Sometimes you need a little help from your friends and in this case, this friend comes in the form of Google. Sure, you may already be very familiar with Google as a robust online search engine, but did you know there are a number of Google marketing tools that are perfect for small businesses?
There’s no need to do everything yourself, so let Google help you out. Below are six marketing tools to help you grow your business and maintain your online presence.
1. Google My Business
Google My Business is a free tool that allows businesses to connect with their customers and provide all the necessary information to find them. Being set up on Google means giving customers easy access to your address, hours of operation, directions and contact information, and you’ll come up in Search, Maps and Google+. This tool also gives customers a voice, allowing them to leave reviews and rate your business. Don’t lose any business because a potential customer can’t find your address or hours—sign up today.
2. Google AdWords
Listing your business on Google is one thing, but if you really want to boost revenue and sales, you should branch out into Google AdWords. This service targets customers who are in the process of searching for a product or service they want with relevant ads. So, if you have a stationery store in Los Angeles and are signed up for Google AdWords, a customer searching Google for “notebooks in LA” will see an ad for your business somewhere on the search results page, provided the keywords match up.
Google AdWords functions as a pay-per-click advertising model in which you only pay when someone clicks on one of your ads. Another benefit is that Google controls 67% of the market share for paid advertising—because of its immense reach, it’s a good idea to start using this service in order to attract even more customers.
3. Google Trends
Knowing what’s trending around the world or in your particular industry is always important, and it’s easy to keep up with Google Trends. In addition to seeing the stories that are trending on Google, you can get real-time data about the topics and keywords that are of the most importance to you with in-depth insights. Applying this kind of information is beneficial to any business as it allows you to track the interest in a certain keyword and even the timing that people are most interested in it. Google Trends can help you determine your next product lineup or when to launch your next marketing initiative.
4. Google Alerts
Google Alerts is one of the easiest ways to track what people are saying about your business. Create an alert with the name of your business and you’ll start receiving email notifications each time you’re mentioned online. It’s very easy to customize your alerts, whether it’s how often you’d like to receive notifications or specific sources from which you want to receive them. Once you start receiving your notifications, don’t forget to respond to your reviewers!
5. Google Search Console
Formerly Google Webmaster Tools, Google Search Console is a free service that allows people to monitor and maintain their website’s presence within Google Search. This is a really great tool to have in your arsenal because it can help you ensure that your site is Google-friendly—it shows what other sites are linking to yours and the queries that caused your site to show up in search results.
6. Google+
Although Google+ may not have the following of other social media sites, that doesn’t mean you should downplay its importance. A Google+ profile can actually do wonders for your search ranking. Although it isn’t exactly a marketing tool, you can encourage reviews from your customers and share updates with those in your “Circles” with a profile. A bonus is that everything posted onto a Google+ profile will be indexed much faster on Google, which boosts SEO and leads to a better search ranking.
Used in combination, these six Google tools will help you grow your online presence and in turn, will help your online marketing translate into increased sales and revenue. What business owner wouldn’t want that?
Check back in to the Connectivity blog every day in October for more information as it relates to Google, analytics, search engines, marketing, and more.
Top photo credit: d8nn/Shutterstock
Miranda Ryder is an Volume Nine SEO expert, and contributor to the Connectivity blog.
