How Good Is The Digital Health Of Your Business? – Part 1
This phase too shall pass, and we will be back to regular business.
I have been reading so much on work from home and people doing their best to use this time productively. From all my reading and observations, here is a list of things that I have compiled that people do while working from home to maintain business continuity (or rather visibility continuity):-
- Team Meetings (keeping their staff motivated)
- Mailing campaigns (I have received tons of them with various lucrative offers. Hardwork pays. These mailers are planting seeds for future business)
- Going live on social media pages with their product or services.
- Podcasts (There are tons out there with lots of great information)
- Building database (through business directories or searches)
- Engaging with trending hashtags (whether it matters or not)
- And some people are busy creating memes and TikTok funny videos. (Laughing it off is better than sulking over a given situation, and if there is any ranking done, India will top the list on such content. I am proud to be a citizen of a happy country amid all odds)
Well, all of the above, in some way or other, is marketing yourself or your business on the Internet. Every business, however big or small, is into digital marketing. Some are great at it as they have inhouse teams taking care of their digital presence actively. And there are some who are using every possible digital platform to showcase their businesses everywhere. Signs of desperation! I am with you guys and understand your insecurities.
For the benefit of small and medium businesses, here are a few DIY digital health checks to prepare you to build a robust online presence.
In Part 1 of this article, I will cover Websites & SEO. For Part 2, there would be something more to add for sure.
- Website: Let us start with your website. For a strong online presence, a great site is a pre-requisite. Do check the following on your website:
- When was it built? If it was built before 2017, time to get a revamp done.
- Check it on your mobile? Is it readable, and the content fits your screen. If yes, it is mobile responsive. If you have trouble viewing your website on your mobile, time to get it mobile responsive.
- Check the social media link icons on your website. Are they directing to your social media pages? If not, time to get your links corrected from your service provider. Maintain only those links that relevant to your business. Some of the icons may be redundant. Get rid of them.
- Check if all your products and services are listed on your website and are appropriately grouped. You may have added some new products or services since the website was built – time to get them listed. Remember, search engines favor sites with regular updates.
- Check your contact details. Does it need updation? Send a mail from your contact form and check its destination. Are you receiving mails? If not, get it rectified from your provider. You may lose business if someone is sending you a query, and you do not receive the message.
- Your website is like a façade for your business or service. People have to be tempted to step in (enter your website), and stay there longer. Please stare at your website for some time and think – Will my target audience see my website and explore my products and services?
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation):
A great website is like an expensive painting on the wall. However, the piece of art has to be in a place where people see it and appreciate it. If it merely stands on the wall of your backyard, how is it going to be noticed, and who will understand your great taste?
Using this analogy, think about your own business. You have the best in class quality products and services, you are a great professional, and you have a great website! How will you expect to get business if there are no visitors to your website? SEO, SEM, SMM are some of the tools that direct people to your site.
In simple terms, your SEO is great if your website ‘organically’ ranks on the top page or at least in the first 2-3 pages of search engines.
So how do you check if your website is search engine optimized?
Here are a few tips and tricks:-
- Make a list of 50 keywords that you think people would type searching for your range of products or services. Check if those keywords are strategically placed in your website content. If you don’t find them, time to look out for an SEO expert.
- Type those keywords one by one on Google search and check whether your website is appearing on the first five pages. If not, time to hire a SEO agency.
- There are a lot of SEO Free tools available on the net. Type your website URL into one of them, and you will see a basic SEO check that will list all the problems on your website. Some of the free SEO tools are found in this article. CLICK Here
Make good use of the web to enhance the visibility of your business online, but remember to be safe on the net. Cybersafety is essential. If your computer is not protected by antivirus, then I would highly recommend that you first buy antivirus software like Quickheal to ensure basic safety from malware that could hit your computers and hack it too.!
In Part 2 of this article, I am going to give you some tips and tricks on DIY Social Media.
Watch out for my next one!