Recently Google shared some of the understanding they’ve gleaned from all of the online data that the company collects. Of particular interest were some insights pertaining to small businesses. Since entrepreneurs need all of the help and information they can get, we thought we would help you understand what Google has come to realize with these marketing strategies for entrepreneurs:

Google+ My Business is becoming more important

It’s no secret that Google wants its Google+ My Business model to be successful, and as such they continue expanding the program. The Google+ My Business data is heavily pushed in search results, so it’s vital that you have your own page up and running. If you don’t, you are losing out on some tremendous opportunities.

To help you get your own Google+ page up and running, there are a number of free services available. One of these is Gybo, an online site that wants to “put our cities on the map.” One of the things that Gybo stresses is that businesses that are online grow 40 percent faster than businesses without an online presence. If you spend about 30 minutes filling out the forms on Gybo to get your Google+ page up and running, it will only help your business. The best part is, it’s absolutely free.

Voice search is becoming more popular

In total, 41 percent of adults are using voice search every day. Whether it’s “Okay, Google” or “Hey Siri,” adults are finding the ease and convenience of just speaking their search queries instead of typing them to fit in well with their busy lifestyles. What does this mean for you? It means you need to think harder about how people are searching now that they can just speak their queries instead of typing them.

The long and short of it is, long tail keyword searches are finally becoming more prevalent than shorter ones. What this means is that people are asking questions like, “Where is the closest pizza restaurant?” instead of just Googling “pizza.” It also means that there are more variations in search queries, which is totally revamping how we think about search engine optimization. Now more than ever, it’s important to ask questions on your Web page, and then answer them. This can help boost your rankings in the search results.

People use their smartphones a lot

They use their smartphones on average 150 times each day, in fact. What is really important to understand here, though, is how they’re using them, not how often. On average, people use their smartphones for a single minute per transaction, not for extended periods of time. Google refers to these search and website behaviors as “micro moments.”

How can this be? Consumers are finding themselves able to find information and make decisions faster than ever. Other websites are helping them make quick decisions; does yours? Or, does your website make it easier for the consumer to just find the back button and find your competition. You should gear your website to these “micro moments,” allowing your viewer to find the information they need quickly and easily.

People spend more than a fourth of their digital time on social media

That’s right, a fourth of their time. In fact, 28 percent of people’s online time is spent on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social media sites. This includes, too, pages like Yelp. This means that not only is your Google+ My Business page important, but so is your Yelp page, your Facebook page, and your Twitter profile. Whew, that’s a lot to keep up with!

For small businesses, though, Google wants to see your business and website get strong reviews on social media sites. If you aren’t actively asking customers for online reviews, you need to start. Many small businesses are already realizing this, and have begun directing their brick and mortar customers to their online presence to get those reviews. It’s a great idea, and it’s something else that will help boost your ranking in search engine results pages.

Mobile searches are more common than desktop

As of May 2015, mobile searches exceeded both desktop and tablet searches combined. The pattern used to be that you’d develop your website for the desktop and tablet experience, and then make it responsive enough to look acceptable on a handset. That’s simply not going to cut it anymore, though.

In today’s environment, it’s more important to design your website for mobile usage first, and then worry about desktops. It’s becoming a standard practice to make your website easy to navigate with your thumb, rather than using a mouse or keyboard. Make sure you review your website on your smartphone, pretending that you’re a customer. Can you quickly and easily find your business’s phone number on the mobile website? If not, something is seriously wrong.

In closing

Google made an extremely interesting observation. The company pointed out that small businesses today have advantages that simply weren’t present years ago. Consumers are gaining more and more control over what media content they’re exposed to, so the traditional methods of advertising on television and radio is becoming less and less effective.

After all, television is becoming much less influential with the generation of cord-cutters ditching traditional TV in favor of streaming video on demand. This means that larger businesses need to advertise in numerous small markets, rather than using the old-fashioned method of sending out their advertisements to one large market. Marketing strategies for entrepreneurs is becoming not only more affordable, but easier to get started.

If you’re a hyper-local business owner, you can easily and affordably dominate your local market with targeted advertising. All it takes is a strong online presence, a well-designed mobile website, good reviews on social media, and careful thought into search keywords and phrases to find your business. The power is at your fingertips, so how will you use it?

We can help you with this, so reach out to us if you have questions or want more information on how we can help you become the business that’s well-known in the digital landscape of your city.