Description

Getting FOUND and getting RANKED are very different goals as it relates to Google. In this video, Eric explains step-by-step how to make sure Google knows who you are and what you do. In addition, he reveals the little-known way for you to discover what Google thinks of your site. Don’t pay some company to do this for you. Eric shows you how to do it yourself, regardless of your technical expertise!

Transcript

Note from Eric: Below, you will find a word-for-word transcript of this video. I provide this as an aid for the hearing-impaired and for those who might just want to read it rather than watch the video. This conversational style is not reflective of how I write. Be nice!
Hey I am Eric Spellmann and today’s topic is how to get found on Google? Now some of you might be wondering I already have made videos on how to rank well on Google, what’s the difference? Well, before you can rank well, you have to be found on Google. It will make sense as we get started. Let’s jump in.

First, you’ve got to find yourself. Now I know that sounds all deep and new age. But seriously in the Google world, you have to locate your business. The key is to get a Google account first. Go out there and get a Gmail account, they’re free.

Just go to gmail.com and set one up if you don’t already have one. Or if you have a Google Apps account, that will work too. But step 1, and Google always requires this, you have to have some sort of account to manage everything in Google.

Second, go to Google Maps (maps.google.com). And then I want you to find your location. I want you to ‘find” the building you’re in, or your actual business. Many times Google will already know where your business is and what it is. Once you “find” it, then you’re gonna see a little sign on it (or you may not) and it says “Are you the Business Owner?

Now, if you see that, I want you to click on it. Because that will allow you to “claim” your business. You see Google already has a huge database, kind of like the Yellow Pages, of all the businesses out there and kind of where they are located. But in the Google world, a business owner can “claim” their business.

Now the reason you would want to claim it and tell Google and prove to Google that you are the business owner is because then that gives you the ability to go in and answer reviews, upload pictures and even correct where you are on the map, if Google got it wrong. Now the way Google does this is really interesting.

When it says “Are you the Business Owner?” what it’s gonna do to prove that you actually are is it’s going to send a postcard through the US Postal Service to THAT location. On the postcard will be a little 4 digit code. So within 2 weeks or so, you have to enter that code on this site and then Google will accept you as the owner.

Now once you’re the owner, then you can go in and you can update it. You can fill everything out and upload pictures etc. But the biggest thing I want you to do is to put a really good description of your company, including the services you offer. In addition, I want you to go in there and enter categories.

This is how Google knows where to put you. So if someone types in “plumbers”, Google will know that since you put “Plumbing” as a category, it will start listing you. Or if someone typed in Air-Conditioning, Online Marketing etc, Google will know to list you. So be sure and fill that out completely!

We call this a Google+ (Google Plus) Page. Your business will have a Google+ Page. And by claiming it, that’s how you are able to go in and update it. But, heres the deal. What happens if you come across your business and it looks like you don’t have an option to “Are you the Business Owner?”

What that usually means is 1 of 2 things. If your business doesn’t show up at all, you want to create a page and tell Google about it. And there will be an option like “Add A Location”. But, what if you find that your business is there but there is no “Are you the Business Owner?” That means someone else has claimed it! And then you will have to figure out who that was and try to go reclaim it. Now there is some ways around that.

Some of you are going to run into problems with this because you hired a company that went out and claimed it for you, but they put it in their name. And you got to get it out of their name. It’s got to be in your name!

So figure out how that happened, figure out who’s got it. And then you can go from there. Because it’s got to be in your name. Not in an online marketing company’s name, not in Eric Spellmann’s name, not in some other company’s name, it’s got to be in your name.

The second thing you got to do beside claiming your Google+ Page is you need to start using what’s called Google Search Console. Now this used to be called Webmaster Tools, but they changed the name of it to Search Console.

Basically the way this works is Google will have you go on there and enter a tiny bit of code on every page of your website. And when that code is there, Google can then monitor your site to see how people are getting to it. And Google can even report back to you what it thinks of your website as it relates to being searched. It’s really cool. One of the biggest things you’ll use it for however, is where Google can tell you what error is it running into.

You know because Google’s little spiders are always climbing around your website. What happens if they run into a problem? What if they find a bad link? In other words, they click on it and it doesn’t go anywhere! Well, the problem means Google will mark you down.

And if you have a lot of bad links, Google doesn’t like you, and your ranking will suffer! So the Search Console is one way for Google to say “Hey! Your website has some problems. And until you fix them, you’re not gonna rank very well!”. So, it can show you the errors.

The second thing it will show you is Keywords Stats. In other words Google will say “Here are the keywords you’re currently being found on.” It’s really neat. Because it will not only show you how many times your page showed up in Google results, but it will also say where on average you ranked for those keywords. It is invaluable. And yeah this is totally free!

You can also invite spiders, and I do this all the time. Let’s say you go add a new page to your site with all sorts of wonderful content. And you want Google to see it. Well instead of just waiting for Google’s little spiders to come around on their own schedule and find you, in the Search Console you can go say “Hey Google. I got a new page, go look at it right now.“ And Google will do it.

So, if you are a business owner and you have a website, I have to insist that you install the Google Search Console. Just Google it, you’ll find it. And you have to have a Google account to do it.

And you’ll probably will have to give a little snippet of code to your webmaster, but then once it’s all done, you can monitor and go from there. By the way that also helps you with Analytics, Google’s way of tracking all the traffic to your website. So it’s wonderful. But the Search Console, amazing tool!

As always if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to visit me on Facebook or go to my website or heck, give me a call. I’m more than happy to help. I’m Eric Spellmann; I’ll see you in cyberspace.