Do you know how visible your business is on the internet? September 2010

And do you know how many different ways your business can be found on the web. This is more than bringing your web site up on a search for your business name. It should include entries and references in blogs, directories and social networks.  

Does it matter how visible your business is on the internet?

Yes because while you are working on your business offline your competitors will be busy working to improve their business visibility on the internet. Making your business visible on the internet will provide give you more contacts and potential sales from contacts you would not have otherwise reached.

How can you discover how visible your business is on the internet?

A general search for your business name on Google will bring up all listings and mentions of your business. Make a note of how many listings are returned and where the link is from, e.g. your web site, directories, social networks, blogs and other links.

Add your business name to Google alerts. You will then receive an E mail every time your business name appears on the internet. This might be from sites linking back to your site, a press release that has been published online and blogs linking to your site. You might be aware of the initial link or news items, but alerts and online searches will pick up newsworthy stories and information we are circulating on the internet.  

What can you do to improve your web site visibility on the internet?

Improve links to your web site from your suppliers, business networks and to trusted directories such as:

Hot Frog

The Business List

smallbusinessdirectory.co.uk

Blueboomerang.com

Make sure your web site is included in your social network profiles. This provides an important link back to your web site.

Add your business to Google local )

Submit your blog to blog directories such as fill in details

UK and US depends on who you are selling to home or abroad

How are your competitors doing online?

Add your competitors name to Google alerts so you receive an e mail alert every time their name comes up on the web.

Check your competitors name on a Google search to see how many listings they have and who is listing them.

Who brings in multiple listings on the Internet?

It doesn’t necessarily have to be big businesses or top brands. Search for ‘pet planet’ and see how many listings are returned. A last check of listings on to page 2, mainly from directories, but also from a blog and review sites.

Marketing and promoting products and services for many small businesses when sales are coming in and your business is busy is often forgotten. Factor in managing web sites and marketing and promotion becomes random. Social networking and quick changes on the internet add to the pressure.

To avoid this you need a plan, a plan for marketing your business for one year. A simple easy to use marketing plan is a powerful tool. Incorporate goals and timescales and it becomes a motivational aid. Surprisingly a marketing plan can also save you money.

Start your plan in any quarter of the year, but make sure it’s in a form you find easy to use. A table of marketing activities listed by month or quarter works for most people, but using an online calendar, a calendar on your computer or in Outlook also work well. Having a plan and a setting a budget will help you avoid impulsive spending on speculative offers of advertising and other promotions.

As well as a budget include in your plan marketing goals based on your business goals. Say for example  your business goals are to sell 1,000 widgets per month by December. Your marketing goals for one month could then be:

Send out a 3 for 2 offer by E mail

Optimise your web site for the offer

In store promotion of 3 for 2 offer

Tweet your offer

Connect marketing together in this way in mini campaigns to increase coverage of campaign. Include for example your shop or tourist attraction, your web site and the social networks you belong to. The aim of connected marketing is to maximise sales and to connect with all your contacts and customers on and off the internet.

Plan your activities monthly or quarterly and update your plan as you develop products and services for customer requests. Add SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, threats, opportunities) analysis to your plan. Do this quarterly and SWOT your business and your competitors. Doing this will help you to:

Develop new products and services

Seek out opportunities

Promote the positive aspects of your business products and services

Take advantage of the weaknesses of your competitors.

Finally monitor the results of your marketing and promotion. Monitor how many enquiries and sales you have had from each campaign. In this way you will be able to build on your marketing successes.

To view a marketing plan click here