Can you be found on Google? Are you Googlicable? Can your prospective customers find you when you need them to? That is what we seek to answer in this article.
First, Googlicability means “being visible on google”, derived from how local African languages have you explain what SEO is all about.
Currently, there are around 1.14 billion websites in the World. 17% of these websites are active, 83% are inactive. 252,000 new websites are created every day. Having a great website for your products and services is one thing, but being found by the right consumer is another, and that is what Googlicability must solve for each business. Websites have gone beyond beauty, features, and functionality, moving into the space of on top of all that, the website must perform well on searches on demand of current or new consumers.
The Googlicability of your brand, product or service, is very important nowadays, as it affects revenue generation because you must be at least visible in searches to be taken chosen. You must know the and follow the “Googlicability Equation”. What is the Googlicability Equation?
Googlicability = (SEO + SEM + CM) / EN + BG
Googlicability is the ability of a brand to be Googled; achieved through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Content Marketing (CM) all done by Energy (EN) and Budget (BG). This is best executed by people that have a technical and marketing understanding of business in such a Digital Age of commerce as we are in, whether in Africa or outside Africa.
In each SEO project case, the approach is different in terms of content, keywords, adverts, but what remained consistent was the combined use of the three elements of the Googlicability equation in order to achieve the various goals. Most clients want instant results, a natural desire, but we always manage to bring reason and balance of goals – short and long term. In order to achieve this, we apply SEM for short term goals, and SEO for medium to long term, whilst from on set, we executed content marketing across the periods. It is very important to always know the Sales goals, Brand Reputation goals, and Market Growth goals, so that as you create content you are able to execute with accuracy.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a systematic process of improving the ranking results for a site on search engines. It is the way to make sure that your website and business can be seen in rankings and get successful return on investment (ROI). The ultimate goal of SEO is to create good quality content that people like and then to promote it which eventually affects your search engine rankings. Search engine optimization helps you in making high-ranking results for your website that delivers great ROI too.
The benefits of SEO are unlimited, but most people find it useful because of its ability to increase traffic which, in turn, increases revenue. When searching for services or products online, users are more likely to choose one of the five best suggestions that search engines will display. SEOs help you rank high in search results, increase your online awareness, and increase your chances of potential customers clicking on your website to convert.
SEO is one of the best ways to promote your business. It can improve your presence and awareness on search engines and it can help you get more online traffic and sales because of keyword research and high-quality content creation and promotion. SEO is essential for any website’s successful ranking on search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing.
The Search Engine Journal says “Google, being the most visited website in the world also happens to be the most popular email provider globally with more than 1 billion users. YouTube is the second biggest search engine and over 2 billion people access it at least once a month. We know that a clear majority of the world with access to the internet is visiting Google at least once a day to get information. Being highly visible as a trusted resource by Google and other search engines will always work in a brand’s favour. Quality SEO and a high-quality website take brands there.
SEO is public relations first and foremost. SEO helps build long-term value for your brand. Good rankings and favourable placement will help raise the profile of your brand. People search for news and related articles, and a good SEO and PR strategy means they can see your brand. As you create it, a good user experience on your website means that your message will be heard and your product or service will be sold. SEO is no longer an isolated channel, so you can integrate it with your content and public relations to increase brand reach and awareness.
Experienced SEO is to build a strong foundation for beautiful websites with a clean and effective user experience that is easy to find by search, thanks to the reliability of the brand and its digital characteristics. SEO builds credibility. From using targeted keywords to adding links to creating great content that you can share, SEO builds trust and trust in a variety of ways, but it takes time. Due to its trust and credibility, people visit your website to get more information.It is important to know that SEO is a long-term, not a short-term business strategy. SEO can have a significant impact (and hopefully) within the first year of implementation, and many of these measures have impacts that last for years or more. As the market develops, it is best to closely track trends and changes.
However, even websites that have not yet implemented a large number of SEO recommendations will improve the basic SEO best practices that apply to honest websites with the right user experience.
Search Engine Marketing
In the journey to becoming Googlicable, it is important to also use paid advertising tools in search engines, that have now generally been termed Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Search Engine Marketing is a way to shout louder about your product or service in the digital space. It is a technique used in digital marketing to help businesses increase organic digital visibility, through search engine optimization and pay per click advertising.
Some of the notable benefits of SEM include Reaching your clients instantly; increased Brand Awareness; creating Geo-Targeted Search Ads; Implement and Manage Ads easily and quickly; targeting the right audience through Optimized Ads; and increase traffic through Ad visibility.
Content Marketing
To make sure your SEO and SEM work perfectly, there must be enough content to back the Googlicability aspects of the equation, which is called Content Marketing.
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. In order for content to be successful, it must be valuable, relevant and consistent. Value means that this content needs to solve a problem or provide a solution to something that’s missing from your audience’s life or business.
Relevance means that your content must be useful to the people who are going through this process, and consistent with their interests. The consistency part is all about keeping up with what you’ve said in the past, keeping keywords in mind and keeping a good user experience.
There are over ten types of content that can be used by a business for search engine optimisation, and includes Checklists, White papers, industry reports, webinars, case studies, ROI calculators, testimonials, viral content, infographics, blog posts, videos, buyer guides, product demos, and reviews.
Notable benefits of Content Marketing include Increased organic search traffic; Higher expertise, authority, and trust; Expanded brand awareness; Clearly defined brand personality; Enhanced accessibility for a broader audience; Increased social media engagement and PR results; Close gaps in the conversion funnel; and better conversion rates.
Energy of the Business
Energy in the Googlicability equation refers to the effort and capital put into the digital strategy of a business. The effort you put in determines the results you get. The effort you put in is either yours as the business owner, or that of an Agency you hire to do the same, but in both cases, a certain amount of shared energy is required. Your brand or business must be clarified in terms of communication goals of the business, target audiences, and most importantly the budget to be used to achieve these. Depending on goals, you need money to invest in these initiatives, and a lot of patience.
Budget for SEO and SEM
Without a budget for SEO and SEM forget being visible on Google. It is not a automatic thing that when a website is built, you appear. There must be SEO that happens on-site and off-site, and that is done over a period of time, entailing many things, and most importantly all done with the use of a budget. You get the results you pay for, nothing less.
What then shall we say?
Googlicability is not just about brand awareness; it’s about maintaining customer loyalty by delivering an experience that’s consistent and relevant to what people are looking for. Using your brand voice, you can influence perception of your brand, increase customer engagement and drive more traffic. Brand Googlicability affects customer acquisition; it makes it easier for people who are searching to find you. This makes it easier for them to make a purchase decision which is beneficial for businesses like restaurants, bars, hotels, travel agencies, etc. where consumers make purchases online as well as offline.
Remember, SEO is a Journey
For Googlicability to work, there is need to have clear goals for your website, and these need to be executed not just for the short term, but for the long term, as your website retains more visitors. The ultimate goal in Googlicability is not just visibility, but retention of visitors, that become customers.
SEO Success Stories in Africa
This Googlicability equation equation by the Digital Maestro has been tried and tested in many African countries, and beyond, for diverse clients in multiple industries. These clients include names such as Ganizo Media, Moakanyi Africa, African Facade Access, Telox Medical Supplies, Cabanga Media Group, Gwala Group Holdings, Genesis Pharmaceuticals, Forex World, Cash Center, Money Group, Emperor Tobacco, NRB Accounting, Nsombik Group, just to name a few. Google them!
Get in Touch with Author
Oscar Habeenzu is a Digital Marketing Maestro, certified by Google, LinkedIn, WordPress and Cabanga Media Group and Author, reinventing himself constantly with working experience of over fifteen years, where he has worked at junior and senior levels of Digital Marketing in four countries. He is a published author of “Building a Luxury Brand, Digitally”, “The Creator Economy in SA”, and “Trade Secrets for Business in South Africa”.
Your business or brand can become Googlicable today. Get in touch with us on digitalplus.africa, or oscarhabeenzu.com.
Source: DigitalPlus, Search Engine Journal, BehaviourReport, Siteefy
