5 Easy SEO Tips to Boost Your Site in Under an Hour
17th June 2019If you aren’t already familiar with Google My Business, it is a simple way to showcase your office address or storefront on Google. You’ll show up on the right side of a Google search when someone searches for you, like the image above. Or even better, when someone searches for a product or service you’ll offer, you’ll show up in the local pack.
Google has been making changes, which means you can apply and bring more traffic to your site.
Google Updates: Search Updates
Going through Google’s blog, The Keyword, you’ll see that the company has been focused on moving toward a transformation from one-off queries to “ongoing projects.” From consumer side perspective, users can keep track of their search history and Google will make customized recommendations based on what they think you might want to learn about next.
New features include:
- Activity Cards - Aims to help users retrace their steps, highlighting related searches that help users remember which sites they’ve visited.
- Knowledge Graph - Allows Google to make evergreen content recommendations to searchers that show interest in a specific topic.
- Dynamic Organization - Google now organizes search results in a way that helps users get a sense of what information they should check out next. This means that for searchers, they no longer need to type in several different queries while researching a specific topic, instead, you can access more information with a single search.
For marketers and website owners, websites relying on direct traffic need to find ways to build audiences outside of Google, as well as optimize their content for these new features.
Google Discover
As you may have heard, Google has refreshed the News Feed. It’s now called Google Discover, and for marketers, it represents a shift in thinking about how users interact with information.
Google’s aim is to provide users with information even when they don’t enter a search query—in other words, marketers need to think about the platform as a way to reach consumers before they have the intent to buy or run research on products.
- Create Both Trending and Evergreen Content
- Work on Building Your Reputation
- Make Content Interactive
Make sure you claim your Short URL
Businesses can choose a name between 5 and 32 characters, which can include your business name, location, and anything else you might add. The benefit for your customers is that they can find you more easily.
You can only change your short name three times per year. You can enable this by navigating to your locations page, click “Info” on the left-hand side, and see “add short name”.
Request a Quote
Google is adding a request a quote button which allows businesses to quickly capture leads directly from the SERPs. Make sure Google My Business messaging feature is enabled.
As a point of reference, you can turn on the messaging feature by navigating to the Customers tab in your account, then Messages. You’ll then see a prompt to turn on messaging. And just like that, you’re ready to connect with leads. This feature is ideal for businesses that sell big-ticket custom goods/services. Think cars, insurance, landscaping, etc.
