The Yellow Pages were once the fat book of solutions to many people’s problems. Whether it was a locksmith, a contractor, a seamstress, or a dog sitter you needed – The Yellow Pages were the primary business directory you depended on for finding help when you needed it, but not anymore.
Nowadays, you’ll probably only find one being used as a spider smasher or a makeshift “squatty potty”. Ask a millennial what the phonebook is and they’ll say, “You mean my contacts list?” Why is that, you ask? Because… Google, that’s why.
The search engine arrived and solidified its place as the most popular means of finding information through the Internet. Google had essentially swept the legs out from Yellow Pages, making all of this information (that would normally come out once a year) available with a single search and click.
One In The Same
Google and The Yellow Pages accomplish the same task, they help you find a business or service. The Yellow Pages made businesses pay to be featured in their directory, and that made all of the difference.
So, why wouldn’t you invest time and resources into the search engine that is now responsible for getting you to your customers in today’s day and age? The facts speak for themselves – 86% of people rely on the Internet to find a local business and 46% of Google searches are for just that – local businesses.
The difficult part can be having your business show up first on a Google search – which is what matters most. Legend has it – if someone has it out for you, they bury your business on the second page of Google, because who actually ever scrolls past the first?! You would think that if someone searched your business’s name, that you would automatically be the first to pop up. Surprising to most, this is not the case at all.
Pay Per Click
In order to show up first on Google, businesses need to invest in what’s called Pay Per Click, also known as PPC. Pay Per Click is the quickest and easiest way to show up at the top of a Google search. With PPC campaigns, businesses display ads that show up on a Google search using keywords related to their business and advertisers pay a fee anytime their ad is clicked. Costs per click usually range between $1-$200 dollars.
By marketing this way, you are “buying” website visits rather than relying solely on organic traffic. Coming up organically on Google can take major time and effort, so PPC ads can be a great head start to creating a solid organic presence and gaining leads. Google Ads is the most popular and effective PPC system used today, and if you are not using it for your business, are you sure your business even exists?
Search Engine Optimization
Google has an algorithm called Pigeon that is aimed at producing better search results for local businesses that have a strong organic presence, but in order to obtain that organic presence, you need to constantly be working on and monitoring your SEO.
SEO is now a very popular buzzword in terms of marketing and technology, but it’s as simple as this: Great SEO makes it easier to find your business through a Google search. Even if your business is not local, failing to invest in SEO is a big no-no and could be potentially costing you lots of business. Check out this article that shares 7 SEO tips for local businesses to try.
To Conclude
With the start of the Internet & the age of information, the tides of the business-world waters have drastically changed, and if you aren’t keeping up to speed, your business may get swept away and lost in the current. Your business may not be one that involves technology, but regardless of what you do, Pay Per Click, SEO, & Google are essential parts of the marketing machine that you need to be utilizing today.
RELATED ARTICLES:
Top 7 SEO Tips for Local Business
How Local SEO Efforts Can Benefit Your Business
Google Trends as a Powerful Digital Marketing Tool
If you need help, get in touch with Advertising Is Simple. We have quality solutions and products that can help improve your brand’s SEO and make a notable increase in your number of leads.
At Advertising is Simple, we consistently stay up-to-date on the most effective methods of SEO, that’s why we call it Adaptive SEO. What works today, may not work a few months down the road. We monitor your advertising results through A/B testing and in-depth analytics to get you the highest rate of return on your advertising dollars.
