Other Tools

 

Voice Search

Information can now be looked at by the command of your voice. Siri, Google Voice, Cortana are some of the common digital voice assistants

Action — Do it now: Search your business using voice search, see what shows up.

Visual Search

Earlier we mentioned about optimizing images. This is because search engines do not understand imagery. Hence renaming an image, adding a description and alt text are pivotal. Search engine crawlers understand the text-based information given in the images and present it in a visual form to the searcher. Now you can search using images with Google lens, Google Pixel. Open your Google Assistant, point at a logo, and see if your company details are showing up

Maps: Maps have become a big deal! Listing your business on Google maps is essential as it cost-effective and helps in drawing local traffic to your website. Searching directions, review, phone numbers, images, etc have all become an integral part of everyday life as nobody today uses Yellow Pages. Google maps are one of the most dominant map services we have.

Answer Box: “Ask and you shall receive!” Yes, that’s right. When you ask a question by entering appropriate keywords, the SERP displays the answer on the page itself. There is no need to click and visit a website. Whether you know the weather or even get a calculator the answer box is right at your service to solve your queries!

Knowledge Graph: Have you ever observed the big block on the right-hand side of SERP while looking up for specific information pertaining to locations, celebrities, brands, etc. The format in which the information is displayed is called the knowledge graph. It’s a crisp way of displaying relevant information in the form of facts, images, social media.

Local Business Listings: Local business listings are nothing but your business directory. Traditionally we could list our business on Yellow Pages. But remember the pain of searching for pages to find the right contact. We now no longer have use of Yellow Pages as the digital platform allows you to easily list your business with Just dial, Sulekha or Yelp. With just a click, the searcher can locate your address, number, e-mail ID. In the long run, this helps in your ranking and online reputation.

Google Ads/ PPC/ Pay Per Click/Search Advertisement:

Traditionally, as a business, if you wanted to reach out to a wider audience you could place ads in newspapers, broadcast on TV/radio, use direct mailing or telemarketing. All these options required huge budgets as they are expensive. It was difficult for startups or small business owners to use most of these mediums. But advertising in the digital age world has changed rapidly & has become cost-efficient.

Online marketing consists of two main types of advertising:

1. Search Engine Advertising/Marketing: Search advertising aka PPC (pay per click) basically refers to text ads that are showcased on search engine pages. The results appear due to the keywords used by the searcher. Hence, it’s essential to use at least 12–15 important keywords in your ad. In order to advertise on a search engine, you will need an Adwords account which is a very easy tool provided by Google.

2. Display Advertising: This is one of the most common types of ads you might have come across while browsing. It could be in a video or image format and is largely based upon user behavior. For eg — You’re planning a holiday and want to book tickets on Make My Trip/ website. However, for some reason, you didn’t make the purchase and close the website. The next time you log in to any website such as Facebook/Youtube the exact same product/service will be flashed on your screen.