Promoting your business, like everything else, requires a continual investment of time, money and energy.
By Roy Harryman
I can understand the frustration.
You invest in a website and spend the time and money to make sure search engines can find your business. It’s been a ton of work and, potentially, a lot of money. You pay the invoice, wipe your brow and are excited to check “website” off your marketing to-do list.
Only you can’t.
“A website is never “done.” And for that matter, neither is the rest of your marketing. Like nearly every aspect of business, it’s always a work in progress. ”
To be sure, stages of a website can be completed. You may redesign it. Check! You may create an e-book and post it to your site. Check! An online store may be launched after serious effort. Check! But finishing these things doesn’t mean you can walk away from your website as if it’s a self-driving car. There are several reasons for this.
Your website is dependent on search engines
Like it or not, websites rely on search engines to drive traffic their way. Google is the king of the hill when it comes to search.
The good news is Google isn’t seeking technical wizardry or coding smarts when it comes to ranking websites. Search engine optimization (SEO for short) means setting up your site so the people who want to find you can do so. Said differently, the goal of SEO is to make sure you get found on the web by the people you want as customers.
The business of SEO (which can also be called search engine marketing) often appears to be shrouded in mystery, like the secret rights of the Freemasons. Take courage: it’s not. There is no secret handshake.
What Google is actually seeking in websites is honesty and excellence. It rewards sites that provide value to consumers (it ranks them higher) and punishes sites that do not (it ranks them lower). If your site is helpful in educating people and solving problems, then it will generally rank well. There are, of course, technical considerations. But they aren’t the primary factor.
Let’s illustrate some components of a successful site with a fictitious hardware business. Smith Hardware’s website pops to the top of Google search returns for “hardware stores in Gumption, Missouri” for several reasons:
It’s a local store in a local search.
The website’s text clearly identifies the business as a hardware store serving Gumption, Mo. A common mistake is to use images instead of text. Images can communicate information, but they require “alt tags” that explain what’s in the images (“Smith Hardware, Gumption, Mo.”). These are often left blank. The best combination includes text and properly tagged images.
The contact information is complete, identifying it as located in Gumption, Mo.
The store has a clear listing of its products and services.
The site’s creators made the most of opportunities to share the store’s ties to its community on the “about us” page.
The site includes quality photos and videos, which are properly tagged. These further cement both the store’s function (hardware) and location.
Smith Hardware has gone the extra mile and regularly updates a blog, which gives it continual opportunities to mention products and services and to provide value to consumers. A regular feature is, “You asked, we answered,” a series of articles dedicated to solving home improvement challenges.
Technical considerations, such as the proper sizing of photos, ensure the site loads quickly. It’s also logically organized.
Smith Hardware has linked its Facebook, YouTube and Google Business Profile to its website, which helps Google understand the site is legitimate.
Finally, the hardware store makes full use of “tags.” Tags are simply descriptive words and phrases that don’t directly appear to viewers of your site. Rather, they are added in the control panel of your website and matter to Google.
The result: A strong showing on Google search returns. As you can see, this is not something that’s done once in a lifetime. And if you think about it, everything important requires maintenance. You couldn’t get by changing your car’s oil every 80,000 miles, visiting the doctor once a decade or going to the gym every 18 months.
Each SEO endeavor has its own challenges. For example, a personal injury lawyer in a city of 3 million people will have a much harder time standing out than a boat rental company at a rural lake. The competition to market bait and tackle at Muddy Reservoir isn’t as fierce as that of legal services in Gotham City. Every business needs a personalized SEO strategy.
Maintenance: A universal principle
I don’t want to give the impression this principle only applies to websites. Social media, email marketing, podcasting – even direct mail – are in a constant state of change. Consumers, too, are continually evolving. Think of the marketing landscape only 10 years ago. Today, it’s different in many ways.
The bottom line: Expect to stay engaged in your marketing efforts. It’s not one-and-done. It’s to-do, never to-done. To successfully reach your audience, you’ll need to continually dedicate time, money and personnel. Whether you do this yourself, contract with a consultant, or a combination of the two, depends on your unique skill set and resources.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
ABOUT ROY HARRYMAN
Roy Harryman is the author of “Small Business, Big Impact: A No-Nonsense Marketing Strategy For Companies That Do More With Less.” This column is an excerpt from the book.