Building Your Online Presence: Unveiling the Google Strategy

Kristina Stubblefield: [00:00:00] Thanks for tuning in to another episode of WedPro Business Solutions. I'm your host, Kristina Stubblefield, and today we are tackling the topic of online presence, but you have not heard me talk about it like I'm going to today, so I'm going to encourage you to buckle up early for this episode, because I'm going to speak from the heart and it's probably going to come across very direct, but stay with me.

There are going to be takeaways from this episode, man, it may shake things up a little bit. First of all, I want to start with this statement. Your online presence is your responsibility. Let that sink in for a minute. For the number of years that I've been doing this, I have constantly heard people say, Well, I have a website.

I'm not sure why I'm not coming up in the search engines. Or, I have a [00:01:00] website, but people aren't finding me online. Nonchalantly. And, I'm gonna make waves in this area. Because, I am here to tell you, there is nothing more important than your online presence. Why do I say that? Because people are making buying decisions every minute.

If we really looked at the statistics, probably every second. Buying decisions based on what they find online. Now, in the past, I really tiptoed around this conversation. Why did I do that? Well, because there's no way around putting in the work for your business to show up.

Of course, can you hire a marketing agency? Absolutely! Can you get a assistant a VA, or strategist involved? Yes. Can you do this yourself? Of course. However, having a plan and a strategy really important with this [00:02:00] topic, but I want to share with you from the heart how important it is about your online presence. It's not my responsibility. It's not someone else's responsibility. It's not your friend's responsibility.

It's your responsibility, how you come up, how you show up for potential clients. And I'm going to tell you that for many years. I really found out that I got in my own way. That's it! I got in my own way. And I believe that a lot of people, for whatever reason, are quick to say, well, I don't understand Google.

I don't understand search engines. That's not an excuse or a reason not to show up online. There are people out there right now looking for what you have to offer. Wouldn't you like for your business to come up? I'm really passionate about this because there are simple [00:03:00] things that you can do to get results quickly in your business when it comes to online presence and visibility.

There's no way around the work that has to be put in regardless who does it. Now I've been doing this a long time and I'm here to tell you that one of the best pieces of advice that I can share with people is having a strategy for your business. Whether you work with a marketing agency, a business coach, you need to have a plan, a strategic plan for your business when it comes to marketing.

And why do I say that? I want to be really honest with you. It's simple. Time is money. Either you're going to do the work or you're going to pay someone else to do it. If you have a strategic plan that is outlined , this is what's being focused on, this is the items. You can then direct your [00:04:00] attention to those items, whether it's you or someone else doing it, and in the end of the day, that saves you time and money.

Here's what I can share with you. If you've heard previous episodes or heard me talk about previous things, I share that I'm pretty transparent about business things. And I'm here to tell you, until recently, I had not made our businesses or my brand's online presence a priority. Now, whose fault is that?

Who do I have to blame? No one. It's my responsibility. So, we have now made that a priority. And I'm here to share with you, when I say we've made it a priority, we're just getting started. Only doing a few things consistently, and guess what, that equals results. And what do I mean by results? More engagement, more traffic to our website, more DMs, more comments, the list goes on and on.

And I'm here to tell you at the time of this recording, this focus hasn't gotten started, except like 30 days [00:05:00] ago. So, within a month, when we started taking actionable steps ourselves, equals results. I don't just say these things to you. I say them to myself. And while I'm really passionate about it, is because the smallest focus, has produced, Results, which is what most business owners are looking for.

You either want more traffic, more leads, more sales. And if you're not looking for that, great, your business must be exactly where you want it to be. So where do we go from here? 

I share with people about there being main buckets to work with on your online presence. That's how I talk about my categories, buckets. When I start talking about all this, I want you to know, I know for a fact There's no magic wand that exists out there to wave and voila, there you are.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that you can't [00:06:00] spend a good amount of money and push things out in multiple places and get traction faster. I'm not going to tell you that because that wouldn't be the truth. You can, however, you can do things. Small things in your business to move the needle forward.

And what I mean by that, to increase your online presence. So where I want to go with this, I want to share with you some of the main components that I teach about with your online presence and visibility. What I'm going to cover today is about Google, and before you go rolling your eyes or, oh, here we go about Google.

Remember, it's the number one search engine. Number one! Billions of searches happen on it every day. So, of course, I'm going to talk about Google. Because no matter where you're at in your business or what kind of business you have, you want to use Google. You want to use [00:07:00] Google. Why? Because you want to be found on Google.

So I'm sharing with you the top three things that I believe any business should focus on in regards to their online presence. Now, is this all of them? No, I'm saying these are the top three. Let's dive in and talk about Google. And I promise if you stay with me, you're going to learn enough to understand about Google.

I'm not asking you to become an expert. I'm not asking you to completely understand how all the algorithms work, because hell, I'm just going to be honest. It's a lot to keep up with. And if we pause for just a little bit. Guess what? There's going to be some kind of change. Now, I know, this can be super frustrating.

When I have conversations with people, or I ask about pain points, this is at the top of the list. I want to [00:08:00] be found. I don't come up on Google. So, let's get some actionable steps. But first, I believe it's important to understand a little bit about how something works to make sure you're using it the right way for your business.

So, let's talk about Google. Just hang with me for a few minutes as we talk through this. I'm going to try to explain it as simple as possible. Google, it is a crucial player with the online presence. There's no way around it, as I mentioned, it's the number one search engine, but Google isn't just a search tool anymore.

It's the go to platform for information in the world of business. Your visibility online is paramount. I said that before, and this is where Google makes its mark. I've already said there are billions of searches daily. Imagine the potential of your business being discovered by customers who are [00:09:00] actively searching for what you offer.

So let's start to unravel Google a little bit. Google uses intricate algorithms to rank web content based on relevance and quality. Factors like keyword usage, website performance, user experience. And there's also backlinks, links to other places online. And all of this is taken into account. Why does Google do this?

Well, they want to provide the most accurate, helpful results. And to show up higher, your content needs to be engaging, relevant, and last but not least, user friendly. With Google. We have to talk about SEO search engine optimization, because this is one of the key pieces to really unlocking Google's visibility.

And it's crucial[00:10:00] for you to know what your potential customers are using to do their searches, because you want to incorporate those same keywords. Into your website content. Why? Because it can boost your rankings. Also, as a side note to this, because I'm talking about Google, an optimized website really makes a difference when it comes to your Google visibility.

So, what does Google want? If you're sitting there saying, Okay, I hear you. What does Google want from me? They want fresh content, valuable content, and unique content. How do you accomplish that? I'm going to talk more about that when I talk about website, but one of the first things that I will share with you is blogs, articles, videos so many different things.

And the reason I mentioned this is when [00:11:00] you feed it what it wants, updated information. Then you give Google more reason to boost your ranking. Now, Google business profile. I'm not going to talk about Google without talking about Google business profile, because it's a free tool that allows you to control your business's appearance.

On Google maps and search. Wait, did you just hear me? This tool allows you to control what's out there on Google about your business. Products, services, etcetera. If you have accurate information on your Google business profile and you engage with it by sharing updates, asking for customer reviews.

Google is going to boost your information out there. And what does that mean to you?

That boosts your online reputation and it pulls people, potential clients in to your business. Now, again, [00:12:00] I said, hang with me about this because. I just wanted you to simply understand a little bit about Google and its role on your business's online presence. And I think when people start to realize this is doable, this is, I just need to know the steps so I can take action and execute.

You don't have to become an expert in SEO, the Google algorithms to make a difference for your business.

I firmly believe when you utilize Google for your business, you're really unlocking the opportunities for so many more people to find you easily, online.

So you're thinking now what I hear what you're saying. I've listened to you explain just a little bit about Google. Now what here's one of the main takeaways from this number one, do you have a Google business profile? I hope you do. If not, there's step one, go to [00:13:00] business.google.com and create a business listing and then fill out all your information.

That's really important. Fill out all your information. As a matter of fact, I have a Google business profile checklist and I will put the link where you can get access to it or you can always go to the website and get it in the resource section. So there's first and foremost is making sure you have a Google business profile and making sure your information on it is up to date and accurate.

The next thing I would encourage you to do is to tune in because next time I'm going to dive into the second largest search engine. You're going to start to see as I talk about these pieces that they start to fit together and then overlap. And when you start putting the effort, actionable steps in.

Each one of the main components with your online presence,[00:14:00] you will find that you're increasing your visibility to potential clients. At the end of the day, I want you to have the best foot forward to come up online when someone is looking for services you offer for products you make. I want you to come up online.

I want people to be able to find you, because I know from the years of doing this, if people cannot find you, if you don't appear towards the top, towards somewhere towards the top, you're not going to be in the conversation about using your services or your products. And it has become evident to me that this is a big misstep for a lot of business owners out there. They just go and throw money at Google ads or throw money at social media ads or ads on YouTube. And then they have not done the pivotal [00:15:00] pieces.

To make a solid foundation for their online presence. And in my world, what does that mean? If you do not have a solid foundation, if you have cracks in your foundation. In my world, that means wasting time or money, both of which I do not want anyone to have to worry about. So I hope you will tune in next time as I take on the second largest search engine where you can understand it and how can you take the steps to start to use it or use it more for your business.

I want you to put these pieces together. To build a stronger foundation for your online presence. So when you do run ads or when you do increase the content that you put out, that when you stack those things on top of your foundation, it doesn't crack.

It is strong. It is sturdy. And at the end of the day, You are found. I told you in the beginning to buckle up. I am [00:16:00] very passionate about this, and I feel like in the past, I've made it known that these things were pretty important in your business, and I want to take it to a whole nother level. I know these aren't optional.

I know these are required components to your online presence, and I want everyone to be able to get the most. The most views, the most traffic, the most search results for their business, because running your own business it's hard enough. And so many people get so frustrated with the marketing side and they get misinformation.

They get started at step five instead of step one. And that really makes a difference with your online presence. So I will leave you with that. How I started this. Your online presence is your responsibility. Let's grab a hold, let's take responsibility for it and let's change. [00:17:00] Let's make sure you're showing up when people are searching for these services or products that you offer. 

Thanks so much for tuning in. If you're not already part of my free Facebook group, I encourage you to join WedPro Business Community. I share other information. We talk further about episodes, you can connect with other wedding professionals. Join the group and let's carry on this conversation.

Until next time, everyone take care.