Understanding Google Search Console
Want a great tool to get your website more traffic? Then this blog is for you. We’re going to tell you all about a free Google service called Search Console. And show how it can help you, and how you can get it set up.
So what exactly is Google Search Console? Well, it’s a service that gives you feedback about how your website is doing in Google search results.
It has two primary functions. It monitors your performance in Google Search results. And it also shows you how Google “sees” your site.
Say you own a coffee shop, and your website needs some updating. Let’s take a closer look at a few ways Search Console might be able to help you out.
One way is through its “Search Analytics ” reports. This can help you answer a few important questions like which searches bring people to your site. Or tell you when searchers click on your links. They can even let you know which other sites link to yours.
Why is this important?
Well, the “Search Analytics ” report shows lots of things, including the most common searches bringing people to your site. Ideally you’d see words and phrases relevant to your business, like:
Coffee shop Cotswolds, Coffeehouse near me, Pastries near Cotswolds, or Fair trade coffee near me.
If you review the report and see unrelated or irrelevant words and phrases, it’s a hint that the text on your website needs some attention.
Another thing to look for is the number of clicks. You’ll want to know how often your site appears but gets no clicks—that’s a sign your content doesn’t match what people are looking for.
The “Links to your site” report shows websites that link to your site. Think of these as “referrals.” The list should include websites relevant to coffee.
More and more people use mobile devices to access the Internet, so while you’re in Google Search Console you should also check out the “Mobile Usability Report”. This’ll point out pages on your site that don’t work well on mobile phones, which you can then fix to improve your website performance when people search on mobile.
There are two more really handy features within Search Console to know about: “Crawl” reports, and “Google Index ” reports.
“Crawl” reports let you monitor whether Google can visit your web pages. This is important because if Google can’t access your web pages, your content can’t be included in Google’s search results.
The “Google Index ” reports show what information Google recorded about your site and tells you if your pages are accessible.
It’s easy to get started with Search Console.
At Entwined Media we can do all this for you.
We will help you sign up, add your website and complete the verification to prove you own the website.
Now Search Console can generate reports for your site. It might be a few days before you see useful information because it must first gather and process the data. If you see a “No data yet” message, check back later.
When your site’s set up in Google Search Console, we will use the reports to figure out how to improve your presence on Google. Using the reports, we can make changes to help Google better understand your web pages and as a result make your website perform better.
#WeCanHelp
Taking a business online
So what are the key differences between a customer in a physical shop and a customer online?
Imagine you just set a personal goal for 2019 to improve your fitness, and now need new running shoes. In the offline world your journey might go a bit like this:
You visit the local shopping centre, going from shop to shop. Ultimately, you make a decision based on price, quality, returns policy, friendliness of staff, and stock availability. You process all that information, head back to the store with the shoes you liked best, and make the purchase.
When it comes to online purchasing, you’re likely to engage in four distinct stages throughout your online shopping journey. Theses principles are described in the “See, Think, Do, Care” framework, and offer a useful way to identify where a business should invest effort in connecting with customers. Let’s take a look at our shoe shopping example, while highlighting these four stages:
In the SEE stage, you notice that some of your friends have taken up running, and are posting maps of their favourite routes on their social media accounts. This inspires you to start running yourself. In the THINK stage, you get your phone and type ‘what are the best running shoes for beginners?’. This introduces you to a whole lot of online content, from blog articles to targeted ads, giving you more factors to base your decision on. Eventually, you make your purchase, which makes up the DO stage, and perhaps post a photo on social media. This last step of sharing your purchase is part of the CARE stage.
Keep in mind that customers don’t necessarily experience all four stages every time – your individual journey might begin at the THINK stage, or end at the DO stage.
Now let’s combine offline and online activities together. Imagine you are in the sport shop having just tried on the new running shoes. You get out your phone and search for them online – perhaps checking if they are cheaper elsewhere. The chances are you might buy online after visiting a physical store- an approach called ‘showrooming’.
Understanding the differences and similarities between online and offline shopping can help you create a more balanced online customer experience.
So how can you identify where to focus your efforts online? To choose the right channels, find out out who you’re talking to, when you should talk to them, and what you should talk about. This is called audience segmentation.
You can segment customers in many ways, from basic demographics like age and gender, to specific interests. For example, segmenting customers by location may benefit an e-commerce store if certain products are only available to ship to specific areas. Segmentation can also help with your online advertising; as most channels allow you to target paid advertising to specific audiences, based on information like what an audience likes or dislikes. You can also make your ads appear only to people within a certain radius of your shop or business, which can be handy when offering promotions to local shoppers.
To wrap up, when it comes to taking a business online, think about the customers and put yourself in their shoes: which channels do they use most? How do you engage differently with them online and offline?
At Entwined Media Limited, #WeCanHelp!!
0732 998899
