7 Steps to Managing and Improving Your Business On line

By Christina

Jun 29, 2017

Managing a business in the real world is time consuming, making the decision to take your business online will take up even more of your time, as no amount of automation takes away the need for the human touch when connecting with customers.

Below are some of the elements of digital marketing that will help any business do better.  We're covering the 3 R's, reputation, rankings and revenue and what you can do about them.

What's involved:

1.  Guideline compliance

Step One: Google has rules, make sure you are complying with those rules, otherwise it could mean the sandbox for your website.
Step Two: Adhering to Googles guidelines will make sure your website isn't considered spammy by the search engines and your customers.

How does this impact your Reputation, Ranking & Revenue
Following a search engines publishing rules/guidelines ensures your business conducts itself in an above-board fashion and doesn't come across as spammy to search engines and consumers, this protects your reputation. 

You'll avoid search engine penalties which will protect your rankings. 

Your revenues will be protected as you will not be spending money on risky practices, but focusing on your business model and budgeting appropriately.

2.  Website

Step One: Websites have to look good and have to function extremely well across all devices.  Always keep in mind what your user wants and how you will get them there quickly.
Step Two: Only create content that you know is better than your competitors.
Step Three: Optimise your site for local search and organic search.
Step Four: Optimise for conversions.

How does this impact your Reputation, Ranking & Revenue
Your reputation will be protected through your websites ability to delivery excellent customer service.  Having the best content will establish you as a great business resource.

A great website will avoid search engines penalties and filters, excellent content helps you rise in visibility and earns you links, all the above help you hold on to your ranking position. 

You will no longer lose users through unsatisfactory user experience thus protecting your revenue.

3.  Reviews

Step One: Perfect your customer service policies and train your staff to empower them to effectively deal with your customers.
Step Two: Implement a review strategy.
Step Three: Respond to reviews, both positive and negative.

How does this impact your Reputation, Ranking & Revenue
This protects reputation as your new customers will trust what previous customers are saying about you.  If you have had a negative review and have come up with a satisfactory resolution this will also help your reputation.  Everyone can spot a difficult customer and it is not always possible to resolve every issues so don't beat yourself up about one or two.  If the majority of customers are saying something negative about your business then they can't all be wrong, deal with the issue quickly and let them know it has been changed.  As a customer it is always nice to receive a thank you if you have put the effort into a really good review.

Your rankings will be protected if you have a larger amount of positive reviews on the major platforms, such as trip advisor, than your competition has. 

Your revenues are protected as you are gaining trust with new customers before they have even purchased from you.  You'll also receive repeat business when dealing with customers who have been let down by your competition.

Actively managing your reviews are the best indicator of a responsive and reliable brand.

4.  Links

Step One: Review your incoming links and resolve all issues. 
Step Two: You can earn links when you publish exceptional material.  Do not publish the same material in several places, including your website.
Step Three: Seek out relevant link opportunities, such as local sponsorships, editorial contributions etc.

How does this impact your Reputation, Ranking & Revenue
This protects your reputation as you are only associating with the very best. 

This protects your websites rankings as you build strong links into your site over a long period of time, this shows you are active and proving your relevance to the search engines. 

It protects the website's revenue by bringing in traffic from other sources, which helps safeguard against sudden plunges in visibility in the search engines.

5.  Social Media

Step One: Identify the social platforms your customers use.
Step Two: Develop a policy and strategy for participation.
Step Three: Participate by sharing not selling.
Step Four: Monitor all your social accounts for consumer needs/complaints and resolve problems quickly.

How does this impact your Reputation, Ranking & Revenue
This protects your reputation as you are contributing to and managing any online discussions about your brand. 

It protects your rankings as some social results can appear within the organic search results. 

It protects revenue in that you are dealing with any negative feelings towards your brand.

6.  Offline

Step One: Be aware that things that happen offline may well end up online.
Step Two: You need to be cohesive between your offline to online experience.  From branding, messaging, signage, promotions, selling and customer services.
Step Three: Seek out real world opportunities for establishing your brand as a community resource by participating in appropriate community organisations and events. 

How does this impact your Reputation, Ranking & Revenue
Being consistent with your messages helps your customers to understand who you are and how they will be treated by you, this protects your reputation.

It protects your rankings as you're gaining third party media mentions which will link back to your website and draw attention to you. 

It protects revenue as most people will arrive at their purchase decision after being influenced both online and offline.

7.  Other Media

This could include email marketing, video marketing or apps.  Find the media your customers prefer to use and find a way of participating with your customers; keeping their needs at the forefront of every decision you make.

Conclusion
If you don't have the time to take on these tasks then employ a good digital marketer who can do everything, otherwise a web developer, SEO and social media marketer will be able to do all these jobs for you.


Website Design and Development

Comments have been switched off for this post!

Bookmark this article

Bookmark this article

Refer back to it when you need to