Virtually every potential client will do an online search first before they ever even contact a business. It’s no wonder that if your site is confusing, unkempt, or gets an error message on a critical link, you will likely miss out on a new client. No wonder people spend months agonizing over logos, web themes, color schemes, content, branding, hyperlinks, and more before they hit publish. And once they do, most people aren’t aware of what to do next to get the right people to find it.

Getting a website off the ground can be a super time-consuming endeavor, not to mention an expensive one, so it’s no surprise that many business owners are too exhausted by the process to strike while the iron is hot. Business owners have a lot on their plate and running a website is not part of the day-to-day action plan, but it should be. 

According to Ignite Visibility’s data on searcher’s clicks on non-branded search results, if your website shows up in the first three Google desktop results on any given topic, there’s a 37% chance your link will get a click. Unfortunately, when your site first launches it will most likely not be in the top ten results, let alone the top three. But don’t stress. Optimizing your site’s content for higher organic rankings and building a thought leadership campaign isn’t hard if you put your mind to it and understand that you need clearly defined goalposts along the way to keep you from getting too discouraged. 

Here are some ways you can maximize your site's visibility:

1. Optimise Your Site’s Functionality

From functionality and appearance to navigation and coding integrity, a lot goes into creating an eye-catching, user-friendly website. But in general, making sure potential users have a good experience whilst on your site is paramount. Make sure your visuals are modern and engaging, and that the information you provide on your products and services is top-notch. Make sure your content is informative and your calls to action (CTA) are simple and well-placed. The colors and theme of the site should be in line with your industry and your products or services. Free online site builders like WordPress, Joomla, and Wix can get your site online, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could be wasting a lot of time, and time is money. Budgeting to hire a professional web designer is the best thing you can do to ensure you can spend your time doing what you do best: running your business, while your site is being built to work and look the best it can. Poor site design can be worse than no online presence at all.

2. Analyze your Traffic

Take a close look at the people who are visiting your site and note where they are from and how they find you. Understanding the source of your traffic is necessary to ensure its continued flow. Thanks to Google Analytics reports, you can discover if there is a keyword helping clients find you or if they are looking for you by name. This information alone can help you build a strong marketing campaign by going back to incorporate the top search terms into your site in a natural way. Rich content can attract referral links, which can boost your organic search rankings (SERP’s) and move your business to the top of the list. On the other hand, you might find out that none of your search terms are performing well. This tells you that you will need to do some keyword research and implement new terms to draw in more traffic.

3. Build a Social Media Presence

Using social media as a marketing tool can help you reach thousands of potential customers for little to no monetary commitment. LinkedIn can help build brand awareness among your peers and is great for B2B campaigns, while Facebook and Instagram can help your brand develop its own personality through the content you share which should be a mix of your own along with engaging photos and videos. Twitter can give you a more opinionated outlet, which could work to your advantage depending on your product or service. No matter which platform(s) you choose, stay active on it as much as you can and encourage your team members to share what you post.

4. Be Proactive with Thought Leadership

Blogging is necessary for your website to stay relevant and able to offer new items to returning visitors. Having a strategy in mind, or better yet, a designated content manager steeped in SEO and keyword know-how can truly make all the difference. This can allow your site to grow and can provide sponsored content to other sites that can generate far more leads than traditional (or passive) marketing for a fraction of the cost. Not sure what to write? Re-write existing content that applies to your business, find royalty-free infographics, or post industry reports with a short introduction. Sharing these items across social media platforms can get your content seen, and set you up as a thought leader in the meantime.

5. Find the Right Help

Overall, be patient and flexible with your strategy. Top rankings won’t happen overnight but there are things you can control if you pay attention, and there are plenty of people out there who can help you. The person you find to build and manage your site should be someone you trust, someone who understands your company’s aesthetics and can parlay that across the site while gaining maximum visibility.