As I've built this site over the last two days and become fond of the excitement of starting something new again, I'm amazed at how almost nothing about the site pops up when I type the words "Effective Web Presence" into Google. That makes sense--the site hasn't been around long enough to be indexed. Still it's surprising considering what I find when I type "Iceman Baldy" and conduct a search.
Well, if you're just starting out with defining your online brand, you've probably had the same experience; but, fear not--I have seven things that you can do immediately to start changing where you show up when you start searching for your specific keywords.
1. Create a headquarters presence. This could be a profile page, weblog or lens on a highly trafficked platform like Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogger or Squidoo. I have tutorials on this weblog that can assist you with this task.
2. Use your headquarters presence to connect with others by linking to people, sites, and things of interest to you that are also consistent with the brand image that you want to portray.
3. Write content or post pictures and links that are interesting and informative to further develop your image as an expert while providing reasons for others to link to you from their profile pages and websites.
4. Find sites and weblogs in your area of expertise and leave comments on posts that you find interesting or where you can add to the discussion. Include your site or profile address in the appropriate field so that those who appreciate your comment can visit your site to learn more about you and what you're into.
5. Visit social networks and online communities or forums that are dedicated to your interests. If you like what you see, join the community and become a contributing member. Use your profile page and/or signature there to link back to you headquarters page and vice-versa. Your Effective Web Presence should build on itself with each new profile pointing back to a primary headquarters location and referencing the others where possible.
6. Use social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, Technorati, and deli.cio.us to share sites that fit your brand with others who might also like what you've tagged. Many of these bookmarking sites have their own community features and offer additional opportunities to showcase your expertise.
7. Set up a Twitter account and make sure that your profile page includes a link to your headquarters profile or site. Review my Twitter resources to get an understanding of how Twitter can build your brand and use Twitter to connect with like-minded individuals while also providing helpful contributions that build your expertise.
There are many other things you can do to further enhance your Effective Web Presence. Some are refinements and evolutions of the steps listed above, others may be a bit more time consuming but these seven things will give you a quick and dirty headstart on raising awareness about your online brand and taking you higher in the search engine results within a few days of their execution. I'm going to take the steps this week with this weblog and we'll see how it ranks next week.
Comments