Digital Garage: Your Strangest Queries To The Google Team
Tech giant Google returns to Birmingham with the Digital Garage project to provide free, face-to-face digital marketing coaching to freelancers and businesses. However, there are specific areas where the Digital Garage is not able to provide the guidance that business owners need. Indeed, too many professionals visit the Google’s Garage with the hope that the technicians on-site have a direct input on the search engine results and can improve their ranking position in the same way that knowing the venue security guard can get you access to the backstage of your favourite concert. Unfortunately, you can’t bribe Google! Discover the strangest queries made to the team in 2015.
Medium to large businesses: Test my supplier
A very common query heard at the Digital Garage is when businesses expect the Google team to test whether their SEO agency suppliers are doing a good job. The face-to-face appointments last around 45 min, which is not enough to run an in-depth analysis of your overall marketing activities. What the team can do, though, is help you to understand how SEO works and explains your supplier’s strategy. Technicians can also provide some ideas to suggest to your suppliers, such as content generation, schema.org use, or page optimisation.
Small businesses: Show me how to do it
There’s a misconception that just because you run a small business, you should do everything by yourself. As a result, the Google team met a lot of small entrepreneurs who expected to be taught how to design a website. While you can use pre-made templates on WordPress and Wix, your website is too important not to be outsourced to professionals. There is far too much to learn to get the whole programming and coding part right. On the other hand, a web designer can build a modern and engaging online presence for you.
Freelancers: I don’t know how to start a business
You shouldn’t go to the Garage if you haven’t started your business yet. The Digital Garage is designed to help you tackle marketing issues. The team can advise, but they are not there to teach you how to start a business. As the purpose of the Garage is to provide digital marketing support and troubleshooting, you should already have a digital presence to benefit from the one-to-one appointments. Don’t waste your time by asking the team if your business is viable. They are no business strategists.
Everyone: I’m not on Google Maps
Google My Business can be confusing. Consequently, the Garage team is there to help you go through the phases of creation and edition of your business page if you are stuck. However, to appear on Google Maps you will need to claim and verify your business. This step is designed to validate the contact details, which is why you will receive a code at your business address. You can find support at the Digital Garage for the setting and editing phases, but you will need to receive and enter the code to validate your business.
On account of the experience at the Digital Garage, it’s essential to remind business owners of Google’s function and abilities. Google is a factor of digital marketing success. It’s not a magic wand that can fix everything in your business. You still need to do the work if you want to see positive results!
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