The Role of Search Engines in Buying Decisions

Marketing your business used to be characterized solely by strategies to brand your company and get in front of many customers. In the twenty-first century, business success is influenced by its findability. It's about creating an online and offline presence that helps ensure your customers find you and are impressed by your Brand.

Search engines now play a growing role in helping your customers find, evaluate and decide whether to do buy from you. A recent study by Internet research firms Marketing Sherpa and Enquiro called, "The Role of Search in Business to Business Buying Decisions" strongly demonstrated that search engines are now the dominant force driving most business buying decisions. A key finding indicated that 93.2% of respondents based their buying decisions according to their online research.

Right now, go to Google. Search for your product or service, but not by using your company or first name. Instead, use common words and phrases your customers might use when searching for your Web site. (For example, a tile worker from Denver might search for “custom tile work” and “custom tile work Colorado.”) Try it!

Did your business come up in the results? But if you did not show up, or are invisible beneath a list of your competitors, you need to improve your online findability.