We’re all looking to grow our business, right? So, for those of you looking to attract new customers and expand your customer base, you most likely already know that visibility is key. If consumers don't know you exist, they’re not choosing your business. And it’s not just your physical location that needs to get found, you need to get found online too.
Roughly 97 percent of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else. More and more customers are looking online for local businesses, which means your company must permeate the digital world, establish a prominent digital presence, and adjust your efforts to meet the modern consumers' needs and find them where they’re searching: Online.
You’re probably wondering how you are able to increase your digital footprint? Transitioning online may seem like a daunting task, but with a few simple steps, you’ll be well on your way to mastering your business in the digital world.
Your website is the first contact a consumer has with your brand -- make it count. Your website should be a gold mine of information for your customers. Ideally, a searcher should be able to go to your website and easily find all the information they need to make a purchase decision. The information you provide should convince them to choose your business.
But in order to do this, your information needs to be thorough and accurate. It’s not just for your prospective customers, it’s for your local SEO as well. The better the content, the better the ranking. The content on your website should be evergreen and contain keywords.
Sixty-one percent of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site. With more customers searching on their mobile devices, it has to be fully functional for the mobile user in addition to the desktop user. Meaning, it needs to be responsive and have a mobile-first design.
Google takes all of this into account when it's ranking your business. The great thing about all of this is that your consumers will appreciate these changes too. This won’t only help local SEO, it will improve the user experience with your website.
Social media is also a platform that’s worth mentioning. The more traffic you attract to your website, the better of you’ll be and your social profiles are a great way to do that.
Leverage online business directories to increase brand awareness. With the majority of customers using search engines to find local businesses, getting your business listed in online directories is imperative for the growth of your company.
For starters, getting your business listed in an online directory will help you build your customer base and obtain new, qualified leads.
It’s important to distinguish that it’s not just the big names that you have to be aware of like Yelp, Google, Bing, or Yahoo!. You have to make sure that your business listing is audited and your information is consistent and accurate across all major business directories, which is upwards of 70 different sites.
This seems like a lot of work and you’re right, it is. There are tools out there that can automatically scan all major business directories to make sure that your information is correct across them all.
Because Google is the most popular search engine, you probably have an idea of how important your Google My Business page is. This requires attention, but if done correctly, it can do wonders for your business.
First of all you, you have to double-check that your Google My Business page is updated and contains all your important information including:
If any aspect of your business changes, make sure to update it on Google as well. In addition to making sure your information is correct, you need to make sure that your business is listed in the right category so that searchers can find you when they are making relevant searches.
You should aim to get listed in the Google 3 Pack, which is the top 3 search results that appear at the top of the SERP.
Reviews are important for a variety of reasons. Amongst other things, business reviews will allow prospective customers to understand the kind of services you offer and hear from customers who have already experienced them. It’s an invaluable insight that has become a staple in the searching process for consumers.
Reviews can either help your business convert more searchers into leads -- or do just the opposite. Having a majority of negative reviews can do a lot of harm, but the good news is that you can fix it. Improving your reviews can be done in a few ways:
In addition to influencing buying decisions, reviews and your rating impacts your overall ranking in Google, which affects your ability to get found online. The more reviews you have and the better rating, the higher you will rank, and the easier it will be for your business to get found. For obvious reasons, obtaining these reviews is essential.
All of this may seem like an overwhelming and time-consuming task that you don’t have time for. The truth is, it can be -- unless you take advantage of GoSite’s Placement tool which takes care of getting found online for you.
The Placement tool allows you to effortlessly improve your online presence and be found everywhere. Google needs consistent information about a business in order to rank it online and we provide Google with the information they need to get it found.
Instead of taking the time to build your own website, monitor dozens of business directories and your Google My Business Page, manage reviews, and stress over how consumers will find you, you can take back the time in your day and do what you love to do -- run your business.