With over 350 million active websites around the world and almost two billion websites overall, there is a lot of competition out there vying for the attention of that one potential customer. You started your dream by creating a website, now you need to ensure there is something that sets yours apart, something that will bring it to the attention of that potential customer.
Enter search engines, chief among them Google Search. Google uses a sophisticated and complex system to locate, scan, sort and present websites to users. You need to understand this process to maximize all chances of promoting websites on Google.
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6 Ways to promote websites on Google
Here are six ways of cheaply promoting websites on Google.
1. Sign Up to Google My Business
A free and extremely useful tool especially for businesses targeting customers within a given geographic area, Google My Business is the first step every website owner should take when promoting websites on Google. Google My Business is akin to an online directory in that you provide your business’ contact information, such as address, telephone number, and the like. In fact, the more information you include, the higher your chances of being included in Google’s Local Pack.
The Local Pack is that combination of Maps and Search results that are at the top of page one. It includes a map of the searched – for area with relevant businesses denoted by the red location marker, and usually three businesses beneath in customary search format. Aim to be among these three businesses. To do that, in addition to your business’ contact information, include customer reviews and photos. According to Google, you increase your business’ chances of being found by 42%, and your website being visited by 35% solely by including photos.
2. Use Google Analytics
How will you be able to confidently say that you were successful in promoting your website on Google if you don’t have some way of measuring your efforts? Google Analytics, another free tool from Google, does all kinds of website traffic analysis for you. Not only can it collect, but it presents the information to you in simple and easy to read charts. How does this help you promote websites on Google?
When you know which marketing campaigns or deals are more successful; when you know visits your site and which pages of your website they linger on, or which areas of a certain web page get the most attention, then you can create more targeted campaigns and promotions. Google Analytics removes the guessing from website promotion and allows you to make decisions based purely on an empirical foundation.
3. Get Customer Reviews
While good reviews are ideal when promoting websites on Google, reviews overall serve a greater purpose. By their very existence, they create new material for Google to index, thus increasing your likelihood of ranking higher. Look at it this way: every review (good or bad) is new information about your website. This suggests to Google that your website is active, and active equals relevant. Relevant websites are ranked higher. Therefore, actively encourage customers to leave reviews.
Nevertheless, good reviews are the goal. Google ranks websites with high numbers of positive reviews higher, and have even created a filtering system based on reviews for local rankings. Extremely satisfied customers do not need much prodding to leave a good comment. On the other hand, disgruntled customers are even quicker to leave a negative review, so a part of your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy in promoting websites on Google should be review management. Strive to turn that low rating into a higher one through corrective action.
4. Consider Off-Page SEO Options
Remember when we said activity equals relevance and importance? Creating website backlinks is one way you can demonstrate importance. A backlink is a hyperlink from another website to yours. The more of these there are, the greater the signal to Google that your website and its contents are relevant.
Backlinks are considered off-page SEO since you do not directly influence them, or control them from your website.
5. Try Email Marketing
Email marketing could be seen as a form of off-page SEO since it is the interaction with the email and not your website that guides the actions of the potential customer. Yourwebsite has a very easy to use and competitively priced email marketing tool that you can use as an option when promoting websites on Google. When used from an evidence-based perspective, email marketing campaigns provide a targeted means of increasing click-through rates, and by extension, conversions.
6. Create a Search Engine Optimization Strategy
An SEO campaign can range from free to hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, if you have no idea what SEO is and do not wish to learn or have the time, then you can hire someone.
Additionally, the strategies you employ in your approach will also impact your budget. A confluence of the two approaches is ideal. When you choose monsterhost.com to build your website, opt for modestly priced built-in SEO tools that do all the work for you silently in the background while you reap all the benefits.
But what is SEO? SEO is the steps you take to ensure your website is presented preferably in the first three results on page one of any given Google search. Why the first three, and why page one? According to Google, your chances of being seen become diminished the farther down page one you are, and become infinitesimal when not on page one.
Conclusion
There is no roadmap to promoting a website on Google, but there are several free and cheap tools at your disposal. You are strongly encouraged to use as many as your budget will allow. Remember, the point of having a website is to have consistent traffic which leads to conversions. If your website isn’t being noticed, then your hard work would have been for naught.
