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3 Easy Ways to Improve your Business's Digital Visibility
The Sprocket Report
This is an update to "Use Digital Media to Come Out of Your Shell” dated 6/24/2013.
Search Engine Optimization involves a number of moving parts, but there are a few quick-to-complete steps that should be taken care of right away if you are a new business. And a surprising number of existing businesses still haven’t gotten around to these, either!
Claim your listings and post your URL
Every business and not-for-profit should start by claiming their listings at Google My Business, Bing Places for Business and even Yahoo!/Yext. Since Yahoo! merged with Yext, there is more pressure to buy additional assistance, but the last we looked, there was still a “Free Listing” option buried in the pay-to-play options.
Next, work on your listings at Yelp, NextDoor and similar directories. Once you finish those, other websites where you can place your listing include chambers of commerce, industry organizations and networking groups – anywhere you are a member.
Even if you’ve been in business for many years, you may not have “claimed” your listings appropriately, so review each one for accuracy. Complete all the details you can for free, especially the entry where it asks for the link to your website. You can always upgrade your profile later if you want.
Create social media pages for your business
Even if you aren’t prepared for full-out social media marketing, it helps your business’s visibility to be on those platforms. There may be pages in your name already, created by someone else, which you will definitely want to claim. Consider creating pages for your business (which are different from personal pages) at Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. When you do, fill in all the blanks, particularly the website field.
If you aren’t going to pursue active social media marketing on all of your new platforms, try to post at least occasionally so visitors will see some recent activity when they are researching you.
Blog and/or comment on blogs
Blogs create content for your website on a regular basis, keeping the site fresh and providing opportunities to use search terms. You can also blog at places such as LinkedIn to then link back to your own website. You don’t have to write a novel – few take the time to read that much anyway. A few paragraphs listing the “3 Signs That You Need New Gutters” may be enough.
Also consider commenting on other people’s blogs. Use your URL in your signature or profile so your website is identified. Don’t write comments like “GO TO MY SITE AND BUY MY STUFF!” Rather, add to the conversation, as in: “Thanks for the info on LinkedIn best practices. We like to stay in touch with our donors this way so your tips will be helpful.”
Use all of the above to spread your news
Once you’ve built all of these outlets, make use of them! Tell everybody when you have a new blog post, celebrate an employee’s birthday, plan an event and so on. Keep in mind that YOUR website should be the fount of all knowledge. Post elsewhere, but always drive readers back to your site.
Will this work unleash a flood of visitors to your website? Since we wrote the first draft of this article, digital marketing has only become more complex, but you still need to complete these basic steps to get the gates opening. Be sure to check your website analytics for how much traffic improves so you’ll know where to focus future efforts.
Because we’re in the website business, it’s important to us that folks get their website found. Contact us today if you'd like help with any of these marketing efforts and we’ll put our team to work for you.
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Kate Gingold
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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