Oct
28
Website vs. Web Presence
Filed Under Networking and Marketing Strategy, Search Engines, Web Marketing
Once upon a time, a business would put up a website with its contact information, and that was the beginning and end of its web presence.
Those days are long gone. Savvy marketers today are very aware that a multidimensional approach is essential if one hopes to build a strong and responsive web presence.
Social Media and Search Engine Optimization
Social media and SEO are two of the most important aspects of building a presence on the web.
I’m reminded of a conversation I had several months ago with Christopher Boyer, creator of the Hospital Online Marketing Education site on the Ning network.
Chris mentioned that he tells his Healthgrades clients that search engines are where research starts on the Internet, and that a researcher’s attention is captured by the websites and social media content displayed on the very first page of search engine results. He asks hospital marketers to think of Google.com as their home page and to focus on dominating search engine results for their respective niches.
Social Media and Relationships
Darren Rouse of Problogger.net fame shows in his video, How I Use Social Media to Promote My Blogs, the way he incorporates a large number of social media sites in his web promotion strategy.
Notice that Darren not only uses social media to drive traffic to his blogs; he uses it to build valuable relationships with people. Relationships and Internet buzz play key roles in today’s web marketing.
A Web Presence is Much More than Just a Website
The web presence paradigm has evolved. Search engine optimization, social media, relationships and reputation all contribute to the impact that we and our brands have on the web.
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16 Responses to “Website vs. Web Presence”
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Thanks for the great post! I love the tip of thinking of Google as your homepage.
When Chris said that, I knew that I would someday use it in an article. It distills the whole web marketing concept into one sentence.
You are so right, Larry. Marketing is a whole new world, and we would be wise to pay attention to all the things we can learn from you and others who are the voice of social media marketing. It’s the way things are, and we need to pay attention, if we are to stay on or ahead of the curve.
There are lots of great ideas out there Steve. I believe that the key is to find those that fit into or improve upon your strategy.
Larry - thanks for the mention. I think the concept that Google is your homepage is one that many SEO experts realize. I am beginning to evolve my thoughts on this - Google is still your homepage when using Google to “Search for information with intent” (that is, when people are looking for questions and answers).
However, when people use social media/social networks, they are not using these sites to “search with intent” - they’re using these sites to “discover your content.”
So, while Google is you homepage for search engines, social media are places where you should be everywhere.
I agree with you Chris. Dominating the search engines and building relationships and reputation are all very important.
We can’t control a person’s intent, but we should optimize for the keywords associated with intent.
While SEO experts know these things, the average Joe SEO does not.
Hi Larry,
I’d have to agree with you. It’s not enough to build it and they will come. Lots of marketing time and money must be spent if you want to be on the first page of a search.
Deb
Hi Deb,
It’s more than a matter of time and money.
Many website owners mistakenly believe that their sites are search engine optimized and wonder why they don’t receive much traffic.
Furthermore, most website owners have only a vague awareness of social media. However, this is gradually changing.
Hi Larry,
This is so true!
Every once in a while, I will type my company name (BlackRockDesign) into the Google search tool and just see what comes up. I think this helps me see what is visible, and what isn’t showing up at all.
Of course, I try to make sure that everything I do (webpage, FB, blog, etc.) links together!
I always enjoy your tips. Thanks!
Web presence is definitely much more than just setting up a website. We need to have a relationship with the people with whom we want to do business.
When it comes to managing your time online to do all these things, I find that the actual writing of the blog post is only a fraction of the time spent promoting it and relationship building/conversations via Social Media, i.e. web presence.
However, the time spent is definitely worth the investment. A few benefits are: web presence, branding, and mindshare… and in some cases an ROI.
Thanks, it’s so true your website is useless if no one can find it. I would rather have poor website sitting at the top of google than a great looking website getting no traffic.
You are so right about the web presence. In fact when we have something to give to people be it a product or idea we ought to build a relationship with them. It would certainly help. Thanks again for the wonderful post.
It’s amazing how much traffic we received from various blogs and Facebook pages before we even started our own for each! People are out there talking about your site, so you shouldn’t ignore it, but help that grow. Even with search engine optimization, blogs are perfect. You can get excellent information on your blog that wouldn’t normally work on your web site…and this content can be spidered and increase the amount of traffic to your site…so many possibilities.
[…] a video I’ve already already shown you, marketing expert Darren Rouse, author of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, explains in detail his […]
Both interesting and reassuring as I’m using all the techniques mentioned. Refreshing and short. Cheers for the posting!