Building an Online Presence Where to Start? An Introduction to Establishing your Digital Reputation. Michelle Jordan, Executive Director

Transcription

1 findlocalstorage.com Building an Online Presence Where to Start? An Introduction to Establishing your Digital Reputation Michelle Jordan, Executive Director Host: Storage Business Owner s Alliance (SBOA)

2 Presenter Information Michelle Jordan was hired as Executive Director for Find Local Storage in February 2017 and tasked with driving business expansion and new product development. Her deep skills in business for organizations of all sizes and intuitive approach to problem solving will help lead the company in improving the Find Local Storage platform and in continuing to identify and connect with world-class partners. Michelle Jordan, Executive Director Find Local Storage Michelle brings over 25+ years of experience in management, finance and marketing. A St. Edwards University graduate, she served as CEO of the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System. Prior to that, she held the titles of Controller for Go Local Interactive and CFO for the Texas Department of Agriculture. She has also owned her own businesses over the years offering website development, bookkeeping, publishing, and recruiting services. Contact Info: michelle@findlocalstorage.com (810) FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 2

3 Presentation Highlights 1. What is SEO and why is it Important? 2. Google My Business 3. Website Structure and Optimization 4. Leveraging Social Media (Facebook, Twitter) & the Importance of Mentions/Hashtags 5. Reputation Management and its Importance 6. Free Online Tools for SEO, Device Compatibility, Social Media Management, Reputation Management, etc. 7. Questions/Answers FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 3

4 Building an Online Presence Where to Start? An Introduction to Establishing your Digital Reputation Getting found and doing business online is becoming a necessity for storage companies, big and small. And for smaller companies that may not have the staff to devote to building an online presence or the funds to buy these kinds of services, this goal may seem out of reach. This webinar provides a high level understanding of the steps to establish a basic online presence and laying the groundwork for future research and education. What is SEO and why is it Important? SEO Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a discipline that seeks to influence search engines so that a website has the best chance of appearing prominently in a search. The goal is for a website to show up on the first or second page of search results when basic terms are typed in so that users FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 4

5 have an opportunity to see a site. Obviously, the hope is that users will click through to view a site to make a purchase or take a desired action. The objective of SEO is to produce conditions where that is possible. The most widely used search engines are Google and Bing, so SEO efforts usually focus on implementing an action plan according to the algorithms for those search engines. Verizon owns AOL and recently purchased Yahoo, so it may make sense in the coming years to watch Yahoo to see if they will compete more closely with Bing. Google Sites 63.5% Bing & Other Microsoft Sites 22.5% Yahoo Sites 11.7% Other Search Engines (Ask, AOL, etc.) 2.3% Source: comscore PC search market share and query volume figures for December 2016 Algorithms. Search engines calculate relevance and popularity based on mathematical formulas called algorithms. Search engines crawl billions of internet web pages/documents to store information (indexing) for future processing by their algorithms. When a user does a search, an engine pulls results based on the relevance of search terms that are then ranked according to the calculated popularity of those sites (The more visits or references to a site or document, the more valuable the engines presume the data.). FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 5

6 Okay, so SEO is important. What are some basic things that a small business can do to optimize and build an online presence? Google My Business Google My Business (GMB) is the dashboard function in Google where you can manage your Google+ account, the addresses and phone numbers for your locations, and customer reviews. You can attach a YouTube account, set business hours for holidays, and more. Think of Google My Business as a tool to manage all things Google. Business listings show up prominently on the right hand side of searches and also in the local listing results. And the best part it s free! Image credit: webpronews FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 6

7 Here you can see Google search results for SecurCare in Florida. The results shown in the listing on the right are pulling primarily from information in the G+ account, which is managed by Google My Business. The listing includes all kinds of useful information, including directions to the facility and a link to the website. FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 7

8 For another search, if we input the city instead of a specific facility name, we don t get the Google My Business listing on the right. Instead, search results show a Google map with relevant local businesses just below the paid Google advertising. FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 8

9 In this example, when we click on SecurCare s listing as shown on the Google Map, it takes the user right to the Google My Business listing. Most searches for storage where there is an opportunity to win business are going to be generic by city and/or state. When results like these are shown, you want to make sure your facility is there with as much information as possible. If you were going to select just one of the strategies in this webinar, this is the one we recommend. You need to get your Google My Business account setup/optimized in order to have a fair shot at online business referrals. FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 9

10 Website Structure and Optimization If you have a small website with just a few pages, Google, Bing, and the other search engines will eventually crawl your website with all of its pages to consider indexing it for searches. Larger sites with many pages need to generate a sitemap and submit it to the search engines to ensure that all of its URLs and pages are crawled for potential indexing. But with a small website, submitting the URL address to Google and Bing to expedite the process should be sufficient. Simply search for Submit URL to Google or Bing, type in the entire address including the or and submit. FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 10

11 As discussed earlier, it s not just relevance that we re concerned with in making sure a website can rank or compete on Google and Bing. Relevance will get a listing somewhere on the search engines. But a site needs to be popular to appear on the first pages in a search, which requires website mentions (links to the site from other sites) and regular visitors. You can increase mentions and drive traffic to a site by: Publishing standalone articles or a blog Using social media to help generate excitement Buying paid search media FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 11

12 Leveraging Social Media (Facebook, Twitter) & the Importance of Mentions/Hashtags Studies have shown that the majority of Americans are now influenced by social media when it comes to making purchases. You may think that it s not relevant to storage. But anytime one of your competitors is saying or doing something popular on social media in your market, it s relevant. It means they are going to get the benefit of that popularity and traffic over your site, despite pricing and amenities that may be more attractive at your facility. As hard as it is to swallow, you aren t popular unless Google says you are. Here are some tips to remember when you re just getting started on social media: If you write an article on your website, link to the URL of the article on your Facebook page and Tweet about it this helps drive traffic to your site. Post pictures of real live people (with their permission of course) from your facility as opposed to using stock photos, as millennials and genx love businesses that are authentic. Post no less than twice a month, with the optimum being really twice a week. With storage, there are so many possibilities for content. When you run out of ideas, talk about your specials, brag about your community, wish everyone a Happy New Year! There are sites where you can find out what is being celebrated somewhere in the world on any given day - just keep it fresh and keep it coming. FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 12

13 Try to stay current and relevant, but leave controversial topics at the door. Watch topics trending on social media so that you can get in on the conversation. o For example here is some relevant, low hanging fruit a post designed to drive traffic to your Facebook Page (but not necessarily your website, since it isn t entirely relevant to storage): a photo of a pile of fidget-spinners with a caption: Need a place to store these? #fidgetspinners Educate yourself about #hastags because they aren t just designed to be cute. o Millions of people search Facebook and Twitter using keywords for topics they re interested in and #hashtags organize Facebook and Twitter posts so that they show up in those searches. Never miss an opportunity to #hashtag. o Mentions are when you want to talk to someone else that has an account on Facebook or Twitter as a nice plug for them that also increases the visibility of your post. For example, here is a post relevant to the community with a mention and two hashtags for visibility: and thanks for all you do for #Sanjuanisland! #volunteeroftheyear Shares, likes, and retweets increase your visibility! FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 13

14 Reputation Management and its Importance A recent study on BrightLocal.com found that 88% of consumers read reviews to determine the quality of a local business and 72% of consumers will take action after reading a positive review. It pays to keep up with what is being said online about your business. You can regularly search your business on Google and Bing and we also recommend setting up alerts on Google at Google.com/alerts to have mentions of your company delivered to you via FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 14

15 You ll also want to monitor sites like Yelp, Angie s List, etc. for complaints and bad reviews. If you find a bad review, it s best to respond to it. If possible, contact the customer to make it right. If there is a complaint posted on your social media page, don t delete it unless it is vulgar, overly offensive, or an obvious troll. Many forget to respond to positive reviews. It s nice to see leave it short and sweet. It shows the public that you are present and actively part of the conversation. Free Online Tools for SEO, Device Compatibility, Social Media Management, Reputation Management, etc. It pays to utilize the free services that are available. Between 50 65% of website traffic for storage companies is likely coming from users across mobile, so it is worth ensuring that the mobile experience for your website is a good one. There is a good selection of free online tools that can provide vital information relating to your website, its SEO, and mobile optimization: Google Analytics - traffic sources, sales conversions, most visited pages, etc. Think with Google - test website page speed over mobile with Google s tool at Screaming Frog - spider tool that will crawl your website to conduct an SEO audit Hootsuite - dashboard to manage social media channels and schedule posts WooRank - analysis on site usability, mobile optimization, search engine rankings and more. FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 15

16 FIND LOCAL STORAGE Findlocalstorage.com is a free online consumer search tool for storage that delivers calls and reservations directly to its member facilities. CONTACT US Michelle Jordan, Executive Director Find Local Storage Contact Info: michelle@findlocalstorage.com (810) The company is owned by a consortium of storage businesses for the benefit of the industry and companies of all sizes are invited to join as members. There is no bias in the way facilities are shown in search results and at the touch of a button, consumers can see pricing and amenities for available units. Calls and reservations can be completed directly from the site, which is a great feature. The ability to receive online reservations, calls, and leads at fair prices, courtesy of a platform built by the industry, makes Find Local Storage unique in the marketplace. FIND LOCAL STORAGE Page 16