In this digital age, businesses very well understand the importance of online presence of business. Businesses know that it is important to be well represented online to be ahead of competition and be successful in almost all industries. Technology is fast changing and if you have not started working on your online presence, it is not late yet, do it now.
You may run a small business or maybe are a part of a large scale industry, having a strong online presence of your business, will help any individual to find your business anywhere and at any time. An online presence keeps your business operational with a virtual store 24 hours a day.
What does online presence mean?
The meaning of Online Presence has changed over the years. Earlier, having a business website represented an online presence of business. If you created an attractive homepage along with smart navigation and using good images and content, you were said to have a good online presence. This is no longer true. It doesn’t mean that the older elements are not important for the website, but a number of other elements have also got involved. Today to have successful online presence of your business, it would be important that you work on below mentioned elements too and make them a part of your online strategy.
- Design and development of Website
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Blog posting
- Social media marketing
- Web analytics
How to build an online presence of your business?
• Web Designing and Development:
The first step in building an online presence of business is to work on the website. We all know that your business website is a virtual store which attracts visitors and directs them to what they are looking for. When visitors visit the website you need to ensure that your company logo is visible at the top of the page, so they know where they have reached. Use attractive images and useful content on the page which can represent your company’s image and the products and/or services you are dealing in. These elements like logo, images, content etc communicate your brand image to the online visitor. One may feel that need for branding is for big companies and large corporations, but if you own a business, you will know that branding is an important element for all businesses whether big or small. It is important that you select a name and logo which represents the culture and philosophy of your business. Use images and content which can justify your company ethos. Therefore web designing and development play an important role in creating a strong online presence of your business.
• Search Engine Optimization:
Once you have designed and developed your website, you need to ensure that the website is found on search engines, so you can get more visitors. To make the website easily searchable on the search engine, you need to optimize the website. Optimization means making the website as effective as possible. Use important keywords which best describe your business and products in your website content. Potential customers type certain words in the search engine while searching for specific services or products. These words are your keywords; you need to ensure they are well embedded in your content, so when a person searches with those words in a search engine, your website gets ranked in the search results. Search engine optimization involves optimizing all your web pages, the images and content used on the website.
• Blog Posting:
Posting blogs is a wonderful way to talk to your customers and prospects. You can inform them about your products and services and also inform them about the initiatives taken by your company. For eg. Your business is to sell smart technologies. In that case you can write a blog post on best smartphones or best smartwatches in India and publish it to attract more customers. Blog posting helps to interact with the potential customers and answer their queries; it helps in proving the authenticity of the website. While reading a blog, a visitor spends time on your website, whereby increasing the time spent per user on the website. The time spent and the quality of content in the blogs helps in improving the search engine ranking. Ensure your content is not plagiarized and the facts mentioned are accurate. Make the blogs informational and educational, so visitors appreciate the content and revisit the website.
• Social media marketing:
Increase the online presence of your business by networking through different social media platforms. You can start by picking up 2 or 3 standard social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Post relevant information and important updates. Reply to queries and comments posted by the viewers. Actively participate on the social media platforms, to increase your visibility. The more you actively respond to queries and complaints on social media, the more followers you will gain.
• Web analytics:
Google Analytics is the best web analytics tool. It is free and easy to use. Install google analytics on your website and it will provide you with data and statistics regarding the visits to your website. The tool helps in tracking the demographics of the visitors, the pages viewed by them, the amount of time they spent on the website, the keywords used by them etc. Tracking these results help in improving the online presence of the business.
Why is online presence of business important?
1. Easy contact ability
If an individual is looking for some product or service or they are looking for information about a company, they can find the required information by searching online. Having an online presence will let you have an edge over your competition. When potential customers will search online, thanks to your online presence your company website or social media account will be displayed in the search results. Potential clients should not be forced to put in efforts to search you or find information about your company. They should be able to easily contact you or locate you through an online search. Potential customers will not put a lot of effort into finding you, and they should not have to.
2. Virtual Showcase of Products and Services
An effective online presence of business gives it a valuable platform to showcase their products and services. With just a few clicks the prospective clients can see online what you have to offer and what your company stands for. They can do it anytime of the day; there are no restrictions on the hours. In simple words an online presence is like a shadow of your brand which never sleeps. Right from your product portfolio to customer testimonials, everyone can view what you have to offer.
3. Relation building
Social media helps in giving voice to your brand. It helps in building relations not only with your customers but also with your prospective clients. When you interact through your social media account, it adds a human touch to your brand and business. Customers and potential clients can relate with the brand and can interact on a more personal level. Online presence through Social media is the simplest and most effective way to generate interest and liking in the minds of people about your company and brand.
4. Marketing the Brand
Websites and various social media platforms which help in setting online presence of business are great marketing tools. They are one of the most cost effective methods to get in touch with thousands of people and pass on information to them. Online marketing has a great influence on the customers purchasing decisions. Businesses that don’t have an online presence are looked upon in a negative light by many consumers. Websites and social media platforms help a business to overcome distance barriers. You can get in touch with any customer in any part of the world, and inform them. Online marketing helps the business to market their brand in innovative ways.
Today all businesses need to ensure that they have a strong online presence so that they are not left behind in the race. The benefits of online presence are endless and no one should miss the opportunity to build a strong online presence of their business!
Velocity consultancy is a renowned Website designing and development company. We are completely dedicated towards assisting small and medium sized companies to establish a strong and effective online presence of their business. We aim to empower all our clients with a number of marketing tools which can help in growing their business and help them reach newer heights.