Maximizing your business visibility online

In today's world, having a website is common practice. People are using Google, Yahoo!, and other search engines to help them find all sorts of information with only a few clicks of the mouse. More and more the Internet savvy are doing their homework on upcoming purchases online. How does your business effectively connect with them? How do you know if they are finding your business? These are legitimate concerns which can be addressed by simply understanding who your online visitors are and how they are searching for you.

Visibility 101: Are you being seen?

A very simple way to test your online presence in real time is getting someone that knows little to nothing about your organization and having them perform a search with the goal to find your website online using a popular search engine.

Eight out of 10 times they will use words you never even thought of, and you might find yourself way down on the list in the search results. This is a common problem and honestly there is no quick fix.

However, one of the best strategies is to keep the content of your website fresh and also to compile all the new keywords from your experiment and to incorporate them in with the new content.

This is a tried and true strategy that can help organizations increase visibility online, among other strategies.

Leveraging free advertising

Many do not realize that the Internet offers all sorts of tools to increase your visibility - some of which are completely free.

Recently I had the chance to maximize the benefit of Google Maps for the Enterprise Fredericton site by including our location information on the search system (try searching Enterprise Fredericton on Google to see the results). This is a free service that literally takes minutes to fill out and makes your listing stand out in the search results.

Many organizations are leveraging Facebook, Mynexia and other social networking sites to promote their services/products, events, contests, and online communities. However, like everything else, maintenance and new content is essential to keep visitors coming back for more.

Buy your domain name and any of the alternatives

Over the years I've noticed that organizations often buy a .com name but fail to get the .ca equivalent, or visa versa. This can sometimes cause worry if the domain would fall in the wrong hands. The term cybersquatting was coined by larger organizations that literally lost their domain names only to later regain control at an inflated price. For such a nominal fee, this can all be avoided. A tip here is to register your domain under a general e-mail address.

Measurement is key

We have recently added analytics software to our websites here at Enterprise Fredericton, and the results have unearthed all sorts of vital information about our visitor's tendencies.

Analytics software records the activities of a visitor on your site, but does not tell you exactly who he/she is, but rather what are the most requested pages or downloaded documents, for example. This software is an easy addition to any site and can be integrated by your web hosting company, and you don't need a degree to read the data! Luckily for us, this service is again completely free for the time being (search Google Analytics and follow the instructions).

Your company website is truly an enabler to help your business grow, and if done properly, technology will help grow your business. For more information regarding training sessions revolving around these topics and other related events, please consult our website at www.enterprisefredericton.ca or contact Enterprise Fredericton directly at 444-4686.

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Lucas Roze is a communications officer for Enterprise Fredericton. He can be reached at lucas.roze@ent-fredericton.ca.