Gain insights that can elevate your digital marketing strategies and take your business to the next level.
My name is Hunter Trahan, and I am the senior digital marketing specialist at Stuller. I’ll be covering marketing tactics that are proven to drive more qualified leads to your store and website. With more than 14 years in digital marketing and nine years dedicated to helping jewelers succeed at Stuller, I’m here to offer a guide to help you in mastering your online presence.
In this guide, we’ll dive into the purchasing funnel, key marketing touch points, and essential strategies to boost your visibility and drive more sales.
Before we dive in, here’s a bit of terminology to keep in mind:
- SEM (Search Engine Marketing): Paid strategies to improve visibility on search engines
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Organic strategies to improve search rankings
- Organic Results: Non-paid search results based on relevance
- Paid Ads: Sponsored listings appearing in search results
- PAA (People Also Ask): Google’s interactive search feature
Types of Google Search Results
"85% of consumers conduct research through search engines before making a purchase."
Sales Lion
It’s important to understand all the different types of Google Search results and how to rank for each one. Majority of shoppers perform research on Google before making a purchase, and they remember the brands and sources that made an impression on them. In this article, we will go over each type of Google Search result and what you can do to make sure your brand is seen in each of them.
"More than 70% of searchers do not look further than the first page of Google."
Search Engine Journal
Organic Search Results
Organic Search results are the non-sponsored search results you see when you make search on Google.
Benefits of Organic Search Results
- These are the most common Google Search result.
- Google shows the most relevant results.
- These can be managed through Search Engine Optimization of your website and Google Search Console.
You can manage how your pages show on Google by editing your Title Tags and Meta Descriptions from within your website content management system. Use keyword research tools to determine which keywords users are searching to find your products and services. To learn more about how to select the right keywords, check out our previous blog post: Mastering Keyword Research for Online Success in the Jewelry Industry.
Paid Search Results
Paid Search results look similar to organic results but can be identified by the Sponsored badge above them.
Benefits of Paid Search Results
- Boosts your website to the top of search engine results
- Can be extremely effective when managed correctly
- Managed through the Google Ads Platform
My biggest advice when it comes to Google Search Ads is to carefully consider your selected keywords and location settings to assure you are spending your advertising dollars wisely. If you’re interested in running Google Ads for your business, read more on How to Set Up Your Google Ads Account and Start Digital Marketing Like a Pro.
Google Business Listings
Your Google Business Listing is perhaps the most important factor to having a successful online presence.
Benefits of Google Business Listings
- Prioritized over organic listings
- Often triggered by keywords around local services such as “near me” or “store”
- Managed through Google Business
These results often take precedent over organic search results, especially when the search query is related to local services. It is absolutely necessity to have a healthy Google Business listing if you want to have a well-rounded online presence. I recommend checking out our step-by-step guide to setting up your Google Business Listing.
Featured Snippets & People Also Ask (PAA)
People Also Ask (PAA) results offer a valuable opportunity to rank higher than your competitors by answering common questions shoppers search for online.
Benefits of People Also Ask
- Prioritized Google search results that show up for certain queries
- Earned by writing FAQs on your website
- Get with your webmaster to add FAQ Schema Markup for maximum SEO value.
- Use tools such as Google Keyword Planner and Semrush to find FAQs asked by consumers online.
By using keyword research tools, you can identify these frequently asked questions and ensure your website provides clear, relevant answers. This increases the likelihood that your brand appears in search results during a shopper’s research process, enhancing visibility and engagement.
Google Shopping
If you have an e-commerce website or an online shop such as Etsy, Google Shopping is the most important placement for your business. Most content management systems and e-commerce platforms have built-in integrations for Google Shopping or at least provide APIs you can use to create feeds for your Google Shopping listings.
Benefits of Google Shopping
- Adds your shoppable products to Google search results
- Ability to reach other large platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, Etsy, Pinterest, and more
- Managed through Google Merchant Center
If you’re a Stuller customer, you can take advantage of Stuller’s Product Feed API to list Stuller’s inventory on your website, complete with markup settings within your e-commerce website.
YouTube Videos
As I mentioned earlier, most shoppers research online before making a purchase. YouTube videos are a great way to catch shoppers during their research phase and allow you to build trust for your brand.
Benefits of YouTube Videos
- Optimized video chapters, descriptions, and thumbnails are vital for success.
- Gives shoppers visibility to your brand during their research
- Builds brand recognition and trust
- Managed through your YouTube Channel
Adding chapters to your videos is a great way to potentially gain extra real estate in Google Search results.
Recommended Tools & Software
Here’s a list of tools that will help you on your digital marketing journey!
Google Analytics
This is a free tool from Google that allows you to track website traffic and activity so that you can best understand which efforts are driving leads and sales.
Google Webmaster Tools
Another free tool from Google that helps you see how much visibility your website is getting in Google Search and identify SEO errors on your website.
Semrush
This is a paid tool that allows you to research your competitors and discover online trends, search traffic, and consumer questions.
Taking Action
As you can see, there are many different ways for you to compete in Google search results. For every business, large and small, I recommend setting up your Google business listing, optimizing your pages for standard Google search, and having a social media presence to get you started. If you’re looking into creating an e-commerce site, I highly recommend looking into Google shopping and Bing shopping. If you’re a new business, Google ads and Bing ads are a must-have while you’re building up your SEO value. No matter your business, anyone can benefit from an intelligently orchestrated ad campaign. The tools I mentioned above, especially Google analytics and Google search console, are good basic requirements for any business who wants to successfully optimize and monitor a growing online presence. If you want to go above and beyond, YouTube is a great place to put your efforts.
Regardless of how you get started, the most important thing is to just start. See what works best for you and your business and make adjustments as needed. I hope these tools help to give you the confidence to begin your digital marketing journey!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hunter Trahan
Senior Digital Marketing Specialist
Hunter is an experienced digital marketing, content writing, and data analysis professional with certifications for Google AdWords, Google Analytics, and SEMRush. He uses his passion for digital marketing and analytical skills to craft successful strategies that benefit both Stuller and our customers.