How to Make Google Work for You

  In this episode of Startup Marketing, we look at how you can improve your rank on Google.


How does Google
come into play when you’re launching your startup? I’m Suzanne McDonald from Angles & Insights Marketing Consultancy and I have a few tips and tools to make sure that you are going to be found on Google.

Google is Necessary

You have to remember, as someone my networking group says, Google is really your first customer these days. If you’re not found on Google, you basically don’t exist. So conversion is very important because when people find you on Google, they want to make sure that they can find the information they are looking for.

You have to think about user intent, what someone is thinking about when they’re actually typing in the Google search bar. Now are you answering that person’s question and thinking about what they’re thinking about when you are writing content? It’s important to think about that, because social media plays a role in this as well. Let’s say someone comes from Facebook onto your website and they’re finding information that’s not making sense to them. You want to make sure that everything is lining up, that there’s no questions about where somebody is, or that they’re not able to find what they’re looking for.

Make Your Content Searchable

So Google has a couple of key terms here that you may or may not be familiar with. The first is bounce rate. Bounce rate is when someone comes to your website in they can’t find what they’re looking for and they just jump right off, one and done, and Google says uh oh this is not a good quality site, they’re not finding what they’re looking for. Another interesting term is called pogo sticking. Think about pogo sticking when you’re a kid, you’re hopping around. So if someone is hopping around your website looking for that information that you promised, you’re also in trouble. Google calls into question your authenticity, your credibility. You want to make sure that from the very get go that you’re thinking about Google, you’re thinking about your users, and you’re thinking about what key words you’re using and making sure that it all lines up, whether they’re coming from Google or social media so people aren’t lost or jumping off your site, because that’s going to hurt your rankings.

About Suzanne McDonald

Former Boston Globe journalist and CEO of Angles & Insights marketing consultancy, Suzanne is an omnivore of all things new media & client success. She’s pioneered award-winning courses at area universities and digital marketing campaigns, including “Best Viral Video Award” for #Ticknado.

Suzanne also founded and curates Newport Interactive Marketers networking-learning community, providing marketing insights to SEOs, social, PR & content pros and to brands and nonprofits big and small.

Suzanne holds a master’s in Mass Communications and Journalism from University of South Carolina and engineered a BA into a journalism program at Framingham State University, magna cum laude.

She has 15 years’ experience at daily newspapers, 6 at The Boston Globe, until she took a voluntary buyout to launch Designated Editor in 2008. In 2015, Suzanne launched Angles & Insights to better reflect her expanded abilities to meet clients’ needs beyond SEO, social & content.

Suzanne has a rare ability to solve clients’ root problems with technology that removes guesswork and makes employees’ lives better. Current Angles & Insights projects harness technology – like CRM, marketing performance, and Analytics – to drive not just clicks and engagement but sales and brand loyalty.