Right now, someone is looking for your product or service. The question is: Can they find you? When someone Googles “insert your service/product here,” what do they see?

According to a survey conducted by Statista in 2021, 77% of US internet users stated that they conduct online research before buying a product or service. This figure is consistent with other surveys and studies that have found that a high percentage of consumers use the internet to research products before making a purchase.

The existing demand is there, but if you want to capture it, you have to be found. In other words, search engine marketing is a critical success factor in growing your business.

Great, so how do I leverage Google results? Start by doing some searches for your product or service. Look at the different sections of the search engine results page (SERP). Typically, there are at least 3 separate results sets, sometimes 4.

Here are the sections in order of appearance on the SERP:

• Google Local Services ads is a program that allows local service providers such as electricians, plumbers, HVAC contractors, cleaners, and other home service providers to advertise their services to customers in their local area. The program is designed to connect local customers with reliable and trustworthy service providers who have been pre-screened by Google.
• PPC (Pay-Per-Click) (Google and Bing) is an online advertising model in which advertisers pay each time a user clicks on one of their ads. For a local company, PPC can be an effective way to drive targeted traffic to their website and increase the visibility of their brand within their local community.
• The Maps section (Google Business Profile) of a search result for a local business typically displays a map of the local area with the business’s location pinpointed. The map may also show nearby businesses or points of interest. In addition to the map, the Maps section may include information about the business such as the name, address, phone number, website, and hours of operation. It may also display reviews and ratings from customers, photos of the business, and links to directions or other related information.
• When you search for a local business on a search engine like Google, you will typically see a combination of paid advertisements and organic results. Organic results are the non-advertising search results that appear below the paid ads.