Google has never had as many ideas for how we businesses should use them as a marketing platform. Here’s a summary of the flurry of announcements they’ve made recently that affect organic and paid search:
+1. The +1 button is shorthand for “this is pretty cool” or “you should check this out.” Click +1 to publicly give something your stamp of approval. Your +1s can help friends, contacts, and others on the web find the best stuff when they search. And it’s easy to add the code to your site. To see +1s, you have to have created a Google Profile for yourself. Click here to learn more.
Sitelink extensions. These are additional links within your paid search ad that allow a user to click once to go to a specific page on your website. These links might allow someone to request a handbook or go directly to the “Contact Us” page. Sitelinks help get the user closer to a conversion in fewer steps.
Remarketing. Remarketing allows you to show ads to users who’ve previously visited your website as they browse the Web and visit OTHER SITES! When you use remarketing, you’ll tag pages of your site that correspond to certain categories you want to promote. For example, you could add a tag on all of your site’s pages where you sell a particular product. You can then create an AdWords campaign to show highly relevant messages (such as ads displaying a special offer on that product category) to people who’ve visited these pages as they browse sites across the Google Display Network. Remarketing allows us to match the right people with the right message even when they’ve left your site. When you combine your keyword campaigns with remarketing, you might see higher conversions for your campaigns overall.
Google Places. One out of five searches on Google are related to location, so it’s important for storefront businesses and professional service firms to use free Google Places to show up at the top of the first page. Your competitors in many cases are already there! When optimized correctly, your website, physical mailing address, and your phone number are displayed in your listing, which allows customers to find you more quickly and get the information they need. And it’s ideal for all the mobile phone searches taking place today. By using citations and reviews, your Google Places will move up in ranking. With high ranking, within eight weeks, rather than eight months or eight years, your free advertising with Google Places will bring you more targeted customers faster than even traditional organic methods.
Adwords Express (formerly known as Google Boost) takes Google Places to online advertising. When you add Google Boost to your listing, you can advertise your business on Google and Google Maps (including mobile devices) and attract more visitors to your website or Place page. With Google Boost, simply set up a monthly budget for your ad, and Google determines what search keywords trigger your ad based on the categories that you select. You’ll only pay for the clicks that your ad actually receives.
