There’s a lot of noise surrounding what actually works to get found online. Everyone seems to have their pet theory. 

The purpose of this post is to clear up some of the confusion. We look at how to get found online and what works. We explore the methods that will make a difference and how to use them. Here’s everything you need to know: 

Get Listed and Ensure Your Site Gets Seen

The first and perhaps most important step for getting found online is to get your business’s domain listed. Website indexing includes you in search engine’s databases so they know where you are and what you do. 

If you don’t list your site on website indexes, people can still find you by typing your web address into the URL bar, but who does that these days? Most users try to find reputation websites on search engines. Being on these automatically builds credibility and shows leads that you’re trustworthy and able to do what you say you’re going to do. 

Don’t worry if it all seems confusing. These days, numerous services can help you get found automatically. These index you with minimal effort from you. 

Use SEO

If you want your brand to get found, it also makes sense to make ample use of SEO. Optimizing your pages for search engines will help you rank higher in results, getting you found more often. 

Google’s ranking algorithm is complex and depends on multiple factors. Therefore, getting to the top of it takes time. It’s not an exact science and there’s no perfect formula. The trick is to get the basics right and then start testing more aggressive strategies to see what has the most effect. Some industries, for instance, benefit from the inclusion of alt text on images more than others, and so on. 

Once you get SEO up and running, you can reduce your reliance on expensive strategies, like pay-per-click marketing. PPC is costly and non-renewable, while the effects of SEO last for the lifetime of your website. 

Use More Content

Another thing you can do to get found more easily online is to use more content. Adding blogs, videos, and other elements to your pages can help you build engagement and get more people interested in what you’re doing.

Don’t be afraid to write a long blog post explaining something relevant to your users. Most will go through it and use it to learn more about how to use the products and services you sell effectively. 

Adding content to your site can be challenging sometimes, and it’s only something you should do if you feel you can make a professional job of it. But once you have unique information, other sites will start linking to you, boosting your backlink profile and encouraging more visitors to come to you. 

Use Social Media

Separate from SEO, you should also use social media to help people find you. The more you can reach out on these platforms, the more likely you are to succeed. 

Social media is an opportunity because it doesn’t take long to build a substantial audience if you know what you’re doing. Users are constantly on the lookout for new content to help them build their businesses or improve their lives. And that’s something you can help them with, as long as you adopt the right tactics. 

Social media is all about the awareness stage of the sales funnel. Most of the time, you’re just trying to introduce people to what you sell. Don’t go for the hard sell on social media, unless you know the lead has been interested in your products and services for a long time. 

Take the opportunity to get closer to your audience and learn more about them. Engage with them and ask questions on social media to find out what they need and what their pain points are. 

Add Advertising

As mentioned, ads can also help increase online visibility, but they are expensive. If you don’t have SEO in place for your business yet, you can use it to rocket your brand to the top of search results and get social media platforms to display your content in front of people who wouldn’t usually see it. 

Ideally, you want your ads to target the people most likely to search for your products and services. You want the ad copy to speak to them in a language they understand. 

At first, it will seem expensive. But you can complement ad listings with other strategies to reduce outgoings over time.