Why Google Still Plays a Crucial Role for Business
Ayup! It's evident there's a rising tendency to quit using big tech. This is primarily down to a combination of privacy, enshitification and the desire for less reliance on US-based products and services.
The shift is well and truly underway, with Europe heading up the revolution. One of the most exciting announcements recently was from Denmark's Digital Ministry. Their phased transition from Windows and Microsoft Office to Linux and LibreOffice caused quite the fanfare.
A handful of companies monopolise the web, with unprecedented access to our data. But there are many more ethical – and often distinctively European – alternatives.
Most of the folks over on Mastodon are of the same opinion. There's a lot of discussion on alternative software and tools. Now I love seeking out different ways of working when I need to. I even find it exciting, but here's the thing; I can't quit Google because my business relies on it.
Google: The Brutal Truth
As a local business owner, it would be self-employment suicide to abandon Google. That's the cold, hard truth. It's not ideal, I get that, but I'm not overly mad about it either.
This May, I'll have been self-employed for 12 years. In all of that time, I've had one consistently fruitful source of new clients; Google.
They send at least 95% of total traffic to the Leaflet Lion website.
They show our Google Business Profile to people searching for our services in their area.
We're often cited in their AI overviews.
Despite the odd quiet spell, all of the above bring three positive benefits;
I've never had to make a single sales call.
I've never had to attend a single networking event.
I don't have to rely on social media.
As a highly awkward and socially incapable being, not a day goes by when I'm not grateful for number one and two. Yes, plenty of business owners enjoy networking, but for me, whenever any more than one other person is involved, my brain turns to mushy peas. Mmmmm chippy tea!
But you don't need to use Google to be on Google
A valid argument, until you bring the local business element into the mix. My Google Business Profile is equally important as our website. It's often the first point of contact when a potential client is searching for the services we offer. And yep, you guessed it, you can't manage your GBP without a Google account.
Setting up your Google Business Profile is one of the simplest and most effective ways of setting your business up to be found online. More and more search queries are becoming geographically specific and Google’s algorithms have been developed to consider user intent.
Secondly, I'm not planning on switching our emails from Google Workspace anytime soon. I tried to escape once before. It was a complete disaster. Uptime and deliverability are two areas I can't compromise on when it comes to business emails.
What about ChatGPT and other search engines?
I'm conscious that relying on one source of traffic is a terrible game plan. As I rolled out our SEO strategy, I spent quite a bit of time focussing on Bing. This was supposed to a) diversify traffic sources and b) feed into ChatGPT. It didn't work.
Quite interesting, based on the hype and drama that AI search riled up. Now that it's settled down a tad, nothing has really changed. Small trickles of traffic from other search engines and ChatGPT in contrast to an ongoing tsunami from Google. Here are the top five search engine referrals for Leaflet Lion over the last 28 days;
Google - 155
Bing - 4
ChatGPT - 4
Brave - 2
Startpage - 1
Better the devil you know
In monetary terms, do you know how much I've paid Google for 12 years worth of new clients? Absolutely nothing (other than our Workspace charges, which aren't directly related to client acquisition).
Of course, they invaded my privacy, collected my data and tracked my account. But...and only from a business perspective, I'd say that's a fair deal. I see it as a business transaction. Nothing more, nothing less.
I'm fully open to ideas and suggestions, but ditching big tech just doesn't seem like a viable option for local business owners. While Google continues to provide a healthy source of enquiries, I'll be sticking around. Will this scenario still be the case in another 12 years time? I hope not, but I'm looking forward to circling back with an update...
