In the age that we live in, where businesses live and die by their online successes or failures, knowing how to navigate the complicated ecosystem of the internet and search engine optimization is key to the success of every business that wants to have an online presence. There are over 1,000,000,000 websites on the internet, so knowing how to have your website rise to the top is critical. Keeping up with the internet as it evolves is a very important skill to have. For example, location-specific domains are a new tool that businesses can use to get themselves ahead on the internet.
The .nyc domain, for example, aims to help New York City businesses target their local NYC customers. Here are some helpful tips that will do wonders for your business’s online presence.
Site Speed:
Believe it or not, having the highest quality images on your website does not lead to an overall increase in success. Here’s why:
When a website contains a lot of high resolution images or anything else that causes the website to take more time to load, it has a direct impact on a website’s bounce rate, which is the rate at which site visitors go to a page and immediately leave the website. This happens because, simply, people are impatient. When a websites takes even 2 or 3 seconds to load, people will leave before the page even loads. Google cares about bounce rate a lot, so a website that has more information but a higher bounce rate will regularly rank below a website with less information that has a small bounce rate.
Once your website ranks higher for important keywords on Google, you will get an increase in pageviews, which increases how well your site ranks on Google, so on and so forth.
Hosting:
Capturing the perfect domain name for your website isn’t as simple as one that people remember. For instance, companies that are based in New York City and do business solely (or almost solely) in New York City can leverage the power of the .nyc domain. Here’s how:
Firstly, Google recognizes where their searches are coming from, and in New York City the search results will favor websites with the .nyc domain over the more traditional .com or .org. For example, as of writing this article, if you search “souvenirs” in New York City on Google, the website souvenirs.nyc is the third result, only after the Wikipedia page for souvenirs and the dictionary.com definition of souvenir. This shows the power that having a .nyc domain can have for New York City-focused businesses.
Read this article for great advice from a serial entrepreneur for small business or startup owners.
However, souvenirs.nyc doesn’t just have the .nyc domain, they also have “souvenirs”. Most simple phrases are taken in the .com domain. However, .nyc and other specific domains have more options available since these new domains are still in their adolescence. There are a whole new set of domains that have many names available that in the future will pay dividends.
Think of it as the .com boom all over again. As the internet continues to expand, some websites will wade through the density of websites and have a huge leg up on the competition, and having the correct website name, whether that be with .com, .nyc, or any other domain, will be critical.
Online Marketing:
Online marketing is just as critical, or even more critical than real-life advertising, even for local small businesses. As mentioned in the hosting section above, businesses do not need to have a global presence to have a large and impactful presence online.
There are many ways to get positive press for your business without even needing to pay Google for clicks or use sponsored or native content, although they are also recommended strategies.
Read these articles if you want some insights into how sponsored content and native advertising can work for you (LINK SPONSORED CONTENT AND NATIVE ADVERTISING ARTICLES).
Bringing people to your website using free and easy online marketing strategies can help your website get more views, and if your website loads quickly and has a good domain, you will see your website rocket up the results list for the important keywords relating to your business.
One good strategy is using interviews to your advantage. In an interview setting, both parties gain something. If you interview people related to your industry, they will use their social media presence to promote the interview, thus adding their audience to your own.
On the flip side, if you become a source for an article or the subject of an interview that relates to your business, those who read the article are likely to visit your website to learn more, or purchase an item. Both of these strategies have a positive effect on the influx of viewers to your website, which will allow you to leverage the advantages you have gained on your competitors by ranking better on Google.
In a world where a business having an online presence is more of a necessity than a luxury, being able to leverage the medium to your advantage over your competitors will give you a huge competitive advantage. Use the tips and tricks above and in the articles that are linked to educate yourself on how to best manage the challenges associated with running a business in the age of the internet.
For more advice for startups and small businesses, read this article from a successful entrepreneur.
