Start Paying Attention to Google Now, Well, Now!

Ed Dale is an Internet marketing guru from Down Under with a great sense of humor and an uncanny ability to spot the next Big Thing before most people do.

I’ve followed him for a long time and have found that, through his 30 Day Challenge and other offerings, he consistently puts out genuinely high quality content.

I wanted to share one of his latest articles here which anyone who relies on Google for traffic (especially local businesses!) needs to pay close attention to.

It’s about Google+ and Google Now which is Google’s answer to Siri (but arguably waay cooler!).

There are two reasons Google Now is so important (or, as Ed labels it, a “Game Changer”).

1. The rise of smartphones.

It’s estimated that over half of all web searches are going to be done on smartphones in the near future. Most of us carry our smartphones with us wherever we go. You can’t go out in public anymore without seeing people texting, talking, surfing, taking pictures or otherwise have their head buried in their smartphone.

Google Now makes smartphones even cooler than Siri. With Siri, you have to talk to ask it questions about the information you’re looking for. With Google Now, you don’t have to even do that. Google Now anticipates what you need based on your habits and information Google can get from your phone, email, Google Maps, Calendar, Reader, etc.

2. The changing face of search.

Links have been the driving force behind the way sites rank on Google for a very long time now (and, at least for now, still are). But Ed and others argue that links are going to start decreasing in importance and that social signals such as +1’s on Google, Facebook shares, Twitter tweets, etc. are going to become the main driving force behind getting your business’ site online (though I’d add that this makes Google AdWords even more important than it already is).

Put those two together and you have the new face of marketing…context marketing. Ed’s article gets into what this is and why it’s the wave of the future for online marketing. The article is called “A Pig Just Flew By And He’s Belting Out Hollywood Nights” and you can check it out here.

Google+ for Business Has Arrived

So Google launched Google+ for Business yesterday and, at the moment, I’m just not that excited about it. And, if I’m not excited about it as an online marketing professional, most of you

And that’s fine. Right now, I don’t think there’s much benefit to a business to signing up.

BUT (you knew that was coming), as I said when Google+ first launched for individuals, it’s not what it’s about right now, but what it will become. I don’t need to tell you what kind of reach Google has online. From the search engine to AdWords to Places to Android to the Chrome browser to YouTube to Gmail and more, millions interact with Google everyday.

It’s smartly tying all these components together with Plus that will make it worth your time and attention.

For now, just create a Plus page for your business, watch the promotional video below and wait. We’ll let you know when it’s time to take a closer look at Google+ for Business.