Branding
There is not a great deal that can be added to this simple doctrine. Before you throw yourself onto the mercy of the Internet, review your logo, color scheme and any tag-lines that you have created. What may look good on office paper may not translate into online media. This is a great time to review your branding and revisit with fresh eyes.
Content
Simply, content is king.
Google has not stopped getting better at discerning good content from bad content. In fact, besides connecting people to the content they are looking for, recognizing quality content from poor content is one of Google's priorities. Making sure that the site has a comfortable base-line of content is crucial. Let's remember that Google "reads" your website at regular intervals. If Google's bots tour your site and feel that it's too spammy you may be stuck with this label for a while and pushed down the search-result listings. Take some time to included updated, relevant content on your website. Work hard at this and Google will reward you.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Ensuring that the search engines can read your website is crucial. Google's job is to read your content and connect its users to you when your site matches their search. If Google can't read your page (or is intentionally ignoring it) then you will never be connected to potential customers through search. Customers aren't using the yellow pages anymore; they're using Google, that's why it's so important to get your SEO right in the first place.
Here's a simple exercise to illustrate the point: conduct a Google search based on what you think your customers might search to find you (eg. "Tampa ice cream").
Now, who is sitting in the top spot? Is it your main competitor? Your main competitor has not payed Google to sit at the top of the search results (unless it's a true sponsored link) so how are they right up there? There are a few tools to find this out. Rank-tracking software can provide the answers to how a website has gained credibility with Google. In many cases, companies sit in the top-spot because of their online credibility. Google, as it crawls the web 24/7, "listens" to online chatter and if it hears enough chatter about brands, articles, names, recommendations and the like, Google will promote websites based on its intelligence.
Directories
Some of the listings in the top spot may be directories. So a listing for your business on a directory site such as Yelp.com may be higher in search results than your actual website. This isn't a bad thing because any links to your site are a good thing. Make sure that you have your business listed in some of the common business directories such as yelp.com or Google Places.
A branded email to new and existing customers is always a good idea. Communication is important and it is free to send an email. Let's not forget the importance of good design and good content. Email is a fantastic way to communicate with existing clients and broadcast up-and-coming events and to highlight areas of your business that you may want to market to customers - especially new and innovative services.
Social Media
This is on everybody's lips these days. But what on earth is it? Think LinkedIn, Twitter Facebook and you're there. This type of software connects us to one another through chat, photos, messages.
But how can social media connect you to customers? Well, the very purpose of social media is to empower us to reach out and connect so that's that. The truth is, if multi-national companies can trust in social media networks then there's room for you to trust in them too:
Reaching Out To Customers
We'd all like to reach out to our customers: newsletters, SMS, advertising... social-media channels allow you to reach out. Customers can even "check-in" to your location and alert their friends that they paid you a visit. Yes, that's free advertising and word-of-mouth recommendation. But you may not just be reaching out to individuals. Remember, other businesses will be there conducting their online marketing activities and that is a great opportunity to network with them and, perhaps, pick up some ideas about your own long-term marketing drive.
The first thing to do is claim your brand. Even if you're not sure if you'll use social media too much, it's worth claiming your brand on the sites. If other businesses have similar names to yours then you may be left short later on. The main sites are:
Facebook: Facebook is the star of the social media set. With the ability to share photos, movies, songs and more it is no wonder that Facebook has more than 600 million users.
Twitter: With 200 million active users, Twitter has some way to go before it impacts on popular culture in the way that Facebook has. Nonetheless, Twitter is being utilized by marketers in clever ways - and those ways are not limited to just paid placements. Companies are using Twitter to directly message potential customers and engage with them. Twitter enables location-based searches so you can search for conversations in your area and (this is the crucial part) by subject.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a professional networking tool with 100 million users. It is not as easy to market on LinkedIn as many users are logging into LinkedIn to network professionally and to job-hunt.
YouTube: We've all heard of this video-hosting site. Now owned by Google, YouTube boasts 65,000 video uploads a day. YouTube may not be as useful if you do not have a dynamic brands and/or products. Let's face it, we're not all selling extreme pogo sticks so some of our businesses may not soar on this type of platform.
Understand this: you are an expert in your field. Knowledge is power and people want a slice of it. Flaunt what you have and people will come begging for your help....
But what's this? I can hear you replying, "But I sell my expertise....!"
Yes, it's your trade. Let's not forget how often businesses give things away to promote their product or to lure customers in close enough to secure the next sale.
Carl Gobey is an SEO Marketing Consultant with over six years experience of driving business to websites.
If you would like to know more about driving traffic to your site and turning that traffic into sales contact the Bowler Hat Solutions the Birmingham SEO company.
Businesses are waking up to the potential on online marketing strategies and seeing the potential of SEO. Contact us and start winning today marcus@bowlerhatsolutions.co.uk.
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