LookupPage Blog | Professional Web Presence and Visibility

Improving Enhanced Online Visibility – Links and Keywords

In previous posts I have talked about certain characteristics websites need to possess in order for search engines to rank them higher creating, in turn, an enhanced online visibility.  The top-dog of search engines, Google, released its Panda updates to the Google algorithms in early 2011 knocking the SEO world on its back.  The changes in how they ranked pages was huge and if the April release of Panda was the megaquake then the six minor changes since then have been aftershocks.  Thankfully, Google announced in December 2011 that Panda was taking a vacation until January 2012.  At last, a chance for everyone trying to increase their rank on Google and build their enhanced online visibility can breathe for a few weeks.

We say, no! This is not a time to rest.  This is the perfect time to revamp one’s website checking for anything and everything that may be lowering the page rank and reducing its ability to cultivate an enhanced online visibility. By spending a few weeks while Panda is away (and getting ready for the next attack) cleaning up a company’s website, they’ll increase their enhanced online visibility and be in a better position to fight new changes when they come around.

Enhanced Online Visibility and Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is when an unscrupulous website identifies keywords pivotal to their enhanced online visibility and then fills fluff pages with said keywords.  The result is page after page of useless words used to lure unsuspecting searchers to a website.  Panda really cracked down on such underhanded methods of increasing rank and now companies must be mindful of the amount of keywords used per page of content.

Enhanced Online Visibility and Broken Links

Links break. Unfortunately search engines use broken links against a website featuring them.  While most broken links are unintentional and companies don’t even realize they are there, they will be a detriment should the Panda find them.  This is the perfect time to test every link to ensure that they are live and functional. 

Enhanced Online Visibility and Professional Clean Up

While these are just a few suggestions for companies wanting to build their enhanced online visibility in 2012 they are important.  To really make the most on a website and launch online visibility into the stratosphere a company’s best bet is to turn to professionals.  They have the knowledge and resources to stay on top of problems, anticipate changes to search engine algorithms and make subtle changes to websites should the need arise.  When committing to increasing one’s enhanced online visibility trusting the work to a professional is usually the best choice.

The Importance of Web Content in Enhanced Online Visibility

By now almost all companies of any size understand the value of having a website for their product or service.  We’ve already covered within this topic keeping the website up to date if a company’s goal is to have customers visit more than once.  While smaller businesses may be able to take care of this task themselves, or some may choose to hire a professional to get it done right the first time, all sizes of businesses must keep their website interesting and as current as possible.

Enhanced Online Visibility – Fresh Web Content

Of course there are times when web content is tweaked because of changes in one’s business practices or calendar.  That is not the kind of changes we are suggesting.  When we say that in order to create an enhanced online visibility companies must keep their web content fresh and interesting we mean every so often shake thing up a bit.  Try a different writer.  Many companies specialize in keeping web content interesting and it would probably be in one’s best interest to investigate such services.

Enhanced Online Visibility – Stay Up-To-Date

There is nothing more disappointing for customers, or potential customers, than taking the time to visit a website only to find the last time it was updated was a year ago.  That Holiday package that wowed everyone last December leaves a bad taste in the mouth come August if it is still the feature on one’s Home Page.  Every company, no matter what the size, that wants to maintain an enhanced online visibility must not let their website content fall further than a few weeks behind.

Enhanced Online Visibility – Maintain Interesting Content

Understandably not every company can afford a website with fancy intros, multiple videos and cute apps to download, but every company wishing to establish an enhanced online visibility can keep creative, fresh and (most important) interesting content on their website.  If a company does not have a designer available to keep things interesting, it would be well worth the money to hire professionals.  If a website is not interesting no one will want to visit it.

Just having a website is not good enough anymore for companies wishing to create and maintain an enhanced online visibility.  While there is no secret formula to a website’s success it does take time and experience.  Not every company, small or large, has a design team experienced in the art of creating an enhanced online visibility through the company website.  Any company finding themselves in that spot should, if nothing else, take the time to talk to an expert in the field to discover options.

Building Online Brand Presence - Your Virtual Business Card

I have to admit I’m not good with business cards.  When someone hands me one it usually gets tucked away in my pocket or purse. More often than not it ends up a victim of my washing machine.  In fact, I’ve always considered people who hand out their business card like candy to be annoying.  That was until I needed an auto body shop and remembered I had a casual acquaintance who owned a body shop.  I had forgotten the name of the shop, though. What to do?  Then, I remembered the business card.

After digging through my purse I found his card and a few days later was paying his company for fixing the dent in my bumper.  The moral to this story is that even though my friend’s incessant handing out of business cards borders on aggressive marketing, it is effective.  That is how one builds an online brand presence and gets more customers.

There are all kinds of tips and techniques for online brand presence building and increasing traffic to a company’s website.   While all the advice is completely well-meaning and in most cases highly effective the first step in building a company’s online brand presence is to think like my friend and see opportunities in every situation. 

The key to building an online brand presence is to remember when online the small business owner should always behave as if all their customers are watching.  By being cognizant of their movements and behavior on social media and forums they create opportunities to build an online brand presence.  There are a few simple steps that go a long way in developing an impressive online brand presence:

1)      Every online signature should include a website address. Period.  This includes Forum signatures, email signatures and social media.  One’s online signature is their business card and is how online brand presence is created.

2)      To reach more customers subtle promotion must be authentic and show thoughtfulness.  This means becoming active on industry forums.  Active does not mean constant pitching of one’s product or service.  It means becoming part of the community and adding valuable and thought-provoking comments.

3)      Business owners should become experts in their field.  Expertise demands respect.  The best way to showcase expertise is to create a blog.  By discussing all aspects and elements of one’s industry or product they will grow a customer base guaranteed.

Building an online brand presence is about more than just online marketing – it’s about creating a brand for one’s company and selling it.  The goal of every business owners should be to have a customer base who thinks of them first when a need arises; much like I did when I needed my friend’s body shop. 

 

Build Online Brand Presence with Website Content

Most companies have already developed relatively effective websites to attract new customers, accommodate existing customers and, in general, make their product or service more accessible.  Companies who do these things probably see some increased traffic as a result of their online practices.  What most companies don’t realize, however, is the potential their website possesses.  By fulfilling all of customers’ needs with one website visit a company can increase not only their profits and customer loyalty but also bolster their online brand presence.

Companies Need to View Online Brand Presence Differently

Using blogs, forums, social media and aggressive advertising campaigns are great ways to increase online brand visibility, but while many companies are pursuing these things they look past what is already in their arsenal of marketing tools.  An established website is a company’s best marketing tool in establishing an online brand presence.  If customers already find their way to a company website for specific products or services they probably will stick around or come back if more information is available than they originally sought.

An Example of Online Brand Presence Building

That might sound a bit confusing so here is an example.  Say CompanyABC sells specialty dog food.  They already have an established market and customer base but want to expand their online brand presence.  By simply using what they already have (their website) they can increase both customers and website hits.  A little website redesigning and some addition of intelligent, educational web content could change business for CompanyABC in a big way.

To start out, they could add content on their website about dog breeds.  Although it has nothing to do with dog food, per se, it will interest visitors and keep them clicking on the site which in turn will build their online brand presence.  They could also create content explaining the benefits of specialty dog foods, provide links to published papers and articles backing up their claims.  They could even have guest writers who are professionals in the dog world like veterinarians and trainers. 

Suddenly, CompanyABC is no longer just a specialty dog food supplier but are experts in dogs and with smart writing can convince visitors there to learn about dogs to buy their products.  Online brand presence is as much about widening one’s web to catch as many potential customers as it is focusing advertising dollars on a target audience.  By spending a little extra money in developing quality website content establishing a company’s expertise in an entire field, a company can promote their business and sales to a higher level.

Building Online Brand Presence with a Key Phrases

For companies just starting out and looking to improve (or even create) their online brand presence all the advice can be pretty confusing.  Before becoming completely overwhelmed by it all young entrepreneurs should try the simplest online brand presence building activities first.  One of the simplest methods is for new brands to create a key phrase to use over and over.  Customers will grow to associate the phrase with the brand and sales will increase.

If one was to stop and think of all the brands with catch phrases they’d be overwhelmed.  There’s the cute duck who yells, “Aflac!” and who could forget, “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?”  While those advertising campaigns were highly successful that is not the kind of phrase being recommended to young businesses trying to build their online brand presence. 

The keyword/key phrase recommendation is a much more subtle marketing plan that if done correctly the consumer will never even realize existed.  Early on in a company’s existence a vision should have been created.  With that vision should be a target customer.  Keyword/Key Phrase determination depends wholly upon the target customer when trying to establish an online brand presence. 

Most people visit websites after performing a search.  For one’s website to be clicked on it needs to be listed on the first or second page of the results.  An entire industry has popped up in response to this process helping companies get their website in those coveted spots and, in turn, build their online brand presence.  One of the principles behind ranking is keyword placement.  One must think like one’s target audience and try and predict what words they will put into the search engine.  If the prediction is right and a company has utilized those key words and phrases within their website and blog, their website will be ranked high in the search results cementing their online brand presence.

So, getting back to choosing key words or a key phrase for a new company – keep it simple.  Companies should think of the most concise wording someone looking for their product or service would use.  For instance someone looking for a plumber in New York might put “New York plumbers” into the search engine.  “New York plumbers” would be a great key phrase to use for a plumbing company.

Once a key phrase is determined it needs to be strategically placed in all online content.  There is a thin balance between it not being used enough and being used so much that it detracts from the information being provided.  Companies should place their key phrase in every page of their website, in all blog posts, and in social media updates.  If a company is utilizing blog comments for marketing purposes, the key phrase should be used there as well.

As mentioned earlier, there are many companies specializing in online marketing and helping companies build an online brand presence.  Any company having tried keyword placement and having not seen results should consider contracting with online marketing service providers.  Keyword placement is an easy and smart way to begin one’s online brand presence building.  With a little trial and error it can launch a website to the top of the search results.

Enhanced Online Visibility – The Secret World of Blog Comments

When even Google makes a point to notice blog comments for their infamous ranking algorithm, those seeking enhanced online visibility should pay close attention.  Blogs are everywhere and cover every topic conceivable.  Creating a blog to increase online presence is a brilliant online marketing scheme, but it’s not the only way to utilize blogging.  By trolling blogs aimed at one’s target customers and leaving thought-provoking, intelligent comments companies are building enhanced online visibility.

Enhanced Online Visibility is not about setting sales records or recruiting the most potential victims – er, customers.  Companies who use blogs to further their own agendas refusing to pay their dues to the blog gods will only put a bad taste in potential customer’s mouths.  By participating on a blog through commenting, a company is joining a community.  Communities work cooperatively and are not set upon personal gain.  This concept must be remembered at all times when building an enhanced online visibility through blog commenting.

It’s obvious why some companies drop into a friendly blog post, leave an unrelated comment pumping their company or product and then zip out just as quickly. It’s easy. Companies can do that hundreds of times a day to hundreds of blogs.  Taking the time to join a community and offer intelligent feedback is time-consuming and can’t be mass generated.  It’s worth the time, though.  Building an enhanced online visibility is all about time and patience.

Lastly, blog commenting is a commitment.  One blog comment posted will not attract the customers or build an enhanced online visibility.  Daily or bi-daily posting of comments must occur.  That requires one to follow a blog and other comment threads.  If a company is not willing to allow the time necessary to embed oneself deep into a blog it is better to not attempt the endeavor. 

Blog commenting is perhaps one of the best ways, currently, to add to a company’s enhanced online visibility.  It costs nothing more than the man-hours do complete the posts, it is a very specifically aimed marketing tactic depending on the blog and its audience, and it works.  Online marketing specialists will charge companies oodles of money with one of their approaches being blog commenting.  Companies wanting to save money and willing to invest a little time can increase their own enhanced online visibility by blog commenting.

Does Your Online Brand Presence Match Your Brand

What are you saying about your business when you start investing in marketing tools to increase your online brand presence? Establishing a reputation on the web and increasing the amount of business you do via the internet is a multi-faceted discipline, and you need to look at what you are trying to say.

How To Increase Online Brand Presence Through Promotion

The first aspect that you have to consider is what you are promoting. Sometimes your online brand presence marketing will be about the promotions and sales of specific products. At other times, you have to use your marketing to establish a strong business presence through the generation of authoritative content for your website or blog.

You never really know how people use the internet and the search engines to find you, although your analytics programs will give you a good amount of information that you can use. The key is to make sure that your business name is as well represented as your products. Don’t lose sight of the fact that creating authority on the World Wide Web is your first goal. If users think that they can trust your brand name, they will be more inclined to look at what you are selling.

The danger of approaching your online brand presence from a retail and selling point of view is that you may come across on the internet as too promotional. This can affect you more than you realize. The way that websites are ranked by the large search engines is through the excellent creation of original content that provides a service for internet users. Never forget that your website, blog, Facebook page and any other internet marketing device should be used to provide a service to internet users.

Can your potential clients get good, relevant and useful information from your website or blog? Is there anything of value on your site apart from a sales promotion?

Potential clients and internet users are able to compare your brand to others on the net and will make a decision about whether or not to use your services in a matter of minutes. If you don’t have anything good to give them, they will go elsewhere.

Don’t let your online brand presence become tarnished through the use of obvious promotion. The internet is the gateway to the age of information and the worst that will happen is that you’re relegated to a lower ranking and your clients will not be able to find you.

Choose a Professional for Online Brand Presence

Traditional marketing may not be the answer when it comes to online brand presence and enjoying an enhanced online visibility. There are so many different ways of establishing authority on the web that will guarantee increased traffic and sales, so carefully consider using a professional online marketing expert to help guide your business brand to the top spot.

 

Managing Your Green Reputation

Over the past decade consumers have become much more environmentally conscious and are making many of their purchasing choices, including online choices, based on companies with good green reputations. That is making it increasingly important for companies to firstly make wise business choices when it comes to the environment and secondly to manage their green reputations -- especially online. While small companies and brands are less likely to have independent environmental watch organizations conduct investigations on them, bigger companies and brands have to manage their green reputation carefully or else they could end up with a reputation crisis like Apple is currently finding itself in.

Last week, the powerful NGO Greenpeace published a report about the top internet companies and their green reputations. The 35 page report details how much energy data companies like Yahoo, Google and Apple use to create the massive internet cloud. According to Greenpeace, the internet is consuming nearly 2% of the worlds power. After looking at a number of influential companies, Yahoo was ranked the cleanest -- improving its reputation with eco-savvy surfers -- and Apple was ranked the dirtiest. For Apple, who has a reputation of being a progressive organization, this is a blow to its reputation and in order to curb the bad public relations that this report will produce, Apple should change its policies and find ways to save more energy. Additionally, the company should send out a press release acknowledging their lack of eco-consciousness and perhaps even launch a campaign to reduce their energy consumption.

Today, in an ever increasingly environmentally conscious consumer driven world, being green isn't just about being trendy. NGOs and other civil society organizations are keeping a close watch on private companies and using the net to share with the world whose really green and whose just green washing. Thus, it's important that you truly know your companies green record and find a effective way to share it with the world and keep your online reputation as clean as possible.

 

Social Media Necessary for Political Campaigns

Nearly four years ago now, President Obama launched his campaign for presidency to a packed stadium in Illinois. While this public appearance is crucial, it may have been just as important as the online appearance that it made on his website and across social networks. Now as presidential candidates gear up for the next election, social media is becoming an increasingly important component of political campaigns.

A great example of this new trend is how President Obama kicked off his re-election campaign -- via an online video. It shows how important social media has become for politicians and it is a tip of the hat to the public, which is most accessible online. Even though Obama is known for being technologically savvy -- the Democrats in general have been leading in online media since Howard Dean launched his campaign for presidency in 2000 -- it isn't only the Democrats who are turning to social media for political success. Former Massachusetts Republican Governor Mitt Romney announced his presidential bid in an online video as well.

 

This represents a change in voter activity as well. To become informed about political candidates, voters are looking online -- following their candidates Twitter feeds, facebook pages and the buzz written about them on blogs and online news sources. However, it is also increasingly important for candidates to manage their online reputations. If they aren't careful, they can end up in reputation management disasters like GOP candidate Carly Fiorina who released a YouTube video portraying an opponent a sheep. This caused an unnecessary fall out for her campaign and turned her campaign into a mudslinging contest and a reputation management disaster -- something most serious candidates don't want to be associated with. 

Donations are also increasingly coming from online. Instead of the fancy, expensive Washington dinners of the past, big money is being raised online. In 2000, John McCain raised $500,000 online in 24 hours, setting a new bar for online success. In 2008, Obama also used social media to raise large sums of money online -- couping the democratic nature of the internet with the importance of grassroots democracy. Obama also used SMS and text messaging to get his supporters to donate to his campaign and announced his VP nomination via SMS.

As we gear up for the 2012 campaign season, it will be increasingly important for candidates to not only use social media and other online sources for public relations, but also to raise money and engage their supporters in planning fundraising parties, knocking on doors and contributing to the campaign with their time. Over the past few years, it has become increasingly easy for supporters to sign up to volunteer online, an integral part of any political campaign, and in this coming election season we're sure to see more creative ways for people to contribute.

Taking it All Off on Facebook

Taking it all off -- or even partially off -- on facebook can be a big blow to your career -- or not. Last week, a beauty queen was stripped of her title when allegations that she posted nude photos of herself on facebook surfaced. The twenty-three year old model won Miss York City last year becoming the first single mum to qualify for Miss Great Britain since the competition was opened 65 years ago. 

However, Miss Great Britain's CEO says that the beauty queen violated contest rules when she posted 100% nude photographs of herself, bearing it all on Facebook. In response, the contest decided to strip her of her title and has awarded another woman the title. The beauty queen said that she never broke the rules and that there are no nude photographs of her posted anywhere and that only a semi-nude photo of her (pictured below) was posted online -- on her Facebook -- for the past two years, prior to winning the title, and that it does not violate the rules of the contest.   

Whether the beauty queen was bearing too much or not, it is clear that this incident has led to a reputation management dilemma for the beauty queen and the pageant organizers. Responding quickly to the alleged discovery of photos and speaking to the media openly about the pageant's rules has enabled the organizers to cap the reputation management crisis and make it clear that this kind of nudity won't be tolerated.

For the beauty queen, who is a working model, this is certainly a set back, but not one that can't be overcome. Charolette is likely to continue to have modeling opportunities, and may even have more, now that she's gotten some publicity over the photographs and has responded to her de-crowning with professionalism and vigor. Especially for models, who often seem like just a pretty face, it is important to be media savvy, since their image is their income. Charolette seems to have responded quickly enough to this media blitz to in fact gain from it -- even though she will no longer officially be Miss York. 

How to Make Videos to Improve Your Reputation

Making hit viral videos and gaining lots of followers for your work isn't easy, but it also isn't a mystery. If you put dedicated, strategic efforts into your videos and your marketing, you'll be able to build a powerful video presence that can help you bring your message and your brand to thousands of new people. In this article, we'll outline some of the most basic building blocks for creating and running a successful YouTube video channel and online presence.

Pick an Audience

When you're getting ready to launch a video campaign or online video presence, you need to be clear about what audience you are trying to reach and make sure that you will produce content that will make people click and be of interest to them. For example, if you want to reach small business owners, you'll want to produce plenty of videos about how to build your business. This is definitely a strong sector to pick in the video department, considering that people really enjoy watching "How-To" videos and learning via video about how they can do things online that will improve their business.

Plan Your Video

One you have a solid idea about who you want to target, it's time to write your idea out clearly and create a script and sketch out a story board. This script and story board will help you know exactly what your video will look like and help you take into consideration many different aspects of your video project. For example, you need to consider not only the what your video will say, but how it will be said. You need to consider the visuals and how they will work with your sound. 

There will also be different types of visuals in your video. For example, if you're doing a "How-To" video you'll want an title page with your brand and the title of your video project. Once the cameras start rolling, you might want to do a brief introduction so your audience becomes familiar with you and your brand. Then, it's best if you launch into the meat of your video and at the end thank people for watching and encourage them to visit your site, sign up for emails about upcoming videos or other action based ideas. When you end your video, put a closing page with your contact information and your brand. This way you'll be sure to get people to take action.

Invest in Basic Video Recording Equipment

While it might seem like a big commitment, one of the best things you can do to insure that your videos will attraced and keep audiences is to invest in some descent video equipment -- it will also make your life much easier, as filming on your laptop camera can be very difficult. In addition to a camera, you should consider microphones, since sound is one of the most important aspects of creating high quality videos that will improve your reputation.  

Edit Your Video

Today most computers with a camera, also come with editing software. However, if your computer doesn't it should be relatively easy to find affordable video editing software online. Editing your video and making sure that it is succinct is very important. You also may want to add some still pictures, screencasts or music to your video -- all additions to your raw video which will need to be edited in.

Promote Your Work Across Platforms

Once you've finished your video, you'll want to promote it across a few different platforms. In addition to uploading it to YouTube with keywords that will attract people to your site, you'll want to share it on facebook and Twitter and possibly send it out in an email marketing campaign.

 

 

How to Manage Your Business Blog

Today, most every business has a blog where they update their customers about there business and write articles related to their industry. This blog is essential for building your online reputation and your business online and there are several aspects that you can work on in order to insure that your blog is one of the best.

Content

The first rule to writing a good online blog is to provide interesting content. Make sure that what you're writing will attract your target audience and will be useful information that they will want to share with others. When writing articles, don't make them any longer than 500 words, since people who are looking for information, usually want the information to be as to the point as possible. Also, break up your article into different sections if it is any longer than 300 words. This will help your readers find the most important information first and make reading your articles and staying on your site seem easy.

Keywords

Each of your articles should also be rich with keywords. These keyword improve your Google CV and help improve your search engine ranking in Google and other online search engines. When people are looking to find useful information, they will be sure to type in these keywords and if your article is rich with them, find your articles.

Linking

Linking is also an essential part of building a strong business blog. Usually, on most blogs, there is a place on the side bar where you can link to other relevant websites. See if you can do a link exchange with the blogs that you link to and invite them to link back. This will strengthen your blog's search engine ranking and provide new entry ways for people to find your blog.

Commenting

Lastly, one of the best ways to improve your online reputation is to start commenting on related blogs and show that you're following industry trends and can provide thoughtful analysis. In most comments, you can easily post a link back to your blog, greatly improving your online reputation and helping you strengthen your Google CV.