Nov 15, 2012
The Essentials
Whether you are just starting a new business or looking for ways to grow your existing business, having an online presence in today’s market is essential. As search engine results become more static and less dynamic, business owners in all industries are realizing more and more that establishing a digital presence online is a key part of a successful marketing strategy in today’s world. Here are 3 things to keep in mind that will help guide you in your efforts to establish your brand online.
1. Your Website = Your Image
Often, the first meaningful impression that a potential customer will have about your company will be your website. This is obviously the first and most important part of building a successful online presence. Your website should be unique to you (not built from a template), and provide a positive, user friendly experience.
Consider your logo, color scheme, and general organization of your home page. Is this the impression you want to convey to your potential customers? People that are comparing you with your competition will often choose to call the company that provides the best “feeling” online with clear clean messaging and a well designed homepage.
2. Just Because You Build It, Doesn’t Mean They’ll Come
A beautiful web design is only part of what it takes to have success in the online arena. Often people imagine that having a well designed website is going to attract attention and traffic all by itself, as if it is a physical store front that is being casually viewed by traffic passing by. That is not the way the Internet works. The only way that anyone will ever find your site is if you are making a focused and consistent effort to put yourself in front of your target market. There are many ways to do this effectively, but the first and most important effort is to be found by your clients on the major search engines.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a service that will help you show up under searched terms that are relevant to your products or services. There are many other ways of driving traffic to your site, but having a service like this is the first and most obvious place to start.
3. You Have to Earn Your Customers Online, Not Buy Them
More and more these days people are in control of what they spend their time listening to and looking at. The days of having a “captive audience” (even for a 2 minute commercial break) are quickly going away. On the Web, people are quick to leave a website or move on to a new search if they are not engaged by something that interests them usually within about 8 seconds.
By providing a clear message with an engaging experience right away, you can earn your visitors attention for a bit longer. The longer you can keep you visitors attention, the greater chance you have of converting that visitor into a lead or sale.
Wow. This guy really knows what he’s talking about…