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Elvinwebmarketing | Google | Google Plus Local | Can’t Afford A Website? – Google Probably Has One Ready For You

Can’t Afford A Website? – Google Probably Has One Ready For You

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Your webpage is a click away.

An online presence is no longer a “nice to have”. Instead it is a necessity and a marketing staple of any business. The trouble is for many small business owners, the web can be a confusing, scary and even costly task. Especially for businesses that were successful before the internet. For many of those the question is asked “Why fix what isn’t broken”.

Typically most people would start with a business website and then direct traffic to that site from social media, search engines, news sites etc.. But the ever-evolving web has made it so that you can now build a substantial web-presence without ever having a website. An actual website is no longer a necessity. This s is because Google probably has a page ready for you to claim. It won’t cost you a dime and can be set up in mere minutes.

Google wants to keep people in their universe

In the past Google’s mantra has been all about getting users away from Google search and onto the most relevant site to their search s as quickly as possible. More recently however this idea has been turned on its head. Google has been promoting its own content to keep us in the “Google universe”.

This approach has led to a large number of search results (especially locally based ones), being simple answers in the search results (through the “answer box”). Answers might include the opening times of a restaurant or their contact information, things that you don’t need to visit an external page for. On mobile, where people are looking for quick answers, you can see the appeal of this approach.

You might have also started seeing search results providing more rich information including pictures, business information & reviews of that business. Search “Seafood Westport Ct” for example. First you see all the results lined up at the top of the page. Click on one and all the relevant information is in the right hand box. The chosen restaurant website is moved up to first in the results, but you probably don’t need to click there.

An interesting observation is Google’s preference to show such information higher in the search results. This means that you can always make an impact with the right people, regardless of whether you have a website or not.

Do you really need a website?

In June of this year Google combined a number of their business services together to form “Google My Business”. It’s a service that makes it quicker and easier for business owners to “be found on Google”, whether this be on Google+, Google Maps or Search.

To some degree these three in tandem would go a significant way in providing a business with a substantial web presence. Especially since it makes it possible for you to reach the right customers, no matter what platform they are on with each of these services. Those looking for a restaurant “on the go” could find a business through a mobile Google search for example. So no worries about paying for a complex and expensive responsive website design.

Why not just go straight to the traffic source?

It has been found that 1 in 3 searchers on smartphones search specifically for contact information, phone numbers and directions, which can all be found very easily through a Google+ page and through the answer box that we spoke about before.

Claiming your Google+ Page

One of the measures Google has taken to keep us using all things Google is by building your Google+ page for you.

There is a chance that Google has already created a Google+ Business page for you. All you need to do is claim it. Here’s how.

  1. Type your business name, city & state plus the words “google plus” into an ordinary Google search.
  2. You should see a result with a URL that looks something like this:
  3. https://plus.google.com/1094xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  4. Look for the box with the Manage This Page widget.
  5. Don’t see your business there? No worry, you can easily create your Google plus page by visiting https://www.google.com/business/
  6. Fill your page with your business information
Summary
Can’t Afford A Website? - Google Probably Has One Ready For You
Article Name
Can’t Afford A Website? - Google Probably Has One Ready For You
Description
Google + Local webpages are perfect for local businesses who don't have the time or money to maintain a website. Read how to claim a page and make it yours.
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