Kim Free
- Nov 26, 2020
- 3 min read

Google, Google, Google

You put in all the work to create your business, you have a beautiful website that you’re particularly proud of, and you can’t wait until the clients come knocking at your virtual door. But wait, why are the right people not finding you? The answer could be simple: Google.

In 2019, Google was visited 62.19 billion times, and, as of July 2020, held 86.86% of the search engine market share. Google processes over 63,000 searches per second.

Why do I need to know these things about Google? How deeply do I need to understand this search engine to grow my business?

The truth is, most of us head to Google to find the products and services we’re looking for. 81% of people perform some type of online research before making a large purchase, and 75% of people never scroll past the first page of search engines. So how do you get your business on that first page? Three words: Search Engine Optimization.

SEO is based on keywords, which is how your ideal client finds you. If you have the wrong keywords, the people you most want to reach won’t be able to find you! With optimized SEO, Google knows about your site, so that when someone searches a keyword related to your business, your website is high in the search results.

We want every small business to get the most exposure on Google, and the way we do that at STGP is through our in-house SEO expert, who notes the following as being the most important:

1. Keywords. What is your business known for? Establish this early on the website and often throughout the website.

2. Repetition. More specifically, use repetition without redundancy. Keep your message clear and consistent throughout the site, on various pages. The goal is not to say the same thing repeatedly but to say it often, in different ways.

3. Site Speed. If you phone someone and the line rings 10 times, you’re going to hang up. If a site takes forever to load, you’ll leave. Optimize site speed so that your visitors feel comfortable to explore.

4. Low Bounce Rate. Bounce rate refers to when someone clicks through to your website, takes one look and bounces. You want to keep this number as low as possible.

And finally, many businesses aren't taking advantage of setting up a ‘Google My Business’ Page for their business, and we have no idea why! Claiming your Google My Business page is the number one thing you can do to improve your local ranking. Here are a few reasons to run, not walk, and set up your Google My Business page:

1. You get a great business profile, where you can provide your available hours, a link to your website, products and pricing, and other details that set your business apart.

2. You can engage with customers, respond to reviews, answer questions, enable direct messaging, and set up alerts.

3. You can gain insights into your audience and local search performance, find out which queries clients are using to find you, and whether they found you via Google Search or Google Maps.

4. It only takes a couple of minutes.

5. And it's FREE!

In 2020-2021, you want to be using Google to your full advantage. Make sure your SEO is optimized and Google My Business is completely set up. You’ll thank us later.