The Webbin’ It Manifesto

Long story short, your web presence requires more than just “a website.”

The fact is, your website, no matter how well named, will not always be the way that people find you.  Gone are the days of just typing in something you want and adding “.com” at the end and finding what you need on the first try.  At the very least, someone is going to add the word “affordable” or “cheap” to their search for a product.  Some will use entire questions: “where can I find the best price on” whatever they’re searching for “?” If your website is not optimized for the searches your customers will use, Google, Bing, and Yahoo are not going to show them your website on page one.  You need Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

If you’re not on social media, you’re missing a whole group of people that may want what you sell or have to offer.  You may think, “No one on Facebook will look me up.”  Truth be told, SearchEngineLand.com reported in June that people are using Google less and less, going on the recommendations of friends, family, and strangers based on not only word of mouth testimonials but the reviews of business listings on social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  They’re there, they’re looking, but you’re not there, so they aren’t finding you.

After a customer finds you, they need to be able to find what they need from you on your website.  That said, if your web design and functionality inhibits your end user from finding what they need, they’ll bounce.  Search engines look at how long people browse your site, how many pages they look at while visiting, and quite a few other on-page stats to decide whether you, in the future, will be a relevant result.

You Can’t Just Have One…

We here at Webbin’ It believe that having a solid web presence requires solid web design, a solid SEO strategy (both on-page and off-page), and a solid social media strategy.

The truth is, Google and other search engines use the information you put out on social media along with what you have done with your SEO on your website to confirm your relevance. With only your website to go on, search engines will put the websites that have social media to read up on and solid SEO above you.  Your web design could be fantastic.  Once seen, everyone would want to stay there for days.  However, if search engines don’t know “who you are” they won’t show you as a relevant result.

Furthermore, if you’re relying on your SEO alone, while you will see an increase in rank, again, those sites that have social media that confirms their identity as a company will be placed above you.  Ever heard of “playing second fiddle”?  Prepare to do so the more you put social media off as irrelevant to you and your business!

Earlier we told you that social media is surpassing search engines, and that’s very true.  However, if all you’re doing is social media, you are, again, missing an entire audience.  While social media becomes the searching norm, you still want to be found by those that will not use social media to find what they’re looking for.

In other words, your website, your SEO strategy, and your social media strategy must work together to have the maximum web presence.