Do you have a website that isn’t really working for you? Is this the year you’re going to begin to really use the web to develop leads for your business? If your answer is yes, here are the top five steps to begin to “work the web.”Develop a SEO-friendly, useful web site. If you want your website to be more than an online brochure, you need to think through how your customers can benefit from online interaction with your company. Will eCommerce make their lives easier? How about posting of robust content that will position you as an industry leader. You need to think through how your web site can really make a contribution to your business. Then, make sure to engage a web team or expert that really knows how to develop a search-engine-friendly website. Many companies claim expertise in this area, but really only provide half the work. Developing an SEO-friendly website takes a combination of marketing, creative and technical skill that many web developers simply do not possess.Blog weekly. Both prospects and search engines love fresh content. If you have expertise in your field use that knowledge to feed a weekly blog. Blog posts don’t have to be lengthy; you can post a comment and/or opinion on something happening in your industry. The important thing is to post regularly. Your blog should have an RSS feed, also, so that people interested in what you have to say can subscribe to your blog.Get listed in relevant sites and directories, including local sites. Every industry has a handful of important directories. Get a listing and a link in these, even if it costs something. If you’re a doctor, make sure you’re listed in Vitals.com and Healthgrades.com. If you sell industrial products and services, make sure you’re in Thomasnet.com and similar directories. If you sell locally, make sure your profiles are claimed and updated in local search engines, including Google Places for Business, Yahoo Local and Bing Local.Establish a social media presence. Even if you’re not ready to really begin working social media, set up a Facebook page and a Twitter account, then build enough of a Facebook following to claim your company’s name as the URL (www.facebook.com/yourcompanyname). This is important, as you don’t want someone else claiming this. If you have video available, do the same at YouTube by setting up a channel for your company and uploading your videos.Link, link, link. Key to search engine optimization as well as being found by prospects is to use linking to build a content web. This means talking about your videos on your blog (and linking to them), promoting your content on Facebook and Twitter, listing your blog in blog directories, networking with industry peers and having them comment on your blog posts, and more. The more links you build, the more authority you build with both search engines and prospects.So, if this is the year you’re planning to “work the web,” get started with these first steps. Dedicate an hour per day to this and you’ll see the payoff in increased business. Or, if you need help, contact us at Motor City Interactive. We can help develop a strategy and a tactical plan for helping you build authority and business.
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