Why Your Business Should Optimize Its Online Presence 

In today’s digital world, the number one way customers discover and interact with any business is through the internet. From search engines and social media, to websites and more, having a professional presence online should be a top priority for businesses of all sizes. 

Not only should businesses have an online presence, but they should optimize their presence in a way that helps increase their visibility online. This can be accomplished with our method of Online Presence Optimization.

The Basics of Online Presence Optimization

Online Presence Optimization, or OPO for short, is the process of making your business visible where your audience is online. In today’s online marketing, it’s not enough for your business to only appear on Google. To ensure your business is found and reaches your consumers, you should also be implementing these various tactics (which we’ll be discussing in this blog post, so get your pen and paper ready!)

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO as most people call it, helps a business’s website get discovered online by their consumers. If you take it a step further, you can make your business visible in a variety of other places, not just search engines. Consumers will find your business in other places like blogs, local listings, review sites, and even social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

What Elements are Included in OPO?

Optimizing your online presence can be comprised of multiple elements including: 

• Paid Advertising
• Social Media Optimization 
• Reputation Management 
• Local Listing Optimization
• Website Optimization

Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Simply put: your company can build its online presence through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Through PPC advertising, such as Google Ads, your ad can appear at the top of search results, within apps, on banner advertisements, and a plethora of other placements. When a consumer views your ad, it has the opportunity to drive traffic to your website, which then increases brand awareness and improves visibility. 

Social Media Optimization

There are multiple ways to conduct OPO through your brand’s social media. You can start by having a presence on social media. Considering there are roughly 3.8 billion people using social media right now, it’s a good place to start. With the drastic amount of social media users, there’s a good chance that if you aren’t on social media, they may not know you exist! Crazy right? Along with being on social media, you want to be on the platforms your audience uses the most. 

With having accounts on various social media platforms, your business needs to essentially “polish” its bio or about section. Your bio is the first thing a potential consumer may see and it’s vital that you give them the information they need. Things to include may be:

• What your business does
• What areas you serve
• Your hours of operation
• Contact information

Bonus Tip: Consider your brand’s tone and ensure your bio fits the part!

Reputation Management

Reputation management is when your business manages online information to establish accuracy and control, influencing what and how people think of your business when viewed online. A brand or business will often publish and optimize their online content to dictate what appears on the first search page of Google for instance. 

Good reputation management leads to consumers gaining trust in that business and is often done by leaving positive reviews on places like Google and Facebook. Having a good reputation means that you’re likely to be more credible than the competitors in your industry and area.

Local Listing Optimization

Take advantage of creating listings for your business! There are hundreds, even thousands, of online directories out on the internet, and by creating even one listing, it’ll help your business show up in more places online. 

Consider starting with the largest online directory – Google My Business. Your Google My Business Profile is one of the most important places for your business to be. It provides all of the essential information that those who happen upon your business will need to know, including your correct hours of operation, location(s), services, menu, pricing, contact information, and a little bit about you. 

Bonus Tip: You should include your Google My Business when conducting OPO for your brand’s social media platforms.

Website Optimization

Your business’s website is arguably the most important detail when it comes to your online presence. Even more important is your site’s web design. Over 75% of consumers admit to making judgments about a business’s credibility based on their website’s design alone. Your website is the first impression for many, so creating one with quick loading pages, optimized images, and a responsive design will have consumers coming back for more. 

Having a website, in general, is extremely important for online optimization, as it’s essentially the online version of a storefront. Along with having a well-designed site, consumers will use your site for information, including:

• Location
• Hours
• Products or Services
• Pricing
• About Your Business

Bonus Tip: Remember to cross-reference your website information with what’s on your Google My Business and Social Media Platforms!

Accessibility is key when it comes to optimizing your online presence. Known as ADA Website Compliance, an accessible website should integrate features that allow all users to receive a similar experience, no matter their disability. Without an accessible website, your business could be seen as discriminatory towards those with disabilities and left liable for a lawsuit. This is why it is important to ensure your website is accessible to all. 

Why It’s Important For Your Business To Have A Strong Online Presence

By providing your target audience with multiple places to come across your business, the more opportunities you’ll be presented with to build on your visibility and awareness. 

With a strong online presence, your target audience can easily discover, learn more about, and engage with your business. It will be easier for your business to build trust with clients and customers if you have every bit of information they need right at their fingertips. 

Lastly, you’ll be able to improve your business’s SERP (Search Engine Results Page) ranking due to the consistent messaging across your various online profiles.

Need Some Help?

Optimizing your online presence can be an overwhelming task if you are unsure of where to even start. That’s where we come in. 

Our team of digital experts can provide an array of services to help optimize your online presence. Whether it’s digital marketing, web development, or even brand identity, our full-service agency can provide a customized, multifaceted solution to any issue. Contact us today to learn more. 

About Boost Creative

We are Southwest Florida’s proven design resource for digital and print marketing for over 15 years. Our specialties include corporate identity, advertising campaigns, website development, and content marketing. We also offer a range of other services including marketing consultation, print production, search engine marketing (SEM), and social media marketing. Our team is composed of creative-minded, forward thinkers. With solid multi-industry experience and a foundation in education…we are the real deal. We serve businesses all over the country and are the chosen outsourcing option for many other advertising agencies and marketing consultants. Learn more about who we are.