The importance of an online presence
According to research, 97% of consumers will use the internet to search for a business. This is a prime example of the importance of having an online presence.
An online presence is defined by how simple it is to find a company or brand online. It is essential for increasing awareness of your brand, building your brand’s reputation and adding visibility to your services or products when consumers are searching for any related keywords.
An online presence will help consumers to find your brand before they are even aware that your company exists, and it helps them to discover your good reputation before they make a purchase via reviews. All of this information is used by your customers to make an informed decision on what to buy, and where they should buy it from.
Here, we’ll consider what an online presence is and explore ways in which you can boost your online presence to help you to stand out in the crowded marketplace that is the internet.
The importance of your website
It is inevitably very difficult to have an online presence without having a website. Aside from social media, your website will be one of the first places that consumers will visit in order to find out more information about your company.
It’s via your website that you can show off your brand in any way that you like. Videos, text, images, fonts, colours – all of these possibilities are open for you to appeal to your potential customers. It’s a real opportunity to get over your message. We can help to build a website for you.
Become a master of SEO
As algorithms change on a daily basis, SEO (search engine optimisation) is an essential tactic to build and boost your online presence. Gaining a solid and practical understanding of SEO is vital. SEO can be split into two different categories – on-site SEO and off-site SEO.
On-site SEO focuses on your content. You will need to include external and internal links, use keyword research and create a series of educational pieces that will very probably match with your target audience searches.
Off-site SEO is more focused on the technical aspects of your SEO. For instance, you will need to ensure that your website is correctly set up. Your site needs to build credibility with backlinks, load quickly and without delay and have simple URL structuring.
If you wish for your company to have an online presence on Google, you’ll need to create a My Business account with them and use their keyword planner.
Find online advertising that suits you
A quick way to build an online presence is to use online advertising. You will build brand awareness and increase your visibility online if your advert shows up as one of the top search results. You can use some of your advertising budget on search engines. Google is the most popular by far, but you can also place campaigns on Bing and Yahoo.
You can also consider social media ads – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube all provide advertising options.
When you begin to draw up your advertisement campaign, consider what you are looking to promote. Are you seeking to increase your visibility? Are you looking to advertise an e-mail newsletter? Are you looking to promote a special offer? Once you’ve determined what you want to advertise, you’ll need to decide the best platform to promote your content on – and the audience available to you – should be your biggest consideration.
Social media presence
In 2020, social media presence is a necessity for any company. Statistics point to there being 3.2 billion people across the planet who use social media and as such, it has become an important tool for reaching your intended audience on their preferred platforms.
Some consumers may feel a lack of trust and legitimacy if a company doesn’t have a presence on social media.
Having accounts will instil trust in both current and prospective customers. Social media is an excellent opportunity to build your reputation and credibility whilst showcasing your brand.
When potential customers begin to research your brand, one of the first places they will likely look is social media.
This is to see what products you’re selling, what content you’re creating and whether or not your company has a good reputation with your existing customer base. Social media also allows new opportunities for digital marketing across your accounts.
Create value
Obviously, your goal is to make money for your company or brand. But before you can do this, you need to create value and be customer centric. Excellent customer service needs to be at the heart of everything you do online to build a reputation of being efficient, credible and reliable.
Another way to increase value for your brand or company is to create and provide educational content online that is free of charge. It’s not only useful for your customers, but it will also improve your online presence.
To supplement this, you should consider providing advice. This can be done via responding to comments, appearing on podcasts or through guest posting. It needs to be your business to respond to your customer’s questions in whichever medium they’ve been asked.
To begin this important task, get to understand your customers. Their motivation, wants and needs. Develop a buyer persona and brainstorm content that will answer their questions. Consider what information will help people who visit your website.
Maxweb can help with your online presence
If you’re looking to boost your online presence, why not speak to Maxweb? We offer web design, SEO advice, Social
Media and app development services for brands, companies or individuals who are looking for professional, reputable websites.
Please get in touch with us to discuss our bespoke solutions and how we can help you. Please call us on 0151 652 4777 or e-mail us via info@maxwebsolutions.co.uk and we’ll work with you to give your online presence the lift that it deserves.
Posted on Monday, September 28th, 2020 in Digital Marketing.
