We’ve all done it – had a sneaky search on Google to see what the internet is saying about us, but now it seems that Google has become an integral tool for businesses wanting to suss out their client-appeal, with 82 per cent of companies admitting to Googling themselves as part of company image control.
In a survey conducted by specialist web design and marketing agency, Digimax, more than a third (37 per cent) of businesses stated that they believe that Google can make or break a business, and thus it has become a vital tool, not just in marketing but in assessing what potential customers might think of them. The top reasons given for Googling are as follows:
Sixty-nine per cent want to see how the company looked to potential clients searching for their kind of business
Six out of ten (61 per cent) used Google to check out the competition – looking to see which company in their field had the greatest visibility
More than half (57 per cent) of the businesses contacted said that they used Google to find customer reviews
Forty-four per cent used Google to ascertain the presence of their landing page; to see what customers would see when searching for their name
Finally, more than a quarter (26 per cent) of businesses searched to find negative comments
Although Google is so widely used by the business world, it seems that it doesn’t always produce the hoped-for results, with less than half (43 per cent) of businesses saying that they were happy with what they found on Google, and a further 11 per cent saying that they were surprised with the results their searches reveals.
Shaz Memon, creative director at Digimax, comments, ‘Google has become ubiquitous in everyday life, but this research just goes to show how widely it is now being utilised by the business community. No longer is the search engine seen simply as a tool to gather information; companies now view the platform as having the potential to make or break their business.
‘Marketing professionals have long known the power of Google – there are few people who don’t now know what is meant by a “Google ranking” – but it’s interesting to see that companies are no longer simply trying to move up the search engines ranks, but actively using it as a tool to control their image and determine customer opinion.
‘The internet has become an increasingly important aspect of running a business and companies need to find ever-more inventive ways to make the most of it. This widespread embracing of Google is really only just the beginning of the tech revolution.’
Further reading on Google
