Internet Marketing For Small Businesses
Ignore Google's Changes at Your Own Peril
Monday, August 26, 2019
In every story there is a hero and a villain. In the story of your
business, the customer is (or should be) the hero. Anonymity is the villain.
MSW Interactive Designs is
celebrating our 20th business anniversary this year. We've helped businesses
get found online since 1999 ... PRE-Google, (as we know it today). I tell you
this so you know the longstanding love/hate relationship we have with the
search giant and why you should protect your business from dependence on it.
I am an SEO expert. I execute
for clients and I study it every. single. day. I have for more than 20 years.
I'm here to tell you, if you are solely dependent on ranking on page one, you
are putting your business at risk.
Today, LESS THAN HALF of Google
searches now result in a click.
Worse, 94% of ALL SEARCHES now
happen on a Google product (think Google, Google images, Google Maps, and
YouTube). If you include mobile, it's more like 97%.
When Google first hit the search
scene and rose to popularity, they made search simple. A human had a question.
The were presented with a clean page and a single search bar (unlike the 100+
link presented by Yahoo, Excite, or AOL). The human would search, get pages of
results, then click through to visit the website (or websites) of choice in
search of the answer.
This approach drove Google to
the top of search - rapidly.
Suddenly, ranking on page one became
critically important. That's where everyone searched for answers to questions
and Google promised to send them to the "best" options to find the
answers.
Sadly, Google has creeped to
the dark side in recent years. It was a subtle shift over time evolving into
what we face today.
Today, less than half of Google
searches result in a click to a business website. Google is now in the business
of keeping you on their website or directing you to another Google property.
Smart snippets now give you AN answer right on Google's results
page. (I capitalize "AN" because it's just AN
answer ... not necessarily the BEST answer). Calls, reviews, directions,
pictures, movie schedules, menus, hours, and more ... all presented right on
Google's search results page. There's no need to click through to a business
website for this information.
Google wins.
Millions of small businesses who relied solely on Google to avoid
anonymity lose.
Google is a giant. It's not
going anywhere soon. After 20 years in the web design, SEO, and internet
marketing business, I'm not telling you to ignore it. I'm simply advising you
to be an informed business owner.
Don't put all your eggs in the search basket. Ignore
Google's changes at your own peril. VISIBILITY defeats anonymity. Diversify
your marketing budget. Think social media, print, radio, and other mediums. Think about being visible
everywhere your idea client hangs out.
THAT’S how small businesses win.
TOOLS TO HELP
- DEFINE YOUR IDEAL CLIENT - A PERSONA TEMPLATE [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- REQUEST A FREE MARKETING CONSULTATION OR QUOTE
