As we have said before, your website is your online shopfront, but without the passing traffic of a brick and mortar store.
So how, then, can you get people to know you exist, come to your site and purchase your product or service.
Here at Direct Sites Online we offer a wide variety of web marketing services and we know these 10 steps – which we can offer your business – will get you well on your way.
Site review
This involves an audit of your site to see how your current online marketing is working. It includes looking at design, functionality and content, as well as researching the search engine racking for any keywords already on your site.
Search Engine Optimisation
Put simply, search engine optimisation involves ensuring search engines can “see” your site. That way when people search for “buy widgets in Newcastle”, your Newcastle-based widget retailer comes up on the first page of Google – if not the first couple of listings.
It involves identifying relevant keywords and incorporating them into your website content; adding such things as blogs, videos and internal links; evaluation and follow-up.
Link Building
Google and other search engines like to see quality backlinks to any website as a measurement of how “popular” it is. Its important to build links on sites that already have good traffic – it’s kind of like the Google equivalent of getting celebrity endorsement. Not only that, it could improve traffic to your site simply from people clicking on the link. It’s important to have a link-building strategy and use long-tailed keyword phrases in the links.
Blogging
Think of Google like a spiders’ den, with spiders regularly heading out over the web looking for fresh content. Sites that don’t have any new content are ignored while the spiders report sites with new content back to Google, which then updates rankings accordingly. A blog is a great way to ensure your site has regular, fresh content. Not only that, but blogs can be posted on social media platforms, thus driving traffic to your website. It’s important to create compelling content that people want to read and share. Direct Sites Online can build you a blog and link it to your site, offer you a blog strategy, tips and ideas for optimised content, and if you don’t have the time or inclination to write regular posts, we can do that for you too.
Social media
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more are great ways to truly engage your customers in a relaxed setting. A social media presence can help improve search engine rankings and can be a good way to drive traffic to your website. Again, we can help set up you profiles and give you hints and tips on how to make the most of them.
Google + Local (previously Google Places)
This is a great way to attract leads from your local area and improve your rankings when someone near your location searches for your service. Integrated with a Google+ business page, and allowing customers to review your business, Google+ Local it is a powerful marketing tool.
Google AdWords
For a small financial outlay – and only when people click on your advertisement – Adwords is the ideal way to get website traffic, and fast. But caution needs to be taken when researching keywords and setting up your advertisement, which is why it pays to engage an expert, such as Direct Sites Online.
Video Marketing
Videos are another great way to keep your website content fresh and improve your online visibility. After all, YouTube is the second biggest search site after Google. These days it’s easy to make a video – you can even do it on your phone – and we can then help you post them on YouTube, optimise them for search engines, integrate them into your site and even submit them to other sites for backlinks.
More SEO
Yes, we know, we’ve written SEO twice, but really it can’t be emphasised enough. And while it’s important to start with strong search engine optimisation, it is equally important to have an ongoing program of SEO activity, such as article submissions, directly listings, regular newsletters and more.
Analysis
There is no point doing all the stuff above if you are not measuring its effectiveness. Google Analytics, which can be integrated into any website, is a perfect – and free! – tool to evaluate the success or otherwise of your web marketing strategies. Meanwhile, Google’s Webmaster Tools provides detailed information about how your site is ranking on Google and identifies broken links etc.
If you want your site to be seen by Google and potential customers, contact Direct Sites Online today on 02 9557 7623 or info@directsitesonline.com