It’s becoming clearer every day that the Internet holds great potential for local businesses to thrive in ways they never thought possible. With the invention of things like Facebook, Twitter and Technorati, and their integration into our daily lives, it can be hard to know where to start or even when to find the time. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of what I’ve come to find from experience to be the seven most critical factors for online success in today’s ever-changing digital society. All business owners can benefit greatly from simply implementing these basic practices, at virtually any level or budget. If you’ve already done some of these, great, you’re on the right track. If all of this is news to you, you’ll do well to start working on this list as soon as possible. Your business will thank you, as will your bank account. These steps to success are ordered by importance, so for fast results, start at the top and work your way down. Enjoy!
1) A properly built and optimized site is the single most important factor in achieving online success.
This is by far the most important metric for attracting the quality customers your business deserves. Many business owners simply see their business website as a digital business card, but with the right strategy it can be much more than that. With quality, informative, and interactive content, your website can become your best source of income, your best salesperson, and your 24/7 marketing department that will work harder and cheaper than any of the others. your other employees. However, in addition to having structured and targeted content, you also need to consider all the behind-the-scenes factors on which search engines evaluate your site. Things like meta tags, fallback attributes, and a systemic design are key to getting a website to the top of the search engine list for desired keywords (where all the best traffic comes from). It is also vitally important that you have a complete tracking system. You need to know where your visitors are coming from, how long they stay on your site, and what appeals to them the most. With this information in hand, you can make informed decisions about where your Internet marketing efforts will be most effective. Without this information, you have no idea, you’re in the dark and can’t seem to find the light switch.
2) Your online presence can’t be a cookie cutter design, it should have the unique personality/flare of your business.
I have seen this scenario hundreds of times in the past. Some flashy marketer exaggerates the importance of having a good online presence, something unique and attractive. They really sell the sizzle and promise the business the moon just to deliver a site barely distinguishable from the thousands of other sites they’ve built. They use the same process, designs, and tried-and-true sales tactics to get the paycheck they’re after, never stopping to think if what they’re selling is really what the business needs or even wants. A proper online presence must capture the essence upon which the business is based, the personality, the sparkle, the emotion, the very soul of what sets this business apart from its competitors. Visual branding is important, don’t let anyone tell you anything different. If a business incorporates a set of colors or perhaps a unique logo or tagline, then that needs to be prominent on their website. A company’s website should be an extension of its storefront and should be displayed.
3) Promote, Promote, Promote.
In addition to having a properly optimized and uniquely identifiable website, you need to promote it online. For many companies this may be as simple as having employees share a link to the website on their Facebook accounts and for others it may require a department of 30 people to handle this task. The purpose of this article is not to help you know exactly what you need, but rather to help you realize that there is a bona fide need here. There are literally thousands of ways to promote your business website online, although it can get quite confusing, so remember this: content is king and backlinks (links pointing to your site from other websites) follow closely. The content should not only be keyword rich, but also compelling enough to satisfy your visitors.
However, it is not enough to identify the need, you must prioritize that need and put it on a regular schedule. If you’ve hired someone to handle this, make sure they keep you regularly updated on progress. If you choose to do it yourself, be sure to monitor progress and update goals consistently and in a timely manner. With the right promotion strategy, you can see the fruits of your labor (or pocketbook) in as little as two weeks. Note: You’ll get almost exactly what you spend on your online promotional efforts with only the limitations you impose (or the restrictions of your business depending on the industry).
4) Be social with your business, be interactive and engage your visitors.
This is the area where I see the most potential for improvement when consulting with local business owners. The few owners I have come across who actually have accounts on some of the major social media sites (every business must claim their listing on Facebook and Twitter at a minimum) simply choose to neglect them and underutilize the enormous power inherited from them. . When you engage your visitors through social networking sites, you need to give them an incentive to keep them coming back. Regularly scheduled coupons and contest giveaways are some of the most effective ways to not only engage your visitors, but also get them to share with their friends (then their friends share with their friends and so on). Since every business is different and requires a different approach, I won’t talk too much about this topic. Simply put, you need to get into the game yesterday.
5) Get your free listing in major online directories.
There are many online directories that already receive a decent amount of traffic that is ready to be chosen. Most of these directories (like 99%) are free, so there’s no reason not to take advantage of them. Most business owners I’ve met tell me they’re in the yellow pages, but these days that counts for almost nothing. The problem with the yellow pages is that their contact information is lumped together with all of their competitors and the user has nothing to base an informed decision on except the company name. In today’s digital society, you need to claim your listings in at least the top 25 directories in your industry (Hotfrog.com is great and always overlooked).
In addition to nationwide directories, you also need to find local ones that are tailored to your geographic location. Check with your local business assistance center and chamber of commerce to find ones in your area. In addition to that, you must also apply (I say apply because less than 25% of applications are approved) for a DMOZ.com listing. Although this list will bring few or no users to your site, it is considered the holy grail of directories. Getting listed on DMOZ is the equivalent of everyone on the internet approving your site. Since this is a service I often consult with business owners, I won’t say too much, but I’ll give you a hint: you can’t buy a listing here for any amount of money.
6) Regularly update your online presence and your customer base will grow regularly.
Whether it’s simply adding your monthly special to your home page or offering your customers a bi-weekly newsletter, changes need to be made on a regular basis. With the metrics that search engines use to determine the relevance (and ultimately, your ranking) of your website constantly changing, the only game plans that work are the ones that deliver fluidity. When you hire someone to build or redesign your website, you should check with them up front how much it will cost to upgrade your site when the time comes (trust me it will). As an absolute minimum, your website should be updated once a quarter, once a month is optimal for many. Remember to treat your website as an extension of your store front and update it when something changes in your physical store.
7) Make sure you know your customers to avoid common pitfalls.
This could mean a lot of things depending on your industry, but since I’m trying to be as helpful as possible, let me tell you about some of the most common mistakes I see business owners making. First of all, if you want your website to have any kind of audio, make sure you get the users’ consent before deploying the battery. Next, avoid Flash websites at all costs. The reasons are endless, but the best reason to avoid a Flash-based website is that nearly 35% of all Internet users can’t properly view your content (including nearly all major search engines). Other than that, don’t do anything to try to fool the search engines because even if you fool them for a while, they will always come back to bite you. Lastly, avoid all forms of popups (in rare circumstances, an exit popup is a great idea, but be sure to consult a professional first).