A strong web presence is important for your business
Why is a strong web presence important for a business?
Having a strong web presence is extremely important for businesses these days. This is true for any size business.
A strong web presence is essential for businesses in today’s digital world. In the midst of a highly competitive marketplace, having an effective online presence can be the difference between success and failure for any business.
Your potential customers are searching online, so a strong web presence will help your business grow.
Here are some interesting stats regarding consumer behavior:
- 81% of shoppers conduct online research before buying
- 57% -70% of buyers are through their buying research before contacting a business – Their mind is made up and it is up to you to close the sale.
- Prospects feel they know you before they reach out. It can turn a cold lead into a warm lead.
Having a strong web presence enables businesses to connect with prospective customers, build brand loyalty, reach new markets, increase sales, and boost their overall visibility.
A website serves as an important platform for engaging with potential customers and gaining valuable insights about them. It can be used to inform strategic decisions such as product design, marketing campaigns, pricing strategies, and customer service approaches. It also helps businesses gain better control over customer experience.
After you have a decent website, start focusing on your ability to be found on Google searches.
Why focus on Google?
Google OWNS the search market. Google is the number one search engine in the world. And number two is YouTube, which is also owned by Google.
Check out these state on Google:
- Google is most visited website in the world with 89.3 Billion visits per month
- Google dominates the search engine market with 91.9% of web searches being done on Google
- 8.5 Billion Google searches per day
- 63% of Googles organic searches are done on a mobile device (being in the map pack results is very important)
- 84% of Google searchers use Google 3 times per day or more
- 46% of product searches begin in Google
- Google organic search results produces 23% of all site visits. (Our site is 68.9%)
Are local search results important for a business’s web presence?
Local search results on Google are an important tool for businesses to reach their target customers. By appearing prominently in local searches, businesses have the opportunity to get their products and services in front of people who are already looking for solutions that they can provide. This allows businesses to maximize their visibility and reach more potential customers within a specific geographic area.
Claiming and optimizing your Google maps listing is critical for being found in the local search results.
5 reasons to have an optimized Google Business listing
- Get Discovered for FREE in Google results
- Improve your local SEO with Google Maps integration
- Build social proof with Google My Business customer reviews
- Easy way for your customers and prospects to find your business
- Total control over your online presence on Google
Be found in the Google map pack
When Google delivers the local search results, they list the top 3 search results in their “map pack”. They also provide a link below the top 3 listings to see more results. The fact is that very few people click past the first page of results. And most who do are looking for a specific business. So in essence, if you are not in the top 3 local results, you are invisible to the searching public.
What factors determine who shows up in the Map Pack?
- Relevance – How relevant is your listing in relation to the search parameters? Does the description of the business and services offered match what the searcher is looking for?
- Distance – How close is your business to the searcher or the location that the searcher is looking?
- Prominence – How well known and well liked is your business? Number and Quality of reviews, Number of back links to your site, Consistent NAP in online listings (Name, Address, Phone Number)
Manage your Google listing to bolster your web presence
- Name, Address, Phone Number – (You can hide your address and phone if needed)
- Business Categories – You can choose up to 10 categories for your business. You have to choose pre set categories from Google.
- Business Description – Make sure it gives an accurate description of what you do and that it contains some relevant key words for your business. Don’t stuff it with key words though.
- Service Areas – You can list service areas where you can provide your service or products. List states and major cities, counties, or towns where you can do business
- Hours – Very important to keep your hours updated and include any holiday hours and closures. Many times during Covid, we came across businesses who had outdated hours which did cost them business and money
- Products and Services- List the products and services that you provide. Can be more detailed than the categories section.
- Photos – Add photos regularly so the public can know that you are real. Use people and products. If you have a physical location, think about doing a virtual tour of your place of business.
- Post Updates – You can post an update (blog, press release, etc.), add an offer (sale, coupon, etc.) or add an event. If you have a blog, these links back to your website are important.
Google Reviews – Can they help your web presence?
In addition to managing the listing, getting customer reviews is extremely important for ranking on Google. In addition to helping your rankings, reviews can also be a factor in the decision making process for a prospective customer.
Think about it. If you see two search results and one has a review ranking of 3.5 with 5 reviews and the other has a review ranking of 4.9 with 225 reviews, which one are you most likely to reach out to?
Managing Google Reviews
- Ask for reviews – If you have satisfied customers, ask them for a review. If you have referral partners that you deal with, ask them too. Google will provide a link that you can send.
- Give a little guidance – Give your client guidance. Ask them to mention your name and your industry to put a few keywords in the review… Don’t provide a template as Google will catch on an penalize you.
- Respond to them (good and bad) – Reply to your reviews. It shows that you care. Thank the positive reviewers and address any negative reviews professionally. Do not get into an online fight with a negative reviewer. I like to address them, take them offline, and then bury them with positive reviews. Google does let you report reviews, but it is very difficult to have them removed.
- Do not pay for reviews – You may be tempted to offer an incentive for clients to leave you a review. Please do not do it. If Google discovers that you are paying for reviews, they can not only remove all of your reviews, then can also make your listing disappear. That is the last thing you want if you are building up your web presence.
What other listings are important for establishing a strong web presence?
Once you have claimed and optimized your Google business listing, you can start to build up other listings. The more valid online listings (or citations), the better it will be for your business web presence.
Some of the other listings to claim and optimize are:
- Bing business listing
- Yahoo business listing
- Apple maps business listing
- Better Business Bureau
- Next Door
- Manta
- Yellow Pages
- Yelp (free listing)
- Linked In
- Etc.
In conclusion, a strong web presence is critical for any business looking to succeed in today’s digital era. By leveraging the power of the internet to reach out to potential customers and engage them through relevant content, businesses can drive conversions while optimizing costs at the same time.