I was recently asked to present at the Just About Digital development day being run by Socially Shared networking. My subject was online visibility and I talked about ways to raise your online profile and to direct traffic to your website. All to maximise your presence on the web. Here is the essence of the presentation…
Where are you?
- Are you the best kept secret?
- Do you get jealous when others make a killing and you know you are better?
If they don’t know you exist you don’t have a chance of letting them know how good you are.
Stand out from the crowd
- Get clear where your clients are and connect with them. Start to stand out.
- These are your building blocks to raising your online profile.
You need a hub
Your online hub
- To start you need a central point of reference.
- The heart of your online presence.
- Somewhere you can call home and where you want people to visit.
- Where people can buy from you or take the desired action.
- Your Central Internet Hub.
A Simple website at the very least
- Home page must say what you do
- Client testimonials
- Contact page
- Newsletter signup form
A Blog is arguably more important!
- But a blog is a website! – include contact and newsletter signup.
- Popular platforms are Blogger/WordPress.
- Here you can show off expertise and differentiate yourself.
- Gain trust, build credibility.
- Publish posts regularly – case studies/showcase work/testimonials/news/events/stories.
- Offer downloads/PDFs in relation to the topic!
- Email your email subscribers to tell them about your latest posts and downloads.
- Share on social media.
- Link back to this central marketing hub.
Facebook business page
- Don’t discount Facebook from B2B – Individuals run businesses so your clients could be here.
- Post regularly – just like a blog.
- Share testimonials/case studies/news.
- Facebook Live – broadcast a video, show expertise, personality, show passion and a desire to help.
- Manage events.
- Share to other platforms.
- Encourage feedback and reviews.
LinkedIn profile and/or business page
- If your clients are here.
- Post regularly.
- Interact with others.
- Share to other platforms.
- Encourage reviews.
Google my business
- Claim your business.
- Add your business information, business hours, location.
- Contact Details/photos.
- Post regularly.
- Share to other networks.
- Encourage reviews.
Choose your central hub
Make this your business location on the web
- Your online presence.
- Centre of your sales funnel to bring everyone back to.
- Sharing this content to other networks and places.
- BE YOURSELF! Not overly concerned with what others think.
Once you have decided where you want to be, make sure everyone knows it!
Content marketing starts here: a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material such as videos, blogs and social media posts. It does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services.
Google loves good content
- Attract people with good titles, eye catching headlines.
- Good quality text and images, well written, spelling, keywords should come naturally.
- Post as often as you can, keep yourself alive online.
- Update and republish old posts.
- Never copy – or if you must, credit.
Useful read: Google loves good content »
Make people want to visit you
- Promote Products and services.
- Clear name/title for product.
- Accurate Description.
- Transparent Pricing.
- Good image!
Keywords for your Central Hub
- What will your target audience search to find you, ask!
- What is your business? Web Designer
- Think long tail …. WordPress Web Designer
- Think location…. WordPress Web Designer Coventry
Keywords for your posts
- Will come naturally
- In the title – think long tail titles – more relevant e.g. ‘fishing for mussels off Cornwall’
- In your content then – ‘Cornwall is one of the best places to fish for mussels…’
- In your image tags – ‘some Cornish mussels”
The basis for your SEO (Search engine optimisation)
- WordPress offers SEO plugins. Or employ a good SEO consultant.
- Title tag should match your page or post title.
- Description tags should include your main keywords, probably your page or post title and some additional text to attract people to click.
- Don’t stuff content with keywords, that is detrimental and keywords should come naturally.
- Make your link text relevant when you link back from other sites – make it the title of your post or page.
Useful read: SEO in a nutshell »
The image alt tag is important
- Don’t forget your image tags, Google needs those.
- You can add these when you upload images.
- Screen readers for the visually impaired use them.
- Google crawlers use them, they cannot see images.
Share
- Share out from your central hub
- Posts | Products | Services
- 3.3 billion people use social media each month!
- Pick the right sharing networks – check client websites, see where they are, do the same.
A few tips for sharing and optimising your content
- As a minimum your post/page/product/service title must show when you share to social media.
- Make sure all social media shares include a link back to the content that you are selling. That might not always be your home page.
Links influence SEO and your Google ranking.
- When you share items that link back to your hub, Google sees it when someone visits the link. You will attract search engines as well as people
- Internal links help search engines and people find your content. So link to other relevant content in your website or blog.
- Always link shares from your online hub back to your online hub.
- Never share without a link back!
Guest blog
- Be selective.
- Post where it matters to your business.
- Post where your clients read and visit.
- Link back to your business.
Facebook Groups
- Find out where your audience hangs out.
- Introduce yourself and help people.
- Be the go to expert.
- Be careful with self-promotion but when you do post, don’t forget to link back.
- Understanding the questions that group members have will help you to write content for your hub.
Host a Webinar
- A big web conference.
- Co-host if that is easier – double your reach.
- Use social media to promote.
- Free to do on YouTube.
- Link back to your hub.
Podcasts
- Reach out to Podcasters in your industry.
- Podcasters who serve your market.
- Get them to interview you.
- Go to Spotify, Deezer, iTunes to find relevant Podcasters.
- Don’t forget to share your website/central hub address during the Podcast.
Promote through other websites
- Socially shared offer a whole website page to members.
- PR – get featured via online media.
- Submit articles to online publications.
- Remember the keywords and the link back.
Get Listed in Online Directories
- Assigned to your industry
- Assigned to your geographical area
- Assigned to your demographic
- Use your keywords, similar to your website description.
- Claim your business – Yelp,Yellow Pages, Thomson Local, Google My Business.
- Ensure you only use reputable directories. Beware of directory sites that look unprofessional.
- Check if they are blacklisted by Google https://ismywebsitepenalized.com/
- Encourage reviews.
- Remember your link!
Publish
- White papers.
- PDF downloads.
- eBooks.
- Value added content for your blog.
- Remember your link and contact details in every document!
Newsletters
- Make sure you have an email conversion tool, a signup box on your site or hub.
- Send a newsletter regularly.
- Link back to articles you have posted.
- Link back to your hub.
Video – YouTube, Facebook, anywhere
- Do a Ted Talk!
- Collaborate if it is scary.
- Everyone has a good side!
Remember
If they don’t know you exist, you don’t have a chance of letter them know how good you are!
