Do you use Google? Bet your customers and clients do! As a business owner or entrepreneur, you should utilise Google to your benefit!

Google is known for changing its ranking processes and algorithms regularly. You need to make sure to change and adapt, as well. However, despite the ever-changing world, you can use search marketing and inbound marketing to establish long-term strategies and build a sustainable business.

Inbound and search marketing includes: search engine optimization (SEO) terms, social media marketing, emails, newsletters, and blogs. The content and information you provide must be special, unique, and high quality to resonate emotionally with customers. Initially, you will struggle with these marketing efforts. But your audience will eventually grow bigger and bigger!

Google is a powerful tool for customers to find you and your business. But it is definitely not perfect! Rand Fishkin believes that about 30-40 percent of Google searches give you excellent results. But 60-70 percent of the search queries generate weird and unexpected results that are not well thought out and do not create a positive user experience.

Google is trying to do it all! And this has generated feelings of anger, fear, and distrust of Google among some business owners. You can be penalized for bad links and other items.

Make sure your business Web site has positive link building, value-added content, and user engagement. These are all signals Google uses to rank sites. You want your business to rank high in searches, right?!

About Rand:

Rand of Moz.com is an inbound marketing expert and an authority on search marketing. He is considered the Wizard of Moz!

Challenged Issue:

We are challenging you – our podcast listeners – to think about the future of search marketing. What’s next? What do you need to do to prepare for the future?

Rand’s Actionable Tips:

* Keyword Research: Figure out the terms and phrases your audience is using to find you and the information you provide.

* Outreach: Rather than trying to contact the top influencers in your space/industry, take the focus off of them. Instead, reach out to other influencers in your space/industry. They are much more responsive and likely to help you!

* Mobile Searches: Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. On April 21, Google is changing its rank algorithm to include mobile search friendliness.

Top Quotes:

* “If you get things right, your strategy ,,, and if you think about the processes that you use and align them towards the future, you can actually build something that can last for many years without a whole lot of modification.”

* “It’s also not something where every morning, you need to wake up in a panic.”

* “They (Google) give you all of this data right in the search results, so you never have to actually click on anyone’s site.”

* “(Many of) the changes that they have been making the last few years…have really, I think, threatened their credibility more broadly.”

* “That is nightmarish. Any of this Kafka-es in terms of the process.”

* “That is enough to put a business under.”

* “I have seen hundreds, maybe even thousands, of businesses go under - Web sites go under - from Google penalties.”

Guest Links:

* Rand Fishkin Blog (moz.com/rand)

* Twitter (@randfish)

Resources:

* Google (google.com)

* Bing (bing.com)

* Facebook (facebook.com)

* Twitter (twitter.com)

* LinkedIn (linkedin.com)