If you’re not going forwards, you’re going backwards Virtually no one is standing still online. The world of Google means that if you’re not paying attention to your online marketing there is a good chance you are being passed in the rankings, by more vibrant, forward-thinking businesses looking to gain your chunk of the marketplace.

Protect your reputation Unlike printed marketing, the Web allows all sorts of forums for comments, reviews and articles about your business. Online marketing allows you to keep a track of the mentions ensuring they are a fair reflection of your business and not harmful to your reputation. With links being a key factor in influencing search results, earninglinks from reputable, trusted websites is highly beneficial.

Initial perception First impressions of a business used to be handing over a business card. Now it is quite likely that someone’s first impression of your business will be through your social media presence or website. Have you ever visited a website andnoticed that the last post is outdated? If this is the case with your own website, customers may think you have lost interest or worse still, are no longer operating. Keep that news feed relatively up to date, and make sure something regularly goes out on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Ever changing goalposts Google’s algorithm is constantly updatedand the scores, parameters and recommended actions are continually changing. An expert will stay ahead of the game with regards to the best practices andaprofessional SEO consultant tends to be a more time and cost effective option, rather than doing it yourself or employing a full time multi-skilled online marketer.

Competitors can influence your presence Printed marketing, such as an advert, will be placed in a position of a magazine which is pre-agreed. The audience is also largely guaranteed due to regular readership figures. Online marketing is different. You can’t launch your website, track it’s progress for the first few weeks then lose interest. As competitors come along they have the power to effectively push your site out of the way, by overtaking you in the rankings, as a result of their own optimization and attention to their website. Monitoring competitors is a very important part of search engine optimisation, and you can be sure, someone is doing it to you.

Google views backlinks as a testimonial If you are switched on to online marketing in any way you will have heard someone preaching the benefits of backlinks. But why are they so important? Google tracks backlinks to see who is being recommended by others. If someone else is talking about a service, then linking to you as the go-to expert, then that is seen as a testimonial. Every link carries a number of different values, so don’t waste your time collecting low value directories that could be considered spam.

Are you interesting in getting started with online marketing?

Nu Image are a design agency specialising in Online Marketingand Web Designin Norwich. We pride ourselves in friendly, honest advice and cost effective marketing. Give us a call on 01603 715671 today to find out how we can help your business.

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