Googlicious – Keeping Up

The big web companies stay busy and Google is no exception.

There is a ruckus going on over what Google should show in their search results, Google + continues to grow and become almost mandatory for businesses because of how the pages work – and Google is adding all of your world (as they understand it) into your web experience.

Google is also making sure that the ads you see are pleasant – pleasant enough that you won’t complain about them. They’re also taking steps to curtail the efforts of those SEO folks who have the resources to make any web page rank. (Throw enough money into a dozen things and you are practically guaranteed results – this is the playground of gigantic companies.)

Google is also cracking down on ad-happy sites and web marketing needs to improve to make it through Google’s filters.

Their search machine is always changing but bigger changes are coming. Eventually, you won’t have to visit a website at all to find out things like the weather or see pictures. Anything publicly available will eventually just be displayed on Google. Wonder how tall the Empire State Building is? You can see the answer right on Google.

The privacy policy of all the Google services was folded into one, as Google assimilates all its services together. Still, some hijinks are always going on in a company the size and reach that Google has.

But here is the kicker to having read all of this. It’s all for the same goal. Google wants to be in every facet of your life.

What Has Google Been Up To?

In the last few months, Google has updated Panda, changed their major properties to a unified look, grabbed 44% of global online advertising, opened a music service, put Android on a stick, activated 500,000 phones a day, made improvements to Google+ and plans to short-circuit websites and industries.

Whew….

Of course, to put this all in perspective, what did people search for the most on Google in 2011? Sigh.

Have you taken your place in Google’s search results?

No, this isn’t an advertisement for Little Guy Creation’s SEO work. This is about how you, personally, can help influence your website’s search rankings.

That’s right. If you have a Google+ account, you can contribute to your own success.

Google+ is Google’s social media service. And it’s more and more tied into the search results – much moreso than Facebook or Twitter (though these are still places you want your business to be found.)

Now, the article linked above is TWO MONTHS old as of this writing. Imagine if you had already been promoting your business with Google+ while your competitors don’t even realize how far they are falling behind you.

If this is the exciting news to you that it should be, then go to Google+ and get started.

Google Maps and Businesses

Little Gent Tech NewsDid you know that you can have a Google business listing on their Maps? If you have one set up, then good for you. You’ve probably included your business address, phone and website – plus you might be able to include videos, pictures and area of service.

And did you know that there are limits to what you can include or claim? If you offer fitness classes at a gym, you can’t claim that as your business location if you don’t own the gym, even though that might be perfectly reasonable.

All of this is very important for your business as businesses with those listings may be displayed more prominently in the future.