Okay, raise your hand if during this period of social isolation, you’ve been working in your pajamas. While there are those who are resolute in maintaining their daily beauty routines, many are foregoing shoes, makeup and uncomfortable business attire of any kind. Morning showers are strictly optional, and hair — well, let’s face it, most of us are not having the best hair days lately.
But then someone schedules a Zoom call and you’ve got to get your game on. Which turns out not to be such a bad thing, because there’s a certain energy around putting your best face forward. Kind of like how the dog seems to have more pep in his step after he’s been fluffed and buffed at the groomer …
A silver lining of our strange new normal is the gigantic leapfrog in technology skills. Whether for conducting business, securing household supplies or socializing from a distance, digital tools have taken center stage in our daily lives.
Which leads us to your online business presence.
The good news is that more people are looking for your solutions online. The bad news? If your online presence isn’t up to par, you can’t hide. It’s time to invest in some grooming for your online presence.
Job #1: Lose the website bed head
Consider your reaction to a job applicant who is repeatedly distracted by alerts on his phone during an interview. Or a potential business partner who interrupts and talks over you at an exploratory meeting. Perhaps a keynote speaker who rambles on about unrelated topics for the majority of her presentation. Bad impression, right?
Like your personal impression, your business website needs to make a positive impact from the outset … demonstrating an understanding of needs along with the skills and solutions to help prospective customers.
From a technical perspective, a website must be secure, mobile-responsive and search engine optimized to rank in search results. Original, well-crafted and unique content, including client case studies and testimonials, creates relatability with visitors. And a contemporary and user-focused design encourages exploring and delivers on the implied promise.
Spiff up your business online presence
So what exactly is your online presence? While your website is the centerpiece, it’s not the only element. Your website’s rank in search results is partially dependent upon other external elements. Important components include:
- Optimized and active social profiles
- Robust industry bios
- Online reviews and recommendations
- Media mentions
- Certifications, credentials and articles
- A complete and robust Google Business Profile
Get Google-ready
Testament to the power of Google is is that the term has become a verb (Google anything). As we shared in a prior blog post about Google Business Profile (previously known as Google My Business):
Google Business Profile is a free tool for businesses and an essential component of a local SEO strategy. But many Google business listings remain incomplete or unclaimed.
Optimizing your Google Business Profile will showcase your business in a Google Search. An up-to-date, comprehensive profile can improve your findability in a local search, drive traffic to your website and bring in new customers.
Excellent, helpful as always, Nancy. Appreciate your consistent generosity in keeping us updated. Gail
Thank you Gail. “We’re all in this together” has brought forth much greater generosity than my Google resource, but it’s one small way I can help fellow businesses.