Google has stirred up the online community after rolling out its newest update, BERT or Bidirectional Encoder Representation for Transformers. Local businesses, particularly those who have invested in building an online presence, are asking whether or not this would affect their bottom line.
While it’s too early to tell whether this update will impact the online visibility of many local small businesses, we can already see the direction Google is taking and be able to solidify our online presence using online and real-world marketing strategies.
Think Users, Not Algorithms
Google has had several updates to improve user experience, but this by far is impervious to traditional search analysis. It’s hard to tell which metrics will have an impact on current rankings. BERT AI tries to make sense of how users search and interact on a given information and responds accordingly.
Before, people must learn to use the search engine in a way that would be easier for the algorithm. This time, it’s the other way around. People can search the way they want to and it will try to give the best results based on user intent and context instead of the actual word or phrase. Local businesses with websites don’t need to spend a lot of time and resources for the highest ranked topics and key phrases and just focus on creating useful content.
Normally, it will take months or years to rank organically. We offer a faster way to get more people to your site with our Rapid Sales Growth Blueprint. We help businesses grow an audience by combining the best of both worlds (online and offline marketing) which is far more effective than using one method only.
Become an Expert in Your Field
Users look up to Google for answers. Think of one reason why users should come to you instead of going to other sites. Precisely. They come to you because you’re being regarded as an expert in the field. Small business owners offer something valuable to people whether it’s a specific product or service, useful content, or expert advice.
You need to educate your audience, answer specific queries, clarify issues regarding your product or service, and put your years of experience into creating powerful, insightful content across different medium whether it’s a blog, an e-book, or YouTube content. People want to know you’re the ‘real deal’ when it comes to a specific type of information.
The question many people have is how would people know about you unless you rank in Google? The answer is you don’t have to. You can achieve the same level of success more rapidly with a multi-faceted approach to promoting your small business and not have to wait on Google to put your business in front of users. We’ve designed a 5-step system in our Rapid Sales Blueprint which allows you to do just that.
Grow Your Audience Online through Multiple Channels
Multi-channel marketing is becoming more popular these days as business owners brace for the possible repercussions Google might have on their online presence. One way to minimize its impact is to have as many avenues of customer engagement as possible — email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, live calls, push messages, meeting up face to face, and so on.
You don’t need a thousand page views per month to start seeing gains. What really matters is you’re able to get to your intended market and start converting in as little time as possible. Internet marketers who specialize in rapid growth rely on a multiple-channel approach in growing an audience.
They’ve also come up with some interesting ideas like “content sprouting” in which a YouTube video becomes an audio podcast, a blog post, an Instagram Story post, and so on. This enables them to connect with their audience on as many channels as possible with less effort.
Small Business Dream has always been about rapid growth using many different methods to increase your sales whether it’s through sales funnels, email outreach, social media, and now with its latest addition of a mobile networking app (virtual business card) and business finder app.
Meet with Real People
Find opportunities to link up with potential customers and business partners in your area. Have your introduction ready and be prepared for a short talk about your business. We have a blog post about getting the most out of networking events to guide you from choosing the right networking events to go to, attires, things to bring with you, among other things.
Get exposure to people in your community. We recommend having your site up and running before the event, your landing page and sales funnels set up, and our free Small Business Dream Button app as your virtual business card. This way you won’t miss out an opportunity to get more people into your site. Set up a referral system and get people to download Small Business Dream Business Finder app, and watch your traffic grow over time.
As you can see, you don’t have to always rely on search rankings to get more people into your site. You just need the right strategy and the right tools to get the job done.
Conclusion
Have you been thinking on a business idea but aren’t quite sure what to do or how to move things forward? We invite you to share some time with us. Tell us about your small business. We offer FREE Sales and Profitability consultation where we find the best possible solutions and outcomes for your type of business. Come visit us at www.smallbizdream.com to learn more about our 5-step system to rapidly grow your sales and profits with less stress.