A few years ago, a single, static website was sufficient for marketing your business. But millions of new directories, review sites and more came on the scene, and the recipe for Web marketing got a little more complex. Now, businesses — especially local businesses — need to stake their claim to all kinds of virtual spaces and occupy that space wisely.
Your website is just one place where consumers can learn about your business, while your Web presence is the collection of all the places across the Web where they find and engage your business, says Todd Ebert of ReachLocal, a digital media and Web marketing strategy consultant. You can’t rely on your website alone to get leads since today’s digital consumers find and call you without ever having gone to your site. His tips for enhancing your Web presence:
› Reach across multiple sites. This includes any Web “property” where you can own a listing or account under your business name, like your own website plus third-party websites that you can create content on (Twitter, YouTube, Yelp, etc.)
› Create multimedia content. A lot of content is text, but video and pictures bring your business to life with dynamic, engaging personality that customers want to see.
› Keep content fresh. You need a stream of fresh content pushed out frequently because search engines (and your customers) love real-time updates.
› Monitor your reputation online as well as your online reputation. Your content gives customers something to talk about, but the conversation doesn’t stop there. People online are saying stuff about you — without you — so it’s up to you to listen and respond carefully to protect and improve your online reputation.
The bottom line? Improving your web presence will help you favorably influence what’s being seen and said about your business on search engines, local directories, social networks, review sites and more. And the more places your business is seen online, the more chances you have of being discovered. To put it plainly, more content across more places equals more customers, period.
