To have your business found online, many business owners feel that the only thing they can do is to spend a lot of money with a prestigious marketing team to get the results they are looking for. However, there are a number of methods a business can do to improve their digital presence. And the good news is: it’s free.
As the digital landscape continues to change, there are a number of opportunities that various digital media channels have to offer that will help boost your digital presence.
Use Consistent Business Information Across All Online Profiles
With so many online profiles that customers can use to find you, you want to ensure that your business name, address, phone number and website URL are consistent across all online profiles. This will help you in a couple of very important ways.
Make It Easier For a Customer To Contact You
First order of business, we want the phone to ring and/or we want customers to visit your locations. If your information is inconsistent or incorrect, it will make it more difficult for customers to get in contact with you.
Search Engines Will Associate the Business Information With The Same Business
If a business has different business information, search engines assume that they are separate businesses which may dilute your authority online. Ensuring your business information is consistent will provide additional SEO juice to your website as it will recognize that your business has a larger digital presence and larger subject authority.
Claim New Listings
Oftentimes there are new listings being created that will use information online to automatically create a default listing for your business. It is important to claim these listings so that you can control the content and business information being promoted. Unfortunately, sometimes claiming your listing does require you to pay the platform. So use your best judgment on the cost of the listing, the value the listing has and if it is a listing you want your business and brand associated with.
Frequently Create Content About Your Business
Online media is driven by connecting those who are seeking new content with those who are regularly creating new content. The more content you add to the various platforms, the more the content will be shown to visitors and the better opportunity you have to get in front of potential customers.
Creating new blog posts on your website, adding posts to your social media, creating new YouTube videos and being found in news articles are all examples of new online content that showcase your business. Having engagement across these various platforms will create a few benefits.
It Will Reinforce Your Legitimacy with Potential Customers
Potential customers are always looking to avoid being scammed. There are too many scams online that it is difficult to know which business to trust. By having more content online, it will reinforce that you are in business to do business and not looking to scam any potential customers.
It Will Highlight Your Business as Being Personable
Similar to wanting to seem legitimate, businesses should also appear personable, easy to contact and enjoyable to do business with. Every business is promising to sell the product they need or to complete the service that’s needed, but if you can appear enjoyable to work with, you will have a leg up on the competition.
It Will Create More Backlinks To Your Website and Provide More SEO Value
The more backlinks you have linking to your website will show search engines that there are various sites online that are referring to your site as the location with the most relevant information. The more content you add to different platforms will provide your website with the extra SEO value that could help your website be found easier.
Get and Promote Your Positive Reviews
A large number of potential customers use reviews to validate their choice to work with you and to get a glimpse of the type of service they will get from your business. The more positive reviews you have, the more likely a potential customer will do business with you.
Get New Positive Reviews
Never be afraid to ask for a testimonial or review from your customers. Users want to see that you are consistently getting positive reviews. This shows that your business is doing well and has delivered great service recently. It is important to note though that the various review platforms online have different rules for how you are able to ask and promote reviews on their platforms. So before you start a heavy review outreach program, be sure to understand the rules for the platform you are looking to get reviews in.
Respond to Negative Reviews
Now, we can’t pretend that we will only get positive reviews online. Occasionally, even the best businesses could see negative reviews show up from upset customers. And we know those negative reviews can carry a ton of weight. It is as important to respond to those negative reviews as it is to get a positive review. For one, you are helping a current upset customer make things right. Second, you are showing potential customers that you are a friendly business to work with and, if something did go wrong, that your business will put in the effort to make things right. This reassurance may be the push a potential customer needs to contact you regarding your product or service.
The Bottom Line
It is important to remember that the success of your digital presence is not only dictated by having a good website or spending a lot of money on online advertising. Your digital presence is an entire ecosystem. Every piece plays a part in your success. So take advantage of the free opportunities you have to improve your digital presence and do more for your business.