How To Use Google To Grow Your Business

Over the course of the years, Google has come out with an entire ecosystem of platforms that can make a business’ online presence easier to manage. 

In this article, you’ll discover the different ways in which you can use Google’s business platforms and their benefits!

Why Google for businesses?

As we all know, Google is definitely the first option in terms of search engines for the majority of us, having a market share of almost 92% in 2022. And we can definitely say that it’s for a good reason! 

No matter what people are looking for online, whether it’s a good restaurant for a future date, a hairdresser for their upcoming wedding or the right garage to fix their car, Google usually has their back. This is why, if you are a small business owner, taking advantage of Google and its platforms can truly boost your online presence and will help you attract potential customers on the internet.

Additionally, to assist companies to create their websites, maintaining their position at the top of Google search results, and attract clients, Google offers different solutions to business owners. A step-by-step guidebook for using Google Business Profile, diagnostic tools to evaluate the effectiveness of your website, training courses, and business seminars are all examples of resources. However, the most important and efficient resources that Google provides are its platforms.

Build your online presence with Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB), now known as Google Business Profile, is one of the most important tools that small business owners can use to start their online presence journey. 

Having a Google My Business account plays a major role in your company’s visibility on the internet. “Why?” you may ask. GMB makes it easy for you to appear on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and on Maps.

With a GMB account you will be able to create a Google My Business listing for your business. This listing contains all the key information about your business, such as:

• Name; 
• Address;
• Website and contact details;
• Working hours;
• Online reviews;
• Your product catalogue or services.

Having a GMB listing ensures that your business can be easily found on the internet, while also allowing you to improve your company’s reputation through reviews. However, negative reviews can not be deleted, unless they violate Google’s policies.

Additionally, optimising your GMB listing and making sure that all your information is accurate and specific can influence a lot your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Introducing keywords throughout your listing, adding categories, attributes and extraordinary working hours can go as far as increasing your sales, making sure that your listing appears in front of the right searchers, and improving your ranking at the same time!

Furthermore, GMB is a free tool, which makes it even more worth it for small businesses! It’s a great way to kick-start your business’ online presence!

Appearing on Google Maps and its perks

As mentioned before, once you have a GMB listing people will be able to find your business on Google Maps. Additionally, your business will be visible to users that conduct local searches, meaning that they are looking for the products or services like yours in their local area.

Appearing on Maps makes it easier for customers or potential customers to find directions, take a look at your working hours and other information about your business no matter if they’re on their mobile devices or their computers.

Having up-to-date and specific information on your listing is extremely important since it can increase your location authority on Google Maps. Location authority helps your business rank higher on Maps, meaning that the higher the location authority, the more chances you have to be found by people from a larger distance.

Here are the steps you need to take to appear on Google Maps:

1. Claim or create your Google My Business listing;
2. Verify your local business;
3. Optimise your listing.

As you can see, GMB and Google Maps are highly connected to one another, just like other platforms from Google’s ecosystem that we are going to talk about.

Additionally, if you want to bring your listing to the next level, with the help of Google Maps’ Street View you can add 360-degrees virtual tours of the surroundings or even the interior of your business. These virtual tours can attract a lot more interest to your listing, providing you with a competitive advantage.

Promote your business with Google Ads

Google Ads is another tool that Google offers to businesses that want to boost their website’s traffic and increase their sales. It’s worth mentioning that the platform is great if you want to gain exposure quicker than you would do only with Search Engine Optimisation(SEO).

Learning how to master Google Ads can be very time consuming, but once you know how to manage your campaigns you’ll realise that it’s worth the wait! Doing search engine advertising with Google Ads can be very useful if your business provides a particular service or product that can be sold nationally and internationally.

As you may have heard already, the platform uses the cost-per-click principle, meaning that you will only pay if people actually do click on your ads. This means that you can adjust your campaigns’ daily budget as you see fit, depending on how many clicks you get.

If you do decide to start using Google Ads, keep in mind that the platform only directs traffic on your website or on a specific page you choose (landing page). Hence, if you wish to maintain the people’s attention after that first click your landing page needs to be irresistible and mobile friendly!

Keeping it local with Google’s Local Service Ads

If you are a local business owner, Google’s Local Service Ads might fit your needs better than the traditional Google Ads platform.

Google’s Local Service Ads platform proposes local online advertising to certain types of businesses, such as businesses that need to reach people in a specific service area or businesses that provide at-home services. 

Unlike traditional ads, Local Service Ads work on the pay-per-lead principle. This implies that all the people that click on your ad will have to confirm that they are interested in your services and will make a job request.

Overall, Google’s Local Service Ads is a true gem for people that are not that comfortable with Google Ads. The local service ads are easier to manage and are generated automatically based on the information on your business listing.

Additionally, once you verify your business for Local Service Ads, you’ll be awarded the “Google Guaranteed” badge, which ensures searchers that your business is genuine. This badge can help build trust between you and your potential customers.

Track your performance with Google Analytics

If you wish to be able to track your website’s performances then Google Analytics may be the right tool for you! Analytics is the perfect tool for businesses that heavily rely on their websites. With the help of GA4 (Google Analytics 4) you’ll be able to take a look at your traffic, where it’s coming from as well as for how long people browse your site. It’s a great way to gain insights on what needs to be improved.

Additionally, you can also take a look at information about your visitors, such as the type of device they’re using, their location at the time they visited your website etc.

How can Google benefit your small business?

Now that we’ve presented you with most tools that are available to meet your business’ needs, let’s talk about all the benefits of Google’s platform ecosystem. 

Obviously, it is not mandatory to use all of the tools we have mentioned above, but rather choose the ones that fit your needs and future goals:

1. Build your online presence & online reputation: Google My Business and Google Maps.
2. Boost your website traffic boost & increase sales: Google Ads and Google Local Service Ads.
3. Performance tracking: Google Analytics.

To summarise, using Google’s platforms can help you reach your objectives easier and facilitate your business goals in many ways. However, in order for them to work properly for you, you need to be prepared to board a path of continuous learning. Since Google updates these tools constantly, you’ll need to be on the lookout for new relevant information on the tools that you’re using.