Take a moment and type in your own business or personal name in a search engine. What type of information comes up?

Is it information about how to contact you? Does it include positive testimonials from satisfied customers? Is there anything negative? Is there anything at all?

When it comes to making basic decisions on most purchases, the majority of buyers start their research on the Internet – even if they do not ultimately make the purchase itself online.

As a result, it is vitally important not only that you have an online presence, but that you have control of that presence. After all, your online presence determines your reputation and the reputation of your business.

You can establish a positive online reputation in several ways.

Of course, you need a professional business website or blog to stay in contact with existing customers and showcase your products or services to new prospects.

This will help buyers feel more secure about you and your business. In addition, you’ll have control over your own reviews. Your website should include positive testimonials from happy customers. This is the first step in getting your customers to post positive reviews elsewhere online. This way, you’ll get more feedback and your online reputation, as a good, solid businessperson will grow.

Google has just introduced a new “Google’s Favorite Places” program which started when they sent window stickers to 100,000 local businesses.  The stickers are to be placed in the front windows of the business so customers can scan them with their smart phones and pull up reviews and coupons.  

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the first to have the new Google sticker?

The first step is to claim your listing with Google’s Local Business Center. We can help you through that process – along with verifying that your business information is correct and enhancing your listing with photos, videos, comments and coupons.

If you look around any website, you’re sure to find links that you can click on that will take you to another website.  That’s a backlink – a link from one site on the Internet to another.

Backlinks are important to the success of any website for two reasons. The first is that they can bring visitors and traffic to the site.  The second is their importance for search engine rankings.

When one site links to another using a specific term in the link, i.e. “blue widget”, search engines see that link as an indication that the site is an authority in blue widgets.  The more back-links a site has using the same term, the higher their search engine rankings will be.

So if 50 sites all link to your site using the term “Phoenix Attorney”, there’s a good chance that your site will come up on the search engines when someone searches for a Phoenix attorney.

We can put together a backlinking campaign for your website that will get your site ranked in the search engines. We base all our custom linking packages on in-depth keyword research and analysis to get you the best results.

However, just setting the blog up will not be enough to get the dramatic results and profits that everyone ultimately wants.

Here are 3 ways you can use your blog to build and promote your business:

Keep People Informed

Particularly in today’s economy, if you don’t correspond, people will assume you’re gone.

Make sure everyone knows you’re around and ready to leap into action whenever they need you by posting updates, tips and even sales information on your blog.

Develop Rapport

People are more likely to work with people they feel an affinity for. However, you probably don’t have time to develop a meaningful friendship with every potential client.

However, corresponding via a blog – especially if you allow user comments and occasionally respond to them – develops a feeling of trust between you and your readers.

When it’s time for them to find someone to work with in your business arena, you will already be a trusted name for them.

By choosing a web address (URL) for your site that’s easy to remember, optimized to generate “buzz” and attract search engine attention, you’ll be able to turn a practical necessity into a powerful marketing tool.

You can brand your site with your company name, the name of your main product or even your personal moniker. It’s even possible to use several different URLs to create your own web of sites to serve different sections of your clientele.

The key is to make your website address something memorable so your customers will be able to easily locate you online.

Be sure to include your URL on all printed and electronic business materials; it’s the link – both literally and figuratively – that will lead to your online and offline success.

We can create a website that will have the Internet buzzing about your business. Ask us