At the risk of stating the obvious, it is important to be on the first page of a Google search. Quite often it’s easy to get there using social media, if only for your own name and/or the name of your company.
But these days, part of any effective marketing plan must include online visibility from a search perspective. And it has to be relevant to your customers, services and products. And most of all, to you as the one being referred.
Still dragging your heels? Here’s a few points to consider:
You may rely on referrals, but those referrals now rely on the Internet
A few years ago, some of my current clients would have told me they didn’t need a website. They got plenty of referrals. In fact, they didn’t really need any marketing at all, they were so busy. But all that has changed. The referrals have dried up, and they were left high and dry without any real marketing experience. These business owners eventually turned to traditional marketing, but it didn’t work “like it used to.”
Validation vs. Reality
Few people these days are unscathed by some kind of scam. It’s hard to know who to trust. Consumers often want to validate that amazing offer they just saw on TV, and these days, probably even what their friends are recommending. And certainly the post card a company sent them (assuming they didn’t just throw that out).
Even the best provider of a service on the planet is going to get checked over on the Internet first, these days, before a call is made to set up an appointment. What will the prospect find? Will they be able to validate some reason to use your services or purchase your products? Or will they decide you must be out of business since they couldn’t find a website (or you) after a cursory search online? It may not be true, but if someone can’t find you online, you just may not exist.
If you aren’t in the room with the prospect, how are you going to sell anything?
Think of the Internet as a room with 10 possible solutions in it to the searcher’s problem. Pretty simple math. If you’re solution number 11, you’re on the 2nd page. Might as well be solution number 72.
These days there are all sorts of solutions to getting online visibility, even if you don’t have a website. While it helps to be adept at long tail keyword research, use the power of large sites like Google (Place Pages), Facebook (Like Pages) and Yelp (review website) to carve out a bit of real estate quickly.
Not sure where to start? Google Place Pages is pretty easy! To get started, search “Google Place Pages” and you’ll locate all sorts of information about it.