As a female entrepreneur, you need as many tools as possible to bring in leads, and an optimized website for your specific industry is just one of those tools if you know how to design it properly.
If your website looks more like a static placeholder or business card, you need to revamp your online image! It’s simply not enough to throw up a simple website and leave it there. You need a website with multiple pages of content, optimized for SEO, and if you have the budget, you should work with a digital marketing agency, such as Talia Davis PR, to maintain it for you regularly.
The old way of building backlinks is gone…you need a unique search engine optimization strategy from the PR experts. The savviest brands are using organic media outreach to build high-quality backlinks and increase website traffic. Interested in this SEO for PR strategy for your own business?
Consider your business domain name prime real estate. Do you want to keep the lot empty and ignore the vast resources it can offer or do you want to develop that piece of internet real estate and reap any profits it can deliver?
Ask yourself these questions first:
- Do you have a steady stream of prospects contacting you?
- Do your prospects mention finding your information from your website?
- Do you have any other online profiles, such as social media, that link back to your website?
If you answered NO to any one of these questions, then you need to get to work!
Your website is just one of the spokes on the marketing wheel of your business.
Remember, just because you put up a website – or a landing page to grow your email list – doesn’t mean people will just automatically find you online. Much more effort is needed to market yourself and your site to gain followers and customers. We believe the best strategy is a combination of long-term search engine optimization, media relations, building back-links, and digital advertising on Google.
More often than not, your social media followers or those who heard of you by word of mouth will be the customers who reach out to you rather than a random person who happened upon your website; so don’t just put up a site, landing page, or product sales page and hope for the best.
That’s what we like to call the “hope marketing downfall” because you’re giving up control of your marketing efforts if you’re just “hoping” that your message is heard or seen by your ideal clients.
How SHOULD a Website Work?
Your website should give each visitor the answers they are searching for about your business and how you can help them. They are looking for help so they want answers. You also want to invite them to interact with you so you can build a lasting relationship.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how your site ranks in the search engines.
SEO is a passive way to draw organic traffic to your site from the search engines. Each page of your website should be optimized with specific keyword phrases so those people who search for those phrases online will find your site in their search results. These phrases should be relevant to your business, should be relevant to the content on that exact page, and should be used naturally in the content of each website page.
How you’re going to answer your visitors’ questions.
An FAQ page is an easy way to start or consider adding a Live Chat option that offers more interaction with visitors, thus keeping them on your website longer.
How you want your visitors to contact you.
Encourage audience engagement by having your social media links on every page of your website, but also include your business phone number and email address posted prominently on your site. You’d be surprised at how many sites do NOT have a phone number or at least an email posted.
Yes, spammers know how to skim that information and bombard you with junk BUT what about that prospect who is *this close* to buying but has just one more question; or that reporter who is looking for a quote for his story but has no way to contact you other than a contact form.
Let’s face it…contact forms get lost very easily in the vast sea of email which is detrimental because in this day and age, everyone wants and expects quick answers, not excuses about why you didn’t see their email right away.
How do YOU plan to contact your visitors in the future?
Do you have an opt-in offer so you can gather email addresses? Think about your visitors. Maybe they are too timid to contact you, or maybe the timing isn’t quite right for them to purchase or make a commitment; don’t rely on them to come back to you (that falls into the “hope marketing downfall”).
Instead, give them a fantastic freebie, such as this content planner, that answers some of their questions in exchange for their email and start contacting them consistently. This doesn’t mean bombarding them with sales pitches; instead, offer information that is useful, ask questions about their business, or share bits of your life experience that is relevant to what they’re experiencing.
Banish Hopeful Marketing Forever
YOU are in charge of your business so forget about the worry that you’re bothering someone with your message. You’ll have to be prepared to share your message consistently so you can develop name recognition and attract more loyal followers. Make your online presence work for you while you sleep or go on vacation and then pick up the more active marketing reigns when you return.
Hoping that your website’s unique monthly visitors will contact you is wishful thinking. We all know that visitors think, “Oh, I’ll go back to that site later,” but in reality, the URL is lost once they click away from your site.
- GIVE them a reason when they land on your site to connect with you.
- TELL them why you are the answer to their prayers.
- SHOW them the next steps to stay in touch before they click away into internet oblivion.
That’s taking control of your marketing and your online presence.
If you’re interested in working with Talia Davis PR (Pink Pearl PR) to develop your SEO for PR strategy, book a call with our team.