Increase Your Web Visibility in 5 Simple Steps

I do a considerable amount of web analysis and find that many small business owners are still struggling to maximize and increase their web visibility.

Yesterday, I came across a motivational speaker’s website and noticed there he was receiving little or no traffic.  How did I know this?  I took a look at my handy dandy SEO Toolbar to see that his Alexa and Compete information was blank.

And as the Search Engine Optimization and Internet geek that I am, I cringed at the fact that a service that many individuals and small business owners need, was not getting any traffic.

In order to increase your reach online there few things you should know about web visibility.

• Your Alexa ranking is a measure of how much traffic your website or blog is receiving.  The lower your Alexa ranking the higher your traffic.
• Compete is a service that monitors a plethora of web analytics and symbolizes how well you are doing in comparison to “competing” or similar websites.  The lower your compete score, the better you are faring off against similar websites.
• The web traffic you receive is a direct reflection of many factors including: how well your blog or website is optimized for the search engines.  If you follow our SEO Saturday posts, you are aware that there are two factors that determine your positioning in the search engines (on page and off page SEO factors).
• In the evolution of SEO, however, social media marketing now greatly affects your search engine rankings.

This means how often you:

• Incorporate video and audio in your online content
• Have been tweeted (shared on Twitter)
• Have been bookmarked (or favorited by your readers) on Delicious and StumbleUpon
• Have your blog feed integrated into your social networks MATTERS

In essence, you must also get social to increase your visibility and attract business online!

Now, I will admit, I myself do not have a perfect Social Marketing strategy.  Nevertheless, the Secrets to Web Success Team has used the following techniques to increase our visibility on the web.

5 Ways to help Increase Your Web Visibility and Create a Social Marketing Strategy

1) Know your target audience

Have you actually sat down put a pen to paper and written down what your perfect client looks like?  Are you aware of your core values?  What type of information or solutions is your perfect client looking for?

If you are a motivation coach, for instance, chances are your clients are looking for audios to download to an mp3 player or listen to in order to get motivated. But what keywords are your clients typing to find your services?

2) Learn How to Blog or Sharpen Your Blogging Ax

According to Emarketer the number of US blog readers will increase from 48% to 58% by 2013.  US Blog authors will increase from 13% to 17%.

Know that you can have the coolest looking blog in the world, but it won’t do you any good to have a blog that is not visible to your potential customers if you are not on page 1 for some keyword phrases on Google, Yahoo or MSN.  When your potential clients enter certain particular search queries you want them to find you and you want to present yourself as the solution to their concerns.

If you’re already blogging you’ve got a fantastic start.  Two way conversations and client to business owner conversations are shaping the way online marketing is evolving.  So learn business blogging basics and create a blog marketing plan.

Hendry Lee at Blog Building University has a great post on publishing content online and the mistakes you should avoid as you blog.

Your blog is your online marketing hub.  Make sure your blog plan is a solid one.

3) Learn Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Learn basic SEO and continue to sharpen your knowledge there.   Again, the importance the search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc) place on your website or blog content also depends on social factors such as how many of your blog readers have bookmarked or have favorited your content on Delicious and StuambleUpon for instance.

Create content not only that Google loves, but that your readers will love as well so that your content gets read and bookmarked.

For a glimpse at some of the factors that matters to Google and Yahoo get the Mozilla Firefox “SEO for Firefox” add on.  It will tell you several factors that are important to Google and Yahoo when you enter a search term in one of these search engines.  Also, download the Search Status toolbar to and keep track of your Alexa and Compete Rankings.

4) Don’t Overwhelm Yourself with your Social Media Marketing Strategy…Just Begin

Begin to build relationships on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networking platforms where your target audience are.  However, don’t let yourself be everywhere and nowhere.

Determine which platform has the greatest appeal and would be easiest for you to use and master.  Begin one place and build upon your social marketing education.

All social networking platforms have their pros and cons.  Figure out which of these social media platforms works for you and move forward.

Twitter is the easiest tool to build relationships, but does not have the reach that Facebook does for instance.  To read more about Marketing on Facebook vs. Twitter check out Deontee’s recent article:  Should You Start Your Social Media Experience on Facebook or Twitter?

All of these social networks have a culture that you learn by simply getting yourself acquainted with the community.  You will learn the dynamics of the community by paying attention to how others are using that particular platform.

You can reach a state of online business networking nirvana if you follow the few steps I outlined in this recent blog post.

We blog frequently about Twitter and Facebook, so check out the content here for tips on using social media in your small business marketing.

5) Stay on Top of All Things Social

In order to stay competitive online, ensure you are learning all you can about increasing your web visibility with SEO and social marketing.  Designate at least an hour a week to catch up on all things social.  Remember to be your clients clear solutions provider.

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About The Author

Dali Burgado, also known as "The Dali Blogger" teaches creative entrepreneurs how to carve a web presence that connects with their Inner Guru and their target audience. Her first online marketing love is SEO. She's an avid connector on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. When she's not coaching or teaching, she's tweaking sites for Search Engine Visibility, working on her PHP and Javascript coding skills, Singing Opera, or learning about gardening. Circle Dali on Google+