How to improve Google search results for your business
One of the most common frustrations small business owners share with us is performance in Google search results. We are often asked how to improve Google search results.
Here is a short and simple English discussion on:
How search engine results are determined What businesses should do to improve Google search results performance Where the future of search is headed with innovations like AI and audio search
What is a SERP?
It’s great to understand the term SERP, which stands for Search Engine Results Page. WordStream has a great introduction to the term SERP.
Most SERPs have these main sections:
Sponsored Results Site Map and Listing Organic Results Featured Content and Listing
It’s important to note that the vast majority of searches are already done on a mobile device. And the SERP looks very different on a mobile device than it does on a desktop or laptop computer.
Example of a desktop SERP
Example of mobile SERP
How search engine results are determined
Every business that does what you do has a “rank” for almost every imaginable combination of words or phrases that people type into the Google search engine to find businesses like yours. It’s referred to in many ways, but we think of it a lot like a credit score.
Everyone has a credit score; not everyone knows what it is. The same is very true for most businesses. In short, if you search for a certain word or phrase and you don’t like your organic ranking, chances are your credit score or ranking is good because that word or phrase is low.
The process of Search Engine OptimizationAlso known as SEO, it is basically improving your credit score to rank higher.
What businesses should do to improve performance in Google search results
There are a few basic things every small business should do to rank higher in search results.
Start with ours Google Best Practices Guide. It takes you through a checklist of items that build your credit rating or score quickly. Many of our clients see dramatic improvement just by getting these basics right.
There’s an old military saying, “Only take the hills worth having.” The basic idea here is not to fight for things that no one else wants. Businesses do this all the time with SEO. The most common mistake is to optimize around “insider” terms that your prospect never uses and doesn’t even know about.
We recently shared ours best practices with keyword research here. Keyword research is basically about getting familiar with what people actually type into a search engine to find your product or service. This allows you to fight for the most important search terms.
Where the future of search is headed with innovations like AI and audio search
Many experts believe that search is about to undergo a pretty big change due to the integration of AI tools like ChatGPT (added to Bing search) and Bard (added to Google search).
These tools are believed to make search more of a conversation with AI; a conversation that allows the searcher to keep asking follow-up questions until the search is narrowed down to the ideal result.
If you don’t perform well in the traditional style of search, you will quickly fall behind in this new style of conversational search.
Need help improving your Google search results?
This is a conversation we have all the time. Not more schedule a free consultation with our team and we’ll include our SEO experts on the call. It’s our way of investing in you long before you invest in us, and there’s no obligation.
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