Now where were we with our online presence?

There’s no doubt that there’s a refreshing whiff of fresh business even at this early stage of the year.

If, like me, you get a sense that things are really getting back to business as usual following the dark depths of the GFC, you may have a sense of picking up where you left off when it comes to your online presence.

Chances are that like many, you were in the process of improving your web presence when the GFC hit, but also like many, had to batten down the hatches and put it aside until the storm passed.

So how do you get your online presence back on track?

I don’t think there’s a better place to start than the 10 Commandments of Web Marketing that we discussed some months back.

While there have been many developments in the last 12 months, this checklist has proven to be the perfect way of ensuring your web presence is up-to-date and professional in an increasingly competitive online world.

Just give yourself a tick for each commandment you are meeting and tally them up for your score.

1. Thou must possess a professional website which looks good, downloads quickly, has well written text and calls to action.

This isn’t just a lame excuse to drum up business for the industry. It’s now well documented that a business that doesn’t offer a reasonably professional website will be quickly disregarded.

It’s as important as a tidy reception area and clean uniform. In other words, it’s the online face of your business and if it isn’t presented well, it will undo all the good work you have invested in getting them to your site in the first place.

2. Thou must possess a content management system that allows us to add or edit pages whenever we need to.

Now mandatory. By all means get a professional to establish your website, but not having the keys to the castle – a content management system – is simply throwing money away as you pay them to make simple adjustments. A CMS too will allow you to add and emphasise keywords for all important search engine optimisation.

3. Thou must possess a website which takes customers and prospects as far through the purchase process as possible (for example, we sell our products online or include a briefing form).

There’s a myth that always gets rolled out whenever this is mentioned, and that’s “but we want them to pick up the phone”. Virtual reality check people. Shoppers using websites to research products (that is, most of the population) and services may not have the time or inclination to do business by phone. If you can capture them while they are in buying or at least inquiring mode, you will increase your chances of making the sale. Otherwise they will just click off to your competitors.

4. Thou must be prominent in Google and other search engines for relevant search terms.

You should aim to have the following positioning in the search engine results pages:

• Number one for your business name (eg. ‘Acme Architects’).
• First page for your category of business in your exact locality (eg. ‘Architects Burwood’).
• First three pages (and ideally first page) for your category of business in your region (eg. ‘Architects Sydney’).

This is of course a ‘rule of thumb’, but if you can achieve these three you are at least some ways ahead of many competitors.

5. Thou must use search engine advertising (eg. Google AdWords) to help supplement our “natural” search results.

The next best thing to being found in “natural” results. At least AdWords et al give you the opportunity to be found for a low cost instead of not at all. As you improve your natural results your reliance (and hence cost) on this advertising will diminish.

6. Thou must use regular email marketing to both maintain existing customers and attract new ones.

Still one of the most under-rated promotional tools in existence. A brilliant, cheap and non-invasive way of keeping in touch with your existing customers and contacts. Content can be repurposed for your website and blog.

7. Thou must ensure promotional emails are Spam and Privacy Act compliant.

The lack of knowledge about this among smaller business is quite scary, to the point where the relevant government departments really need to re-launch it. Do you know the three key tenets of the Spam Act? And do you know what the fines are?

8. Thou must ensure email enquiries are responded to quickly and carry as much importance as phone calls.

Don’t be “channelist”. Sales from email queries are more likely to be worth more than those from phone calls because web users are renowned to be either from businesses or better-educated and better-paid consumers. Non or slow response to emails could cost you big time.

9. Thou must constantly review expenditure on printed directory advertising.

What were once rivers of gold are becoming more like our dams – sad, dry shadows of their former selves. Few businesses use the printed versions these days, and consumers aren’t that far behind. Online advertising is far more accountable, flexible and measurable, and after all, is where prospects now do their digging.

10. Thou must investigate web 2.0/social networking offerings to assess impact on marketing and business in general.

If you target anyone under 30, this is now mandatory and “pending” for the rest of us. Four of the top 10 visited websites in the world are social networking sites – the others being search engines, email platforms and eBay. It’s an enormous, viral, indestructible force that doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Not checking it out is akin to not having a website – a recipe for disaster.
So how many did you score out of 10? As a guide, here’s what your score means.

• 8-10. Great work. You are likely to be meeting your customers’ online expectations and enjoying the benefits of a professional web presence.
• 5-7. Good. You will be getting some benefits from your web presence but need to take action on those items that didn’t rank.
• Less than 5. Poor. To remain competitive, you should get some professional assistance – before it’s too late!

For more Internet Secrets, click here.

Craig Reardon is a leading eBusiness educator and founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which provide the gamut of ‘pre-built’ website solutions, technologies and services to SMEs in Melbourne and beyond.