By Hagit Kaufman of Wix.com
There is no better time to strengthen your online presence than now. With business owners setting this year’s goals right now, it is important to build a website that works towards achieving your set objectives.
One Wix user, Alfredo Palmer, winner of the WixStores contest in which Shaquille O’Neal promoted his men’s grooming business, Age of Beard, makes sure to diversify his online presence beyond his website. Other important tools that have elevated his presence include social media, email newsletters, apps and even results on Google and Yelp.
Ensuring these are accurate, inviting and easy to access will increase online visibility and revenue, and will ultimately help you achieve your 2017 goals. Here of some goals to take away from Age of Beard’s success that can help you strengthen your online presence:
1. Modernize Your Look
It’s no secret that first impressions are important in business. Your website is a business owners’ best chance to make sure that their potential customers’ first impression is positive. Whether it is fair or not, a customer will determine the value of your product or service based on the design of your website. Keep your design up to date, so your content can shine. Tools like Wix’s Artificial Design Intelligence, can help by building a modern-looking site for you after just answering a few questions.
2. Get In The Mobile Mindset
Every year, traffic from smartphones represents a larger share of total web traffic and 2017 will be no different. It’s paramount that your website can work on mobile. A mobile ready website reflects a modern, tech savvy business. Some services will automatically make one from your desktop-designed site or you’ll have to create a separately designed one.
3. Stay Connected
Build and maintain relationships by keeping your followers engaged. Make it easy for your followers to find information about your business through multiple sources on the internet –Yelp, Facebook and of course, your website. Palmer’s Age of Beard reflects how to engage with site visitors through multiple touchpoints — whether it is through a contact form to social—and keep them engaged with the brand. By keeping his website updated with the latest information and designs, Palmer efficiently relays his message and maintains his followers informed. By linking and making claim to where followers search for your company–Google results, Yelp, Facebook, your website — you will have more control over those results.
4. Become A Social Butterfly
Social is no longer a “nice to have” tool in business. Choosing the right channel, engaging frequently and sharing more than just store hours can enliven your brand’s voice. Furthermore, these channels can amplify content and drive traffic.
For example, when Age of Beard’s ad with Shaquille O’Neal came out, Palmer embedded the video on his website while also sharing it via social media channels. By using social to build on his website’s content, Palmer increased site traffic while not jeopardizing the integrity of his online business. Multiple platforms engaging smartly can amplify business exponentially.
5. Become More Approachable
Tools such as Google Analytics can uncover the search terms that customers are using to get to your site and incorporate them into your content. Regularly incorporating relevant keywords into your content and pages is a free way to increase your chances of your website being found and used by your target audience.
6. Stand Out From The Rest
As little as $50 to $100 can kick off an advertising campaign with Google Search or Facebook. If you can spare the expense, it can go a long way. Brick-and-mortar shops can benefit from Google’s ability to focus on certain geographies. Facebook allows specific targeting so if you know the basic demographic of your customers, you can easily target similar audiences. The best part is that you only pay when people click on your ad on several of these sites.
Hagit Kaufman is VP Design & Brand at Wix. Hagit leads a team of 80 designers who are in charge of creating Wix’s amazing web design, user experience and eye-catching promotional-related content. As the company’s authority on all things design, Hagit is also the mastermind behind the company’s branding.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within this guest post are those of the authors alone and do not represent those of CBS Small Business Pulse or the CBS Corporation. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are verified solely by the authors.