What makes a more credible online presence? Is it a big brand name, great SEO, or a great mix of content? Perhaps it is a design that pops or compelling sales pages that scream ‘buy me!’ Or, maybe, it’s robust and visible approach to security.
Well, the truth is it is a mix of the above, and much more. We’re going to take a look at how to build a credible presence online – and it’s specifically for beginners. Take a look and see if you can use any of these ideas to improve your online offering.
Website basics
Our first point is a simple one. Online credibility starts and ends with your website, and whether or not it works properly. It’s surprising how many companies fail to address this simple point, particularly those from startups and SMEs.
So, making sure that your site is easy to navigate, clear, tidy, and professional will give you an edge over many straight away. Also, make sure that all of your internal links work properly – it’s a real turn-off for customers when they keep ending up on a 404 page.
It’s also important to keep your blog up to date – if you decide to have one. If your content is outdated – and we’ll look at that in more depth later – then it won’t do you any favors. Finally, make sure that you have your SEO working properly – which is worth its own section.
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Acing SEO
SEO – you might have heard of it. It’s often seen as a mysterious art, but it’s a lot more simple than you might think. That said, it can take a while to get to know everything you need to know. Plus, it’s an ever-evolving subject that can get a little technical, and be a complete time drain.
So, if you don’t have any search experts on your team, you should consider finding cheap SEO companies to come and take a look at things for you. Make no mistake about it, search is vital to your online presence, so you have to look at SEO properly.
It will help you rise the search rankings, and bring you a lot more traffic to your website. And, of course, more traffic, means a lot more potential for making sales. However, it isn’t quite that simple, as we’ll explain now.
Converting traffic
SEO can only take you so far – and it’s conversion that will make the difference to your bottom line. You can pull out every SEO trick in the book. But if you have a site stuffed with keywords and gobbledegook blog posts, all that traffic is just going to find a different destination.
Having done all the hard work, don’t lose your audience by disappointing them. Make sure that your site is full of valuable information, and, most importantly, it’s easy for people to buy. Look into A/B testing, and make sure that you are working your website to improve the things that are going right, and losing the things that go wrong.
Even the simple act of changing the color or message on a ‘buy now’ button can have a dramatic impact. The main thing to remember is that SEO is there to impress the search engines – but search engines don’t buy your products.
Image Credit Flickr
Security counts
Now, we need to look at online security. Do not underestimate this critical factor – if you do, it will undermine all the credibility you have earned so far. In the early days of the web, businesses could afford to let security issues slip a little – it wasn’t all that important.
Now, however, it’s another story. As hackers have become more widespread, almost every business out there is at risk. And, of course, consumers have become savvier about online security. It’s something that most people will look at these days. For example, if your site gets caught in an Internet provider’s ‘security alert’ net, it can ruin your online business.
So, to protect yourself, get SSL certification at an absolute minimum. You should also look into finding a secure method of taking payments. Head over to the EBA website for some comprehensive guidelines.
So, while there is a lot more to building a credible online presence. These tips should point you in the right direction. There are no quick wins, unfortunately.
But, by starting to make the right moves, you will create a snowball effect, and everything will begin to come together. Why not get started on your credibility as soon as possible – and let us know how you get on?