Imagine optimising your marketing budget and decreasing spending. While many businesses jump to paid advertising and media for quick results in their digital marketing, it’s not always necessary or recommended. We often suggest businesses start with organic ways to attract website visitors.
There is a lot of “noise” and competition online. But, if you learn how to increase your organic visibility, you can attract more visitors to your website. Below, we will share our top six secrets to the best and most effective free ways to attract traffic to your website.
Listing your business on Google is a great way to help you get discovered and it also goes a long way to validate your business. In Canada most of us use Google to search the Internet so having a presence there is vital.
To find out if your business is listed on Google, simply Google the name of your business. If the right results show up on the right hand side of the page then you’re listed thanks to Google. Checking this before setting up a new one helps avoid the headache of duplicate listings.
Note that if you’ve ever set up a Google + page then you likely have a Google business listing and you may have 2 since Google also set up a bunch for every business it could find.
Listing your business on Google / claiming Your Google Listing
Once you’ve determined whether you have a page or not, go here to create your listing OR click on ‘Claim this listing’ (you’ll find this below your phone number on the results to the right of your screen when you Google your business name).
Google will step you through a process to verify your name address and location. Make sure all of the details are correct then click on the check box to verify that you are authorized and that you agree to the terms of service. Google will then call you with an automated message giving you the four digit code you need to complete the verification process.
Note that this will set up your business listing AND your Google+ page as well as Google maps.*
Once you are set up you should add more detail about your business along with photos, and your logo to brand your presence.
*It is important to differentiate between Google+ which is Google’s attempt at a social network and Google My Business which is a directory. You should have both and they should be linked so when you are setting them up remember to login and use your Google account when stepping through the process (the one you use for Adwords and Analytics too!).
Why you should have a Google Business Listing
1. Gets your business discovered online locally – and this is huge 2. It shows the world that you are for real! 3. Provides valuable links from Google back to your website 4. Helps your customers quickly and easily find you both online and off
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