Google Series Part Two: Google Places And Adwords

As part two of our Google series we are going to outline the ways that you can utilize the power of search for your business. We are going to explain how using Google Places, Google AdWords Express and Google AdWords can be easy, effective and will cost little to no money.

If you aren’t quite sure how to leverage the power of the internet to reach more customers, you really don’t need to look further than Google. When a potential customer is searching for you, chances are they are going to hop online. (Did you know that 97% of consumers search for local businesses online? That’s a lot.) It only makes sense that you should ensure that your business comes up in the list of search results. And it’s easy to do.

The first thing that any business should do is sign up for Google Places for Business. Google Places is a totally free local platform from Google that allows people to find your business in an online search easier. You can include contact information, photos and more. (Click here if you want more information on how to sign up.) If you sign up for Google Places you can also create interaction with current and potential customers by allowing customers the ability to rate and recommend your business to others.

But remember, Google Places is a platform that allows a business to appear in the search list and isn’t a necessarily an advertising option. If you are interested in doing some advertising, Google offers a couple of different ways to reach your customers. The first option is to use Google AdWords Express.

Google AdWords Express is specifically designed for small businesses hoping to do local advertising. When you sign up, Google will serve up your ad when a potential customer is trying to find you online. The cost for this is easily managed – you only pay Google when a customer clicks on your ad and visits your website and you also have the power to set a maximum amount that you want to spend. Once you are set up, your ad will appear at the top or the side of the search list. (We also like that your business will appear as a blue pin on the Google maps that appears as part of the search.) Google actually boasts that it will only take 10 minutes to set up a Google AdWords Express account.

If you are interested in using Google AdWords Express but you aren’t as interested in local targeting (maybe you have an online store) you should look at Google AdWords. Google AdWords allows for more customization, some fancier reporting tools and the ability to geotarget anywhere. It will probably take you longer than 10 minutes to set up a Google AdWords account but you will make more decisions and have more flexibility on how you your ads appear.

Next we will be discussing Google + and how you can leverage the social media platform to reach more customers.