Building your reputation online is a key aspect of business marketing, and search engine optimisation (SEO) is one of the best ways to do just that.
In fact, for many businesses today, SEO forms the backbone of online reputation management. That’s because it’s a digital marketing strategy specifically designed to grow your visibility in search engines. And with more visibility comes a bigger reputation.
There are many aspects to SEO, some of them more technical than others, and unless you’re a digital marketing expert it’s impossible to master them all. But when it comes to building an online reputation, these simple SEO tips will help put any business owner on the path to success.
Claim your online directory listings
This is one of the most basic things you can do to instantly improve your online credibility and make it easier for people to find you online. Make sure you have a Google My Business and White Pages listing and that they’re up-to-date and filled in with all your business information.
You can do this easily using White Pages Connect, which allows you to quickly and easily update your details across directories, major search engines, social media sites, apps and maps.
Create relevant, helpful content
So much of your business reputation is built on being seen as an expert in your field. In the online realm, publishing relevant content is one the most critical steps in establishing your expertise.
What should this content look like? It all depends on your business, but the most common formats include:
- Blogs
- Articles
- Tutorials
- eBooks
- Infographics
- Videos
The aim of SEO content isn’t purely to sell a product or service (although that can be part of it) but more so to build trust in your business. This means you’ll need to get inside the minds of your target customers and consider:
- What sort of information are they looking for?
- What types of keywords are they using to search for this content? Keyword.io is a great free tool to help with finding keywords
- What sorts of questions are they asking? AnswerThePublic is a handy tool for figuring this out
Also look at what your competitors are doing: what’s working and what isn’t? What themes and content types can you draw inspiration from?
Aim to publish new content on your website, online directories and social media as frequently as you can manage – but remember quality trumps quantity.
Encourage customers to leave you a review
According to data from Sensis, over two-thirds of people (68%) read online reviews or blogs to find out what others think about products or services, and read an average of seven reviews before making a purchase decision.
Not only that, but customer reviews are one of the key factors Google uses to determine a website’s search ranking.
In other words, reviews are really important for building your brand’s reputation both from a human and search engine perspective.
So how do you get people to leave reviews?
- Ask customers after a transaction
- Ensure your online directory listings are active
- Enable reviews on Facebook
Don’t forget to thank customers for positive reviews, and handle negative reviews with sensitivity.
Get links from other websites
Think about how you can grow your brand reputation through links to your website from other relevant websites. Depending on your business, this could be through working with bloggers, business partnerships, PR or local news publications. Just make sure these websites are trustworthy, as links from spammy websites can harm your SEO strategy and your reputation as well.
SEO is just one way to build your brand reputation and influence online. Using a complete tool such as White Pages Connect allows you to update your directory listings, schedule and post on social media, manage reviews, track your performance and more.
