As a business owner, you need to understand the importance of online profiles. Search engines make a note of each place on the web where your information is found. When searches for your business occur, these places on the web can fall into the search results. The best case scenario would be that on every webpage where your business is found, there is sufficient information to inform searchers of who you are and what you do. Here are some suggestions that we use ourselves when helping clients boost their web presence.
Consistency
Each business profile that you set up should have the exact same location information. For instance, if your address is 123 Elm St, then in each place on the web where you post your address, make sure you put 123 Elm St, not 123 Elm Street or 123 Elm St. (with a period). Remember that the search engine is made up of computer programs (bots), not people, so in a computer language of 1’s and 0’s, “123 Elm St” isn’t the same as “123 Elm Street”, even though a human would instinctively see them as the same address. The same goes for your company name, city, phone number and web site.
Log Your Entries
In order to maintain consistency, keep a log of where you list your company. When your company’s information changes (due to a move or other reason), you’ll need to update each place on the web where you listed your company.
Description and Key Words
To make the best of your online presence, take time to analyze keywords that are important to your business, taking into account which keywords are more popular than others. When you’ve decided which keywords to use, write a short description (about 200 characters) and a longer description (up to 1500 characters) of your company and services you provide. These should be unique on the web, not content copied from your site. You want the content on your site to be unique on the web, so create new content to post on business directories. Don’t go ‘keyword-crazy’ by repeating keywords over and over again in your descriptions. Google, in particular, counts keyword-stuffing against you. You may use the same descriptions on each business directory where you list your company.
We specialize in Internet presence for local businesses. We have the tools to analyze searches relating to your business that perform the best, which ones are easiest to gain ‘pole position’ for. Call us (806-329-3272) for help to get your online presence firing on all cylinders. Online profiles like Google+ pages, Facebook pages, Brownbook and Yelp pages aren’t just eye candy or wheel-spinning. They have a place and a function – to generate leads for your business.