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Our strategy for using Google now generates our largest, and most cost-effective, source of leads. It is churning out over 20 percent of our produced business. Partly because of the growth in the number of people searching for home improvement products and services on the Internet, my business has increased over 70 percent since 2005. I can’t think of another advertising channel creating more impressions, faster. Meanwhile other advertising channels have stayed at similar levels (radio), or decreased effectiveness (Yellow Pages). Again, these are my experiences — all markets are going to have their differences. The bottom line: Every company in business today — especially local companies — need to understand Google Internet search and have a basic Google strategy. The good news is that the task is not as complex as it might seem.

Google generates over 95 percent of its revenue from advertising. There are essentially three basic inventories of which you need to be aware. The first is the search inventory. This is divided up into “natural” and “paid” results. Essentially, the left side of a given search-results page in the white is considered “natural” while shaded areas, or those on the right, are paid by the click, based on bids companies are willing to pay. A common misconception is that the natural results are free. While clicks do not cost anything, an effective optimization of your Web site so that it shows up for the correct service or product terms can be very expensive. That is because it requires you to constantly update your Web site by making it useful to your given target audience. Ideally, you want to be doing both and measuring the return of each through the use of free software like Google Analytics or systems like Omniture. What has also helped me, in combination with site analytics, is the use of different phone lines in my Web sites than those that appear in other ads.

For “natural” results, write to your audience as if they were standing in front of you. Use local key words in your text and in promotions. Keep updating your Web site on a monthly basis — do not “set-and-forget.” Offer valuable information for visitors about how to solve problems they have (like how best to stop peeling paint in Boston, Mass.)

Good paid Google ad campaigns can actually be trickier than unpaid “natural” ads because it seems as simple. The tendency is to load 50 words and take off. Paid ads are still easier — initially — than getting high in the “natural” results, but you really need to think about your key words. Examine your off-line brochures and pitch books. Have a salesman deliver his or her pitch to you. Employ the words they use. Look at your competition — especially those on search terms you’d like to be on. Pretend you are a customer — often simply switching nouns (windows) to a verb (replacing windows) can get you on the right path. Finally, don’t be afraid of using site analytic programs. Use tools that let you know how people get to your Web site and what they do on it.

The most important element of any Google strategy: “local” matters. According to a Nielsen survey, 86 percent of search engine users search for local products and services. Use local phone numbers. Use local hometowns of contractors. List the towns you service. And this goes for images, too. Google is focusing on increasing its usability for local searches (because they generally convert better) and is rewarding sites that are showing themselves to be valuable to a local audience. Also, images and video are becoming more important. Everyone needs more images on their sites, and you should be offering pictures of the very things your write about — the positive impact of your business on the local level.