Which company would you trust more: one that appears on the first page of Google after a relevant search query, or one that appears on the third page? It’s as simple as this: people associate the quality of a brand with how visible it is. Although it’s a somewhat flawed train of thought, it actually mirrors Google’s ranking factors to a degree. As long as websites are adhering to the principles of Google’s algorithm, they will be rewarded for their prominent online presence. Effective ways to drive up a site’s presence includes the following:
Be Active on Social Media: Even if your social media accounts don’t have many followers, your posts can still appear on people’s pages who don’t follow your company. Hashtags on Twitter allows your company to engage in popular topics all around the web. Posts on LinkedIn will appear on the home pages of users who work in similar fields or have skills aligned with the subject of the posts. On Facebook you can promote your posts so people who didn’t like your company page will see them.
People generally feel as if companies with social media accounts may be more accountable for their actions. It’s also a red flag to potential customers when they see a business doesn’t have any social media accounts.
Regularly Post Blogs: Another red flag for potential customers is seeing a neglected website. If people see that a blog was posted on the same day they visited the site, at the very least, they’ll know that the company is still in business.
Blog posts also make great content for posting to social media. If you provide links to your blogs in your posts, you could potentially bring visitors to your site. These visitors could eventually end up becoming customers. Including call-to-actions on these blogs will increase your acquisitions, as having a phone number for visitors to call in the blog will make it easier for them to inquire about your services.
While posting original blogs takes time before it yields discernible increases in page rank, Google’s algorithm significantly rewards sites who regularly post fresh content.
Add Your Company to Different Listing Sites: As aforementioned, visibility equals quality in the minds of consumers. Adding your company to different sites makes it more visible. While the more listing sites your company’s listed the better, there are low quality listing sites that will hurt your site’s page ranking.
The reasoning is that when you add your company to one of these listing sites, you generally provide them with a URL. This creates a back-link, which – while mostly beneficial to your site – could hurt its rankings, if Google determines the back-link originates from a low-quality site. This wasn’t always the case; when SEO companies caught on to how back-links helped their site, they began overloading their sites with these back-links, which is now considered a Black Hat SEO technique. Google’s 2012 update, called Penguin, now penalizes these sites, so when adding your company to listing sites, stick with ones that you deem reputable.