Many small-business owners know that getting their site on the first page of Google is the key to online marketing success. Read on to discover three great tips for achieving first-page placement.
1. Build a great Web site: Some companies spend a ton of money on advertising, but fail to invest in having a great Web property. With a large chunk of all purchases (including purchases made in brick and mortar stores) beginning with online research, making a poor Web site investment is a bad business decision. A well-built Web site with good content is more likely to show up in Google’s search results than a poorly built one.
What makes a great Web site? That’s a topic for a whole series of other blog posts, but you can start here with some of our graphic design team’s tips on what business owners usually miss on their Web sites.
2. Pay Google to be on the first page: Google currently generates more than $20 billion in revenue, money they make by selling ads. You know those highlighted areas at the top of the search results, and the column on the right side? Those are paid advertisements. You can pay Google using their AdWords program, and your Web site will show up in the search results.
Of course, there are thousands of people just like you who want to be there, so Google has invented a complicated bidding system that requires a fair amount of time spent learning how to use it, and then there’s maintenance of the account. Large corporations hire teams just to do that for them. As a small-business owner, you might just hire someone to do that yourself, which brings me to my next point.
3. Pay someone to get you on the first page of Google: Whether you hire someone to manage your Google AdWords accounts or hire someone to do Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for you, it’s easy to invest some serious cash in Search Engine Marketing.
When you hire someone to get you on the first page of Google you should find out exactly what they’re going to do, how they’re going to do it, and how they’re going to be accountable to you. If they are managing your Google AdWords account, it’s fairly easy to track how many clicks you are getting and whether you are getting any sales from the money that you are investing.
If you are spending money on SEO, you should find out how your Internet marketing company will be helping you. Are they building links, tweaking your Web site, making videos, or all of the above? When will the deadlines be for delivery of service and how will you pay them?
There are many qualified Search Engine Marketing professionals out there to help you get your site on the first page of Google. Make sure that you feel comfortable with the company and individual that you are working with and that the communication lines are open.
