October 22, 2020

The Virtual CMO Podcast

Search engines are powerful tools to help your customers find information about your company's products and services online. While you can always pay for ads, developing organic content that ranks highly within the search results is a more cost-effective strategy to grow your web traffic.  According to research, it is 40% likely for web users to click on your site if you are ranked number one by Google, 30% more likely if you are ranked second, and 24% more likely if you are third.  A company ranking is a key element in your SEO strategy, especially as search engines and social media platforms receive billions of searches and visitors every day.  If you want to claim a higher ranking, you should consider devising a comprehensive and long-term plan of action to enhance your online presence.  

In this episode, we will learn some tips on how to make your business more visible online. The Five Echelon Group's Founder/CMO Eric Dickmann has an instructive conversation with SEO marketing specialist Darcy Sullivan about increasing your company ranking, widening your website visibility, and connecting with your audience.

Improving Your Website for Customers

The first way to improve your company ranking is to make your website better for customers' experience. It is essential to run regular tech checks to ensure that your website runs smoothly. 62% of online consumers use their mobile phones for online searching; that is why companies need to make sure their site load fast on all types of devices. Your company ranking is impacted by how you format your website to make it easily navigated by your web visitors. 

Number of Websites worldwide

Providing people with trusted information and marketing your product simultaneously is a great way to drive traffic and increase your company ranking. Sullivan reminds us that there are many kinds of online consumers, and for you to grab all types of viewers' attention, you should be creative and diverse in publishing fresh, marketable content. Make yourself available to connect with customers of all ages who want to reach out to you on all your communication platforms.

Entrepreneur enumerates what customers want to see on your website:

  1. Secure Socket Layer (SSL)- A SSL protects the data privately being exchanged between the customer and the website. Your clients want to ensure that your website is secure and that you are proactively taking the necessary steps to safeguard your site.
  2. Clear guidance on your process- Your website should be easily accessible and navigated by the clients. Tech support must be available 24/7 if visitors experience any issues when viewing your website. Your procedures and up-to-date status report can be listed down and explained well in the FAQ.
  3. Visible Contact Information- "This is a must, and it's one small way of building credibility and trust with the consumer. "says Co-Founder of ReveNews, Wayne Porter. Displaying your business' physical location online is proof to customers that you are performing transactions legitimately and honestly. Even if only a few people contact you, your contact number/s must be shown on your site's Contact Page so clients can easily reach you out whenever they have queries or feedback.
  4. Third-Party Validation- Research and testimonials show that having social media and blog presence is a strong validation for clients who are hesitant in making transactions with your business. New and potential clients need to know who they are dealing business with. That is why client lists, case studies, awards, and recognition received, and news clippings are some of the great ways to increase your visibility and strengthen consumers' trust in you and your product or service.
  5. A clear sense of what your company offers-Your home page should provide general information about your business's nature and goals with links to specific products or services on a Products page. The clients should understand why you are in the industry and what you are willing to do for them.
Return percentage of websites that take more than 3 seconds to load

When you are new in business, your options and content are limited; this is why you should be smart in making your concepts as rich and powerful as possible despite the constraints. Even if you are new to the business, people should have a clear grasp of your vision and how it can benefit them. Darcy says that the problem with some companies' blog sites is that they write content that is not related to the nature of the service they offer. People want to read content that satisfies the inquiries they have in mind; this is why Darcy encourages website handlers to build content that answers people's questions. Communicating with your web visitors is an ideal way to identify what to publish next. You will never run out of creative ideas if you actively engage with your clients!

Building Your Blog 

Creating a blog is another great way to reach out to your market and improve your company ranking. Regularly posting SEO content about the latest trends and issues on your web's blog site, answering your clients' questions, and strategically tagging your product or service internal link/s within the content is a smart way to make people recognize that you are establishing yourself as an authority on that field. Blogs are a great tool to direct visitors to your main website and improve your SEO ranking. If readers learned something relevant from your content, they would want to read more of your published posts. Their urge to grasp helpful information would lead them to your main website.

Frequency of Blog Posts

6 ways to promote your business using your blog by SeeGirlWork:

  1. Create an Attractive Online Platform- Blogs that look good make people stay, while blogs that don't, do you that good. Format your site to make it user friendly and easy to navigate. Make your theme jive with your business' nature and, at the same time, appeal to the preference of the customers. Ensure that your visitors have a fun website experience.
  2. Consistently Create Useful Content- You should create content that revolves around your business. Your blog should make your visitors understand that you are an expert and trusted source in your expertise by answering industry-related concerns clearly and straightforwardly. It is also advisable to use a blog posting calendar to keep track of your content and ensure that you have posts allotted for each week or month.
  3. Create an Interview Series- This has been recognized as one of the most effective blogging tactics. It would be best if you aim to reach out to business leaders, CEOs, influencers, and industry gurus to talk with you on your blog. People usually prefer to listen to gurus and famous people in the industry.
  4. Use Calls to Action- At the end of your blog post, give your readers a heads up on what's new about your business. Alert them if you are offering big-time discounts, vouchers, promos, or even limited-time offers. You can also invite them to follow your social media handles or add them to your email lists.
  5. Create an Email List- Research says that the email platform has nearly three times as many users as Facebook and Twitter combined. An email newsletter allows businesses to reach out to customers at a meager cost.
  6. Use Social Media- Your social media content should be professional and audience-focused. Determine what kind of content you want to post and how you will deliver it smoothly to your customers. Posting business-related content consistently can help you achieve your marketing goals.
How long does it take to write a blog post

One Common Mistake on Business Websites

Most blog writers create new posts and pages instead of updating their old content. Sullivan suggests that instead of posting new blog content, you could instead segment that old and lengthy blog post into four or five parts and merge it into a cohesive and detailed guide for people who are unfamiliar with your expertise. Don't forget to update the URL of your segmented article and find unique keywords or key phrases for each part because the least you want is for your blog posts competing over a single set of keywords.

Connecting with your audience depends on your approach and what is more convenient for you and your clients. Some would choose to communicate in chat forums or chatbots, while others still prefer the classic call with a customer service representative. Whatever communication approach or platform you decide to talk with your client with, you need to answer all their questions at the given time confidently. Addressing your clients' issues and concerns will most likely drive your company ranking up the charts.

Blog post frequency by bloggers to improve company ranking and findability

Using Social Media to Increase Company Ranking 

The third way to improve your customer ranking is to use your social media accounts to help spread the word out. Whether your brand has a social media account or not, copy that post URL, and share it on Facebook or Twitter. Just make sure your content is available for people to view and read! Even if you are active or not on social media, Sullivan encourages business people to participate in all kinds of social media platforms. There are emerging social media platforms out there, and you may want to take advantage of these as placeholders for findability. Keep in mind that you are competing for a high company rank, which is why you should ensure that you are a step ahead of your competitors.

Who is your target market? You should identify who your target audience is and reach them out on the most convenient platform/s available. It would be much easier to apply your sales strategy to a specific group of people than trying to reach out to a broader group, whose majority may not help your business' well-being. If you target LinkedIn clients, you should apply a formal approach; however, if you are inclined to appeal to the Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram market, you should create a more social sales approach. It would be best if you made a marketing content strategy that is in sync with the mood of the platform you publish content in because applying an approach that does not appeal to your audience can significantly hurt your brand. Darcy Sullivan loves the idea of linking your social media handles to your blog sites because that shall help you boost your sales and improve your company ranking. Go ahead and do your little blurb of how you would share it through the social media sites that you think are relevant for your business.

Buffer
Canva
Hootsuite

Make use of Buffer and Hootsuite to manage your social media posts. Buffer has helped 4.5 million registered users, and over 75,000 companies worldwide manage and schedule their social media posts anytime, anywhere. With Buffer, you can measure and report on your content's performance and build engaging communities on your social media community. On the other hand, Hootsuite has approximately 16 million customers in over 175 countries. Their all-in-one platform allows content creators to easily create and manage advertising campaigns while using the 250 best-of-breed technology partners and applications in the Hootsuite ecosystem. Creating and editing photos and videos for your content is so easy with Canva! Canva helps over 4 million of its regular users create stunning visual content for their agendas and business strategies. Using these tools for your advertising strategy can help you appeal to more clients from different backgrounds and walks of life.

Google Analytics monitors the volume of traffic entering your site. Engaging in Analytics is important because people look at the number of likes and reshares and base their success on the given metrics. You may not be going to get a lot of likes or shares at the moment, but the most important thing is that you could leave a good brand impression on your visitors. Exert effort in your social media handles because 20% of your blog or website generates around 80% of traffic. Your goal is not only to increase your company ranking but to be a pillar content for people seeking relevant and trusted information about your expertise.

darcy sullivan

When you start a business, you must have passion. You've got something that needs to get out there.”

Photos and videos are essential in establishing your online presence and improve your company ranking. Darcy points out that you don't necessarily have to create a new vlog or video documentation to support your article. There are many videos on the internet that you can use to help your existing content, give proper credit to the video owners, and you are good to update and publish your article. Don't forget to regularly revisit your old content and update the old information and statistics with the latest infographics. Google rewards websites that regularly update their content by making it richer and adding more elements.

Great Ways for Clients to Find Your Local Business

Darcy Sullivan strongly recommends businesses to make use of the Google My Business listing. This is a tool used by many enterprises worldwide to manage their online process across Google- including Google Search and Maps. Having this listing is a direct indicator to Google that you are a legitimate online business. Your name, phone number, and business address are some of the relevant contact information visible to both your potential and target market. Having an updated and verified profile will make it easier for web visitors to make transactions with your enterprise and learn more about your company's backstory. Google My Business Listing is one of the proven ways that companies use to improve their company ranking.

IMPACT lists the importance of having a top listing in Google:

  • Expanded opportunities for your business
  • Top position gets more traffic
  • Increase business authenticity
  • Creates a business image
  • It is ten times better to be on the top
  • Reduced costs
Organic Search Results

Are Google My Business Profiles Only Available for Businesses With Physical Locations?

A Google My Business profile is available for all types of business and services. No matter what kind of business you are, the service you offer, or even if you operate locally or overseas, you are qualified to create a Google My Business profile. It only takes a few minutes to build your profile and to increase your online market visibility. Darcy Sullivan quotes Google My Business listing as "the easiest social media profile" to use.

Businesses need to answer their customers' Google questions because this will allow you to grab the top spots on Google pages. Consistently answering people's queries can significantly improve your company ranking and merit you as an authority in that field. Dealing with people's questions gives you the ability to drive a little bit of traffic back to your website. This process has a working formula that takes time to pull off, but it's worth the efforts when it does.

Optimizing Content to Become a Google Snippet

Darcy Sullivan strongly recommends businesses to make use of the Google My Business listing. This is a tool used by many enterprises worldwide to manage their online process across Google- including Google Search and Maps. Having this listing is a direct indicator to Google that you are a legitimate online business. Your name, phone number, and business address are some of the relevant contact information visible to both your potential and target market. Having an updated and verified profile will make it easier for web visitors to make transactions with your enterprise and learn more about your company's backstory. Google My Business Listing is one of the proven ways that companies use to improve their company ranking.

Google featured snippets are selected search results that are featured on top of Google's organic results. A snippet aims to answer the searcher's queries right away directly. Being a featured snippet allows you to gain millions of frequent Google users' exposure and attention every day. Optimizing your content to become a featured Google snippet will enable you to increase your web traffic , company ranking, and lead generation and strengthen your website authority.

There are three types of featured snippets, according to Moz:

  • Paragraph- an answer is given in text (It can be a box with text inside or a box with both text and an image inside)
  • List- an answer is given in the form of a list
  • Table- an answer is given in a table
Type of Snippets

Neil Patel gives us 9 Tips for Ranking in Google Snippets:

  1. Use SEMRush to find competitors' snippets.
  2. Use Google to uncover snippet opportunities.
  3. Find content ideas on Answer the Public
  4. Do keyword research
  5. Answer the questions of visitors
  6. Stay within the optimal word count
  7. Use headers
  8. Add a "how-to" section on your website
  9. Add high-quality images and video to your content                                                                                   

Live Stream Replay

FAQ

  • The first way to improve your company ranking is to make your website better for customers' experience.
  • Blogs are a great tool to direct visitors to your main website and improve your SEO ranking.
  • Take advantage of the emerging social media platforms and use them as a placeholder for findability.
  • Optimizing your content to become a featured Google snippet will enable you to increase your web traffic and lead generation and strengthen your website authority.

Episode and Guest Links

Eric Dickmann - Founder/CMO of the Five Echelon Group, can be found online on Twitter or his personal webs

Darcy Sullivan  Can be found online on LinkedIn.

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