The Google Discover platform
has the potential to increase your exposure and popularity, but only if you optimize your business to appear when potential customers search for products or services like yours. Here are eight tips to help make sure you’re doing everything you can to be found in Google Discover.
What exactly is Google Discover
Google is introducing a new feature in their mobile search app called Google Discover. This feature allows you to use your location, your interests, and information about what’s around you and other people like you who have used Google services before, then tap into personalized content from local businesses and national brands that have been specifically tailored for your interests. You can even find places to go near you or that are popular with others nearby. Essentially it boils down to being able to stay informed about everything going on within a one-mile radius of where you are as well as getting recommendations based on everyone else that’s using Google services. The goal of Google Discover is also to help users discover exactly what they need while they’re out and about whether they’re shopping, dining out, traveling, or looking for entertainment options.
What are the benefits of being optimized?
Through optimizing your business on Google Discover, you will: be found by more customers; have more relevant ads that make you money, and have a clearer picture of how many people are using your business. When you’re not optimized, things can be murky and hard to track. But when you optimize your business on Google, it allows you to see exactly how much traffic is coming in from advertising versus search – as well as where they’re coming from and what they do when they arrive. It also shows you who’s using your business. If users aren’t doing anything with your content after arriving, then you know something needs changing.
How do I optimize my profile?
- Click About at the top of your Google+ home page.
- Select Your Public Profile in the drop-down menu at the upper left corner of the About box.
5 Tips to Optimize Your Business
This is a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many business pages have horrible images! Make sure your business page has at least one photo. Fill out All Basic Details: Every element of your business page can help (or hurt) its chances of ranking well on Google Discovery, so make sure you are filling out all basic details about your business like hours and days of operation, location, and even an address if possible. The more complete your profile is on Discovery, the better it will perform.
The top of a meta description should include a linked keyword. Most people won’t click on your meta description if it doesn’t contain some information about where you’re sending them. Google+ updates have made these descriptions more important than ever, and including relevant keywords is a must! Here are a few things to keep in mind when writing link metas: Use keyword variation: If I were targeting affiliate marketing as my keyword phrase, I might use affiliate marketing or online affiliate marketing. You want searchers who see your meta description know that they can trust you with their business.
Mix in visual media with your written content and use infographics, images, videos, or GIFs. Visual media helps break up text and make your content more digestible. This also gives you a chance to include popular social sharing buttons on your post—this way people can share it easily on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other platforms. For example, add a Tweet button if you want people to share your articles on Twitter. See Chapter 8: Social Media Marketing for details about using social media channels like YouTube, Vine, Instagram, or Snapchat. You could even submit that video to a video site like Vidsy (Chapter 6: Video Marketing) that lets users upload their videos instead of uploading them directly onto another platform like YouTube.
At first, glance discovery may seem like a one-way street. You can post your updates and photos and videos, but that’s about it. However, some of Google’s featured content within discover is created by actual users – whether they are famous chefs or local community members who own food trucks or bakeries. By joining a group or business in your area, you can get in front of your audience while driving people to try out new restaurants and check out what cool events are happening in their city. We all have time blocks where we just don’t feel creative – usually when we need to be creative most! So if we don’t come up with a good idea right away… DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT! Just grab an easy idea, then come back to it later when you’re more focused.
Give readers a reason to click your profile or community. Profiles and communities (like Quora and Hacker News) typically have an About section. Use it! Within these sections, tell an interesting story about how you came up with your startup idea. If you are successful, it could become a viral story that other blogs pick up on. If your company has been featured in major publications like TechCrunch or The New York Times, include links to those articles here as well. This is especially useful if you want to develop connections with journalists at other sites who write similar content. Also, don’t be afraid to talk about yourself! You’re only going to come across as arrogant if you don’t put yourself out there.