As a user Google seems simple: you type in your search query, and milliseconds later a variety of websites are returned to answer your question—usually one or more of them able to assist with your problem. As a company, being one of the many websites that is shown in the first couple of pages of Google is far from simple; it’s really more of a science.
Science isn’t everybody’s favorite subject but to ensure that your business is top of the class, it’s high time you sat up and paid attention. It isn’t as difficult as you might anticipate, and understanding the chemistry behind Google can open up all kinds of opportunities for your company. Imagine the way Thomas Edison felt when he invented electricity, the world of opportunity at his fingers—if you manage to master the science of Google it can open up a whole new world of opportunity.
Google increases customer reach
In the past, finding customers was really hard work and it cost a lot of money–it required endless hours of customer profiling, deciding what types of media and press they paid attention to and hoping that when your advertisement was placed your target market would actually see it and respond accordingly.
Understanding how to use Google can enormously increase your customer reach: If you want to appear only in local searches, if you want to extend your offering to the entire country, or to the world, Google provides you with the tools to make it happen.
Drive sales online and offline
Gone are the days when businesses had to endlessly search for customers. The roles have reversed and customers are now proactively seeking the products they desire. However, just because the customer is walking straight up to the company door, it doesn’t mean your work is done; it’s up to you to understand how the customer is searching and engaging with your brand.
By learning how to conquer Google, companies gain a growth opportunity online and offline. Companies are diversifying and reaching new markets by offering their products and services online, and for those companies that aren’t selling online, they are increasing their growth offline by better engaging with customers.
Consumers have new buying habits
The buying process is now longer and much more complicated; it involves many channels, mediums and intermediaries. Google isn’t the be all and end all of the business—it is just one more channel to choose from. One that sits in everybody’s house or even in the palm or their hands, and so must be understood and used correctly to ensure maximum impact.
Now that consumers can buy a product anywhere, at any time (using their laptop or smartphone), your company needs to be present everywhere, at all times. This requires engagement via social media, brand building via the website, online advertising (in local or otherwise targeted markets) and of course, the classic calls to action that have always been available offline.
Understanding Google
Understanding Google is no easy task and requires an in-depth knowledge of your target audience. Knowing what keywords they will use to search for your business, and optimizing your website to provide a coherent customer journey from Google to landing page to call to action, will require research and effort, but it will pay off.
Google isn’t rocket science but it’s a chemistry that you must master to ensure your business makes the grade.
