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Bright Ideas

Understand How Search Results Affect Your Business

Posted by Ben Buresh on 12/4/17 10:02 AM

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As this year draws to a close, you may be considering what your next steps are in the new year and, more specifically, your marketing approach. You’ve worked really hard to build your brand name, products, services, and business this year (and every year). Next year, consider letting the web do more work for you. Here’s why.

“Businesses that make use of the web expect to grow 40% faster than those that don’t.” - Boston Consulting Group: The Connected World

It’s true. More people are now researching products and services online, and then going to buy them or receive that service in a physical store. In fact, Accenture reports that at least 88% of consumers are doing this and, even more so, on mobile devices. It’s time to make the most of your search results as your marketing strategy grows.

As a Google Partner, we help our clients maximize their online presence to increase items sold, phone calls, foot traffic, appointments booked, and more. We take local search results, search engine marketing, mobile marketing, and customer research and insights into consideration when building on our client’s marketing strategies. It’s also helpful to understand how all of these pieces can work together to meet your goals. Let’s dig into how we begin this process.

Internet Matters

In today’s market there is no question that having a searchable online presence is one of your best marketing assets. It really is a must. With the rapid change of digital marketing, it’s easy for businesses big and small, healthcare practices, and even higher education institutions to fall behind the ball. Whether you’re new to the game or have dabbled in digital marketing in the past, have no fear. The tools are here so that you can capitalize on search engine results. By implementing a digital marketing strategy, you can help your business grow nearly twice as fast compared to companies that don’t. Source

A Mobile-Friendly, Thoughtful Website

From the customer’s perspective, more than half report that they don’t trust businesses that lack a website as much as they trust those that do have one. In contrast, over half of all small to medium businesses and practices don’t have a website.

A good first step towards creating an online presence is a mobile- and user-friendly website. You will also want to test that your site is easy to use and easily conveys all of the important information. Even if you have ads helping drive traffic to your website, you don't want people leaving as soon as they arrive. This can happen when it is too hard to find the information they want or need.

As you might expect, there are many options available to you today to help you establish a website that’s up to par with today’s web standards. Do your research to figure out which is best for your company. As always, you have our ear if you need it.

Be Present in Local Search Results

When it comes to your business, what keywords might someone use to find you? Think about what problem your business solves and what situation your customer might research. The mobile age has led to people looking for instant gratification. You need to be visible and relevant, then fill a need and fill it quick. This is where search engine marketing comes in.

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” - John Wanamaker

With search engine marketing, you can finally answer the question burning question,”How do I know what advertising is working?”. This allows you to get rid of what’s not working and do more of what is. SEM is something you need to keep an eye though since consumer behaviors change, competitors change, and your business evolves. As a result, you’ll want to tweak your campaigns accordingly for the best results. When you team up with people who are experienced in managing digital campaigns everyday (ahem, like us), you take the guesswork out of the equation.

The Future is Mobile

A great example of how that change might affect your business is the rise of mobile phones. Google reports that more people own a smartphone than a toothbrush. That means that five years ago most adults wouldn’t think of researching a local business using their phone and now a majority of them do.

Think about what pieces of information customers look for when they search on their phone and how quickly they expect to find those. It’s very likely that they’re hoping to find a list of products and/or services, reviews, current promotions, and contact information at the tap of a finger. If that information is not readily available in your business’ search engine listings, your business may lack credibility or even go unnoticed.

Consider making a business listings solution apart of your marketing plan next year. This can make all of your important business information readily available and accurate online, across all search engines and business directories. This could save you tons of time and money that could otherwise be lost if customer’s can’t find what they’re looking for online.

 

If you are ready to maximize search results, our team at Right Idea Media and Creative would be happy to help, even if you are just getting started. Happy planning folks!

 

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Topics: Digital Marketing, Local Listings, Mobile Marketing, SEO, Search Engine Marketing