I have helped build many websites and helped rebuild many websites. However, it is still sometimes difficult (oddly enough) to demonstrate that the website is the main point of the minimum online presence.
Understand that any initiative to have a web presence should start with the website. But not only with the website.
Importantly, if you want to create a website for your company, a personal website, or think that redirecting the domain to the Facebook page, this is not what you could consider your minimum online presence.
Some people asked me how to do this in practice
It’s very easy to list a bunch of things here that you’re supposed to have, and who am I to suggest that?
Well, I’ve been helping businesses and entrepreneurs of all sizes for over 20 years build their minimal online presence!
Importantly, if you want to create a website for your company, a personal website, or think that redirecting the domain to the Facebook page, this is not what you could consider your minimum online presence.
Some people asked me how to do this in practice, so I decided to write a little more to help – I hope.
It’s very easy to list a bunch of things here that you’re supposed to have, and who am I to suggest that?
Well, I’ve been helping businesses and entrepreneurs of all sizes for over 20 years build their minimal online presence!
The website
Understand that your website, in addition to institutional information, must provide the necessary information about your products and services.
Also, of course, provide all the contact channels you prefer to be used to get in touch. Although there are many options, you should wait for contact from all of them, and monitor this.
Google My Business
In the same way as being found on the web, being physically and personally present must use the available resources to make life easier for your client, of course, as long as you have a physical headquarters.
Make full use of Google My Business, for now it’s free.
Social media
It is important that you identify the most important phone number library social networks and work best on them, no more than two.
In the others, if you want to have some presence, automate the publication of content, and then the collection of contacts with a user support tool, this will make your life easier.
Email marketing
Every online presence should start with opt-in from the very beginning. Even if you don’t know exactly what you’re going to do next, or what types of content you’re going to send, you should do it.
Although you can immediately automate the sending of content books about inbound marketing published on your blog, for example.
Mobile first
It goes without saying that your website needs to be responsive. Over time, you will discover through Analytics not only which content is most effective, but also the percentage of users who initially access your website from mobile devices.
It is a reality that needs to be respected.
Content generation
I left it for last on purpose. You need to start everything by planning your editorial calendar, knowing what and when you are going to publish something, maintaining the interest of the audience you have acquired and the important impact of organic search.
Remembering that the generation of content that will feed the book your list website will also feed social networks and email marketing.
This will happen through the production of relevant and periodic content. Don’t underestimate the power of content production.
Of course, the best thing would be to produce targeted and personalized content for each media.
Suggested structure
About page: detailing a little about your company or about you, a brief history, if you have a defined mission, vision and other information of the kind, put it there too.
>Specific page about products or services: if necessary. Create additional pages for each of them;
Exclusive news page, or blog: you need to produce content frequently. This will help you a lot;
Contact page: where you should have a form (and make sure it works), phone number, address or contact channels of your choice.
>But while you’re not a big guy and don’t have dedicated people to do this. Let’s start in a simple way. Just start. Your content could become your greatest asset. Think about it.
Recommendation for minimum online presence
Register a domain;
Activate hosting in an appropriate location, don’t save so much on hosting and get something better will save you suffering in the future;
The domain must point to the website hosting, not to a social network. Make sure you register it in your name and have control over it;
Preferably, have email services external to the website hosting location, I recommend Google’s G Suite . If your website goes down due to problems with your provider. Your emails will continue to work;
Hire someone or make a website yourself, remembering a few things. You can use tools that do this (I don’t recommend it) or WordPress, which I think is the best alternative.
Home page
main highlights, list of products and services, place for email marketing opt-in, links to your social networks;
Have your profile on the social networks that make sense, don’t do it on all of them and then leave it abandoned;
Don’t forget to create an account and register your business on Google My Business, it is very important and very useful;
Make sure your website will be indexed by Google and Bing;
Just that?
Actually this is the beginning.
You will need to somehow integrate the channels, website with social networks. Website publications on social networks, send publications and news to people via email marketing.
In fact, email marketing needs to start being implemented from the very beginning. You need to take care of this point.
And as for social media, unless you have a very specific niche. Take care of it without giving it more attention than it deserves.
If possible
Share some things automatically at the beginning. If you don’t have the resources to do it manually.
For many of the above alternatives you will need to use plugins (if we are talking about WordPress) or third-party services and tools, some paid and some free.
Speaking of the website layout, I remember that it will need to be responsive. That is, it needs to adapt to the device where it will be displayed.
This is essential, we live in a mobile-first era.