For many small business owners, expanding their marketing efforts into the digital frontier might seem like a lot of unnecessary work. Existing customers, word of mouth and local advertisement might seem to be sustaining the business.
How would you like to not just sustain your business, but make it thrive? The simple fact is that more and more of your potential customers are going to the internet to research local products and services. By establishing yourself and your business as the local business of choice in internet searches you set yourself in a good position to take on new clients who are shopping for your services.
58% Of Americans Use The Internet To Research Products And Services
One of the most important things about having an internet presence for your business is making it easier for your customers to find you. According to a Pew Internet study, 58% of Americans use the internet to research products and services before they buy. This means that if you cannot be found in search results you are missing out on more than half of your potential customers.
63% Of Searches Are Through Google
Of the major search engines used today, Google is the most popular with more than 63% of internet searches conducted using Google, according to the tracking site Hitwise. This is why you want your business to not only be seen in Google Search results, but be among the top results.
It Is Critical That Your Business Show On The First Page Of A Search
The website Search Engine Watch cites an Optify study in which it was found that the average click through rate of websites and content that are seen on the first page of a web search was just under 9%, but results on page two garnered an average of only 1.5% click through rate. For those web pages who are ranked as the top result for any particular search they averaged just under 36% of the clicks from the search.
What does that mean? What the above means is that not only is it critical that you show up on the first page of any search results for your industry, but it also means that you need to appear as highly ranked on that page as possible.
How Do I Improve My Search Engine Ranking?
So how do you improve your placement in the search engine rankings? One of the most effective ways is by having and actively maintaining a blog for your business. Google considers the age of the content as one of the important factors when determining the ranking of a result. Using a blog, and updating it often, ensures that you always have fresh content for the search engines to consider when ranking. This will not only help your ranking within Google Search, but also allow you to interact with your customers in a different way.
Citations:
Jansen, Jim. Online Product Research. Pew Internet & American Life Project, Sep 29, 2010, http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-Product-Research.aspx, accessed on Dec. 8,2011.
Hitwise. Search Engine Analysis, http://www.hitwise.com/us/datacenter/main/dashboard-23984.html, accessed on Dec. 8,2011.
Goodwin, Danny. Top Google Result Gets 36.4% of Clicks [Study]. April 21, 2011, http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2049695/Top-Google-Result-Gets-36.4-of-Clicks-Study, accessed on Dec. 8,2011.
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