What is Online Presence?
Online Presence incorporates all strategies of Digital Marketing that look to maximize a business's local online visibility and attract more customers in the local area. This is especially important for businesses with physical premises that can only attract customers from within traveling distance. Creating consistent listings for your business in online directories, like Google Business Profile, is an important part of building an effective Online Presence strategy. Many customers use these directories to help quickly find a suitable local business for their needs. That could be a nearby restaurant, the best architect in town, or even a lawyer. Local directories have listings for almost every industry. Online Presence is all about making sure that your business is found in these local searches. Directory listings can also be displayed directly in search results.
Google Business Profile is Google's own local directory. Listings for Google Business Profile appear in Google's Search Engine results at the top of the results page just below or above paid advertisements. There are local directories for almost every industry, and many of these directories also create a review profile for each business. Many consumers base their purchasing decisions on reviews they read on these profiles. The impact of this cannot be ignored. Even if you haven't set any directory listings up, it is very likely that listings currently exist for your business. Directories like Google Business Profile automatically generate a listing for almost every business. To make sure your business is being presented in the best possible light, you must claim your listings and keep them up to date. Taking control of your listings and managing them quickly and cost-effectively, will ensure that the next time someone is in your area and searching for the best business in your industry - they will find you.