If you've ever tried to promote your website using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) you’ll know that it’s an ever increasing challenge to keep up with all of the algorithmic changes that Google implements on an almost daily basis.
Every year, Google makes around 400 changes to its different algorithms in order to produce the most relevant organic search results. Some of these changes are very minor and go unnoticed; others can have a greater impact and in some cases remove a site from the search results, never to be seen again. For many webmasters, getting to the top of the organic rankings can seem like an almost impossible task.
Long are the days where a little bit of keyword research and a touch of link building would see you rank for your desired keywords. Many of the classic SEO techniques have become almost obsolete and there can be no doubt that many of the current techniques that produce good results, will head the same way; as a part of SEO folklore!
So as a business, what can you do to make sure that your site continues to get the exposure it needs to bring in regular business and at the same time, make sure that you do not fall fail of Google’s algorithmic updates and get handed a penalty in the process?
Let’s take a look at four of the most important promotional activities that you should be undertaking for your website that will help to produce greater visibility, engagement and conversion.
Blog Posting
With literally hundreds of millions blogs being indexed by the search engines, if you are not part of the blogging crowd, you are most definitely missing one of the best ways of promoting your business.
Search engines like Google and Bing love blogs as they produce fresh information that is more likely to rise to the top of the search results. By creating rich textual content via a blog, you allow your site to potentially rank for many more relevant search terms (keywords).
By writing a keyword rich and attractive title, filling the content with well written user focused keywords and including good call to action, you give your content a great chance of making it to the top of the search results with very little conventional SEO work.
Your focus needs to be primarily on providing content that answers the questions and addresses the concerns of your potential customer. I can guarantee that if you do this regularly, your traffic will double of treble in no time at all. As an added boost, make sure that you always include sharing buttons such as AddThis so that your readers are given every opportunity to share your content with their friends.
Social Media
It’s very hard to ignore the potential of social media when it comes to promoting your website. There is no doubt that when used correctly, the likes of Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter can be a great asset in promoting your brand.
Every day, hundreds of millions of users interact, share and engage with individuals and businesses via social media sites. If you are not using social media, you are missing a golden opportunity to listen to and engage with, your potential customers.
Word of mouth marketing is perhaps the best form of marketing available today. With social media websites, your social circle is no longer confined to your own geographical location.
By creating something of value, sharing great content, listening and then engaging with your prospective (and existing) customers, you can steadily build lasting relationships and build a community of loyal followers.
As an added incentive, Google and Bing are both using social signals more and more in order to help improve organic search results. So it stands to reason that you want to gain more visibility in this area.
Usability Testing and Conversion Optimisation
One thing that many people forget is that driving visitors to your site is only part of the overall equation. Converting those visitors into loyal, paying customers is another matter entirely. It’s not enough to go to the trouble of creating great content, special offers, videos and free software only to find that users hit your site and leave in a heartbeat, never to return.
Usability Testing means analysing your analytics data to find out which of your pages are causing users to leave your site and which pages are providing a better user experience. So which pages have a high bounce rate, which pages have a high exit rate and which pages are preventing your users from completing that all important sales funnel?
One great way of testing your site is to get around six people to look at your site and carry out pre-arranged tasks, such as purchasing a product of finding a particular piece of information. Many online services allow you to record both the browsing and the audio so that users can give you a real insight into where your site is not up to scratch and where important changes need to be made.
Research has shown that by testing your site with just a handful of testers can help to identify around 90% of issues.
This one technique can potentially save you thousands on lost conversions. Get your usability and conversion optimisation right and watch your revenue soar to new heights!
Video Marketing
Every day, thousands of videos are uploaded to video sharing websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Daily Motion and Meta Café. Everything from “How to string a guitar” to “Beginners Origami” can be found online. In fact, if you can think of a subject, you will most likely find a video of it on the Internet somewhere.
With an ever increasing improvement in bandwidth coupled with the fact that everyone is working harder, so have less time to read reams of text, video has become an excellent medium in which to promote your products and services. Video has also been shown to improve conversion rates when selling online!
One great thing about video marketing is that you don’t need to be the next Steven Spielberg in order to make an impact; nor do you need to use expensive equipment.
Many of the most successful videos to have gone viral were created using cheap video cameras or in some cases, smart phones. Video editing software is also readily available with many applications costing very little and in some cases, totally free.
So, if you sell a product, try making a video of somebody demonstrating usage of that product. If you provide a service make a video with testimonials or someone describing the benefits of your service over the competition.
So there you have it. Four great future proof and penalty free ways of promoting your website.
Robert writes for Redline Company, who provide professional internet marketing services for companies looking to promote their brands via the internet. Please visit http://www.redlinecompany.com to find out more.