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Online presence is a very broad term but, in a nutshell, it’s all about getting traffic to your website and being present and active across numerous web channels. The more people see you doing all the right things the more you will reap the rewards for your business.
Here we focus on digital marketing and how to promote your business to enhance that all important online presence.
Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is all about optimising your website to appear highly in search engine ranking. You can use a number of factors to do this, for example, if you have useful and relevant content on your website with keywords that are frequently searched for in your market sector this will help you climb the ranks over time. It’s not just about ramming your pages with keywords though, you have to make it natural and seamless within your content. Google has very complex algorithms that determine how relevant your content is and decide where you rank for certain search terms, so just choosing a popular phrase or word won’t work if it has nothing to do with your business offering.
Compiling a list of keywords and short phrases is a great place to start. For instance, if you own a cake shop don’t just focus your content around the word ‘cake’ alone. Instead, think about longer terms around it such as ‘pink cupcakes’ or ‘wedding cake shop’. If you manage to achieve a spot in the top 5 search results, you will see a significant increase your website traffic.
Pay-per-click
Did you know you can pay to drive traffic to your site? Paid for advertising is ideal for generating short term traffic, so if you have some great web pages for potential customers to land on, then you have more chance of acquiring that valuable customer. Google, amongst other search engines, offers pay-per-click sponsored listing opportunities. This means businesses can pay to rank high in the sponsored section of customer searches. Essentially, you pay when visitors click through to your site.
Social Media
Marketing your business on social media doesn’t mean you have to be on every network out there. Test a few different platforms and see which work best for you and your company. If you work for a very visual company such as a graphic design or cake making business, you may want to utilize Instagram to showcase some beautiful photography. If you have a personal fitness business you may find twitter is ideal for when you want to update clients on when they can book sessions or any additions to your timetable. The main thing to remember is be consistent, concise and don’t just spout out any old information for the sake of it; engage with others and use it as a networking opportunity.
Blogging
Having your own blog is a great way to share company news, communications and special features. Apart from sharing what you’re up to, you can use a blog to build upon your social networks. Engage with others, comment on other blogs, do some collaborations – it all helps to get your name out there and increase your presence online. Provide consistent value to your customers and think what they would like to read. Having a blog hosted on your website is one way you can improve your search rankings too. Use it to write about relevant subjects for your audience so that people can stumble across your website in more ways than one.
Optimize your site for mobile
With many of us now using smart phones to browse the web, it’s vital that your emails and websites reflect the trend and are optimised for mobile use. A few things to think about when creating a mobile friendly website are the way you navigate through the site, how big your call to action buttons are and ensuring there’s enough space around the clickable elements so it’s not frustrating for viewers when they click on the wrong link. Get your responsive mobile site nailed and you’ll make it easier for consumers to contact you and stay up to date with your news at the touch of a screen.
These handy hints should help you navigate through the sometimes confusing world of digital marketing. Our top tips for using print marketing to enhance your online presence is coming very soon too, so watch this space!
