For many of us we have grown up with the phrase, ‘just Google it’ and it has always seemed like a solid foundation for research and information; but are you really utilising all that the humble Google search has to offer? Well that’s just it, google is no longer just a search engine, it’s a business that has expanded far beyond telling you what the weather will be like on your next interstate holiday. Valued at an estimated US$527 billion in 2015, google now has more ways than ever to provide you with valuable information, if you know where to find them.
Public Relations Practitioners need to be able to constantly monitor everything about the company and the market that they are working for. It is their business to be the first aware of any weaknesses in activities being conducted and opportunities that should be taken advantage of. Surprisingly, when used effectively, google is a highly valuable tool for this job.
It is important to understand that google does have search algorithms which determine what your google searches return. They take into account location, browser history, computer or device being used, internet browser and many other factors. The algorithm then chooses what content is most relevant and applicable for you. This is something that public relations practitioners need to be aware of when undertaking in research. Google is by no means the only search engine that employs these techniques when returning results and it is important that this is understood. The research undertaken by public relations practitioners needs to be of a very high quality standard. That is why knowing how to navigate and really make the most of a google search is crucial, because it does offer many very useful and accessible tools that can and should be applied.
Google news is one step above the traditional google search; it filters through all search results and supplies you with only news articles and blog posts. This simple tool will allow you to monitor the information that trusted news sources are delivering their respective consumers. This information can be invaluable in understanding public opinion towards your brand, allowing you to be an effective boundary spanner and navigate media coverage when delivering key messages to target publics.
Google alerts is an addon of google that is free to use and only requires a google account. This program allows you to automatically receive emails when new online content is created about a topic that is of high interest to you. This essentially means that as a public relations practitioner, you are able to receive instant updates straight to your email when anyone mentions anything regarding your brand or product. This ensures that you are always aware of information being shared that concerns your company, and enables you to monitor any issues or opportunities that may arise.
Google analytics has huge potential in helping you monitor and research your brand’s reach. For a fee, Google analytics uses a dashboard style display to show key statistics of any web pages you control. The program, when utilised effectively, can show you everything from the countries that engage most with your webpages, to which specific online advertising campaigns have been most successful, and which content on your website is most attractive to consumers. All of this information is highly valuable to your business and goes beyond public relations and into the marketing sphere. However, as a public relations practitioner this tool can be used to monitor how your target publics are engaging with your web pages, and gives you the opportunity to place key messages in places where they will be most effective. It will also allow you to see who your most active consumers are, so you can be sure that your key messages are correct for the publics concerned. You can read more about the many features of Google Analytics here.
Ellen Emary 