – we can help you reach your goals with our services such as Social Media and Content Marketing, Digital Advertising, and Design. Learn all about the services we offer here.
https://99firms.com/blog/google-search-statistics/#gref
https://www.smartinsights.com/search-engine-marketing/search-engine-statistics/
https://readwrite.com/interview_changing_engines_mid-flight_qa_with_goog/#awesm=%7EoiNkM4tAX3xhbP
