How to Improve Your Site's Visibility Online: 5 Tips From GWS Media

Online marketing involves a range of techniques. Here are five things you can start doing today to make a positive impact on your site's rankings and business profile online.

1. Create interesting, original content for your website – It needs to be readable and it needs to give visitors new and valuable information. If your site contains information worth sharing, people are more likely to pass it on - and if they do so publicly this can create valuable links to your web site. The next step is to publicise your content both on and offline to enhance its value (see step 2).
2. Increase awareness of your site content - Add your website URL to your email signature, as well as your blog, Facebook or Twitter pages (if applicable). Encourage people to visit the site with website offers which you promote offline (e.g. introductory discounts, free downloads) Raise awareness among your current and prospective clients of the information on your web site and its value.
3. Find internet forums, community message boards and blogs which are relevant to your business area. Whether you're a florist, a solicitor or a sculptor, there will be online communities where you can build relationships with others and encourage more people to view your online business profile or portfolio. If you leave a message or a comment online, sign off with your business name and URL where appropriate.
4. Why not start blogging yourself? Anyone in any business can try writing a blog and no one is likely to know your industry better than you do. You could, for example, comment on news relevant to your industry, mention client wins, new staff in your company, a recent industry exhibition, or industry trends and innovations. Many businesses find that blogging is a great way to create original content which both enhances their business profile and gives them added online credibility.
5. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are becoming more important to Google, but may involve more of a time commitment. If you have the time to engage at least a few times a week with these marketing efforts they are likely to pay off by way of encouraging an ongoing dialogue with the public or other businesses. For more information, see the GWS blog and our Guide to Social Media Marketing in 7 parts.

Lastly, don't forget that engaging with clients and potential clients offline is also still a valuable part of your overall online marketing strategy. For example, a bike company which sponsors a county-wide race or a graphic designer firm that wins a local authority contract may be able to obtain valuable links through this endorsement from high-profile and high-ranking websites.

Make sure you highlight any charity fundraising or sponsorship that your company is a part of: the more you are involved in the local community, the more you are likely to find benefits feeding back from that to enhance your online visibility. The golden rule is that online marketing should be part of your overall marketing strategy, not a substitute for it.

GWS Media will be happy to assist with all your online marketing requirements. Just contact us at our Bristol office for a free consultation and find out how we can help your business make much more of an impact on the web.