Consumer habits and the digital landscape have shifted over the last decade. How consumers find (and choose) businesses to work with has changed too. These shifts in consumer behavior have made it necessary for companies to prioritize their online presence and invest in their digital assets if they want to grow their business and stay relevant in a highly competitive industry.
A solid digital foundation means your digital efforts (website, SEO, content marketing, online reputation, and paid campaigns ) align and work together to increase visibility, drive traffic, and convert engaged visitors into leads. The result is a strong web presence that gives businesses a competitive advantage, generates more revenue, and fuels business growth.
In contrast, an outdated website and an incomplete Google business profile with zero or negative reviews place your business at an extreme disadvantage online. A poor online foundation will result in poor rankings, a website that minimizes value for visitors, and a reputation that fails to compel potential customers to buy from you.
A great place to start is with the development of a great website. As a leading digital marketing agency, we can’t underestimate a website’s value. Thousands of potential customers could visit your website each month. What should their first impressions be, and what actions do you want them to take when visiting? Here are a few elements to consider when building a new website:
It must be lightning-fast. Consumers expect to visit a website that loads quickly on any device, and Google ultimately rewards it. Ensure your web development company is optimizing your website for speed.
It should have strong call-to-actions (CTAs). Many websites share the company’s services but don’t clarify what they desire the visitor to do. Consider what action(s) you’d like your visitors to take and build a CTA button and link strategy around it.
Your website should have great content. Great content can come in many types but typically include website page content, blogs, articles, white papers, and case studies (success stories).
When it comes to developing a solid web presence, content is king. Great website content will help clearly define your value proposition, drive more website engagement, and improve the time spent on your website by answering questions people are searching for. Engaging content helps you rank on Google. Google's algorithm places a premium on valuable website content, rewarding it with better rankings on SERPs. Great content will help improve website visit volume, visitor engagement, and, ultimately, new sales opportunities.
Optimizing your website for search engines is a critical aspect of improving your online presence. You should expect your website to gain more visibility, improve rankings, and gain organic web traffic from search engines through consistent, ongoing SEO services. So, how important are search engines for your business? Considering nearly half (46%) of all Google searches are looking for local information, it's fair to say that optimizing your business for local searches is critical to reaching your best customers. SEO tactics may include the following:
Search engines love to see that you're publishing fresh content on your website. Consistently creating and publishing blog posts will provide fresh content that search engines desire. But this isn't the only purpose for keeping your blog updated. Blogs can also;
Online reviews are an important aspect of building a strong online foundation. A high volume of positive reviews can help create a competitive advantage for your business. With most consumers conducting online reviews before making a purchase, you must make it a priority to manage your Google reviews. How exactly do Google reviews help your business?
If you're in a competitive industry or market, you know that ranking in the top three organic spots takes time, patience, and in-depth working knowledge of SEO. But there is one shortcut to the top. Paid Search, aka Search Engine Marketing, aka PPC.
With the right paid search strategy (and budget), any business, big or small, new or established, brick and mortar or home-based, can reach the top of search results.
We've worked with thousands of companies over the past ten years, and we've seen firsthand how companies that make their online presence a priority GROW FASTER! Consumer habits have changed, and along with it, their expectations. Ensure your business meets the needs of today's customers by building a strong online foundation. Start with a FREE website and SEO analysis.