If more people are asking for your help, you are showing up on Google better.   If more people are asking for your business, you are showing up on Google better.  If you Google your name, your business, your services, and you show up, it has almost nothing to do with whether or not you are showing up on Google better.

What Gets Measured Gets Managed

Your business can’t grow until you identify something specific that you want to grow.  If you can’t point to a number that represents your current position and a number that represents your goal position, any growth you experience will be a happy accident. 

Growth is an enlargement or improvement in something.  In business, this growth is almost always tied ultimately to revenue.  In non-profits or government organizations it should be tied to impact.  Both revenue and impact can be measured, although it is easier to identify what revenue growth looks like.  Impact means different things to different people.  If you are going to grow your visibility on Google, you need to begin by identifying a number that describes where your business is now and where you want it to be.  If your marketing is going to be successful, that number must be tied directly to how your business will generate revenue or how your organization will make an impact.  It should not be tied to how often your name comes up when you Google yourself.

I use SEMRush to measure growth in Google visibility.  This tool works well for me because I have done the following :  

• Identified the keywords that are likely to improve the revenue and impact of my clients
• Identified the Geographic location where Google visibility is most likely to yield results for each client
• Identified the device (e.g. mobile, desktop, or tablet) where my clients are most likely to get real revenue from real customers who are searching

SEMRush generates data for how each client is performing for each keyword, in each location and each device.  It falls into the category of professional software with a professional software price (starting at about $100 / month more here).  It’s also got a learning curve.  If you’re not  a passionate Internet and data geek, you probably don’t want to spend your money on this.

The Bottom Line / Actionable Items

If you want to grow your business, choose a number that describes where you are and a number that describes where you want to be.  If growth in visibility on Google is part of that vision, choose a number that is meaningful to generating business for you.  An example might be that you want to show up at the top of the search for a business like mine might be as follows:

Show up on the top of a search for “Growth Agency”.  When I Google Growth Agency, where do I appear on the page now?  Page 1?  Page 2?  Number 7 on Page 1?  Let’s say I appear as number 7 on page one, my goal is to appear at Number 2 on page 1, or number 1 on page one.  Now I have a specific goal and a specific number to attach to it.  SEMRush would be an even better way to do this, but this is certainly better than just Googling my business name or similar activity.