Every brand, even those that head on out in the real world, must have a firm, established online presence. The world is online, and not having a solid digital presence can hurt your brand’s reputation. People check in on brands they see in person to compare reviews, to learn more about it, to see if there are other options, and more, all the time. So, regardless of whether you are launching a digital-only brand, or are finally bringing your brick-and-mortar store up with the times and launching a digital presence today, this guide will help guide you through the entire process:
Creating Your Brand Basics
There are a few things that your brand will need before you launch anything. These are your:
- Name
- Logo
- Brand Aesthetic
- Products
- Services
- Values
- Goals
If you already have a brick-and-mortar location and brand you may think that you can skip this step, but that isn’t true. For example, your name may not mean much to the digital world, or it may be hard to spell or remember. When people can just refer to your business as “that boutique down on the such-and-such street”, they can’t do that online.
That’s why you may need to choose a different URL than your brand name. If your brand’s name is your family name, for example, but when you ask friends and especially strangers to spell it correctly after seeing it once and they can’t, then it’s time to rethink.
You may want to switch to the initials, for example, or simplify the spelling. Doing this, at least for your digital presence, means that people will be able to find your business by searching for it quickly, and easily. Shorter brand names and words usually do best since they are sharper, faster to read, and easier to remember how to spell.
Checking Your Brand's Name, Slogan, and More
It is possible to come up with a business name, slogan, logo, and so on all on your own, and still plagiarize another company. Similarly, you may find that the made-up word is actually a very real world in another language. Doing your due diligence means understanding what customers around the world will think when they see your brand. Do you look like you’re knocking off another big name brand in another country? Is your brand name actually a swear word or something ridiculous in another language? Simply being aware can help you better plan out your brand’s online identity and help you stay in control over how your audience sees and perceives you.
Crafting the Ultimate Website
Your website is your online headquarter. Your social media presence are your boutiques. They are all important, yes, but to really wow you want everyone who visits that flagship store to be absolutely wowed and, more importantly, to actually buy what you’re selling. In order to do that, you need to create an iron-clad website that is attractive, engaging, and fully accessible.
Build Your Website with SEO Experts at Hand
The best way today to build a website that’s fully optimized is to use the full range of SEO services from Pulse Digital Marketing. Not only can they help you build a great website and host it on your behalf to benefit from that essential site speed and security, but you’ll also be ready to launch your off-site SEO campaign to help your digital presence reach a larger audience base.
The reason why you will want to build your website with SEO experts at hand is simple. SEO today works in two key ways. The first is by appealing to, of course, search engine algorithms. This in turn helps boost your site’s presence in search engines like Google. The second key benefit is that all those features that make your website appealing to those search engines also draw in real people.
Users want a site that is fast to use, completely secure, with engaging content and a breeze-to-use interface. All of those features also appeal to search engines. This means that if you use the best practices for SEO today when building your site, you’ll actually be tackling two birds with one stone.
Building Up Your Off-Site Profiles
You can start establishing your business off-site in many different ways. This is even before you set up your own social media channels. To start, find all local and niche directories that apply to your business and set it up. This can mean creating a Google My Business profile, it can mean putting your listing in the Yellow Pages, and more. Doing this works to increase your NAP (name, address, phone number) listings, which can help expand your audience base and help search engines understand who and what your business is.
You won’t want to stop there, however. Put your PR hat on and get to work writing guest posts that allow you to include an author bio (which will include your business name and website). Try to get your expertly written content published by big names in your sector. Doing this will help fulfill Google’s new EEAT algorithm that emphasizes the author’s expertise and experience, not just the brand itself.