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5 Reasons Why Your Online Popularity Has Taken A Nosedive

by Jonathan Wickham

 

We all want to be popular, especially online. It’s no secret that the higher you rank in organic search results, the more likely people will find you and become your customers.

 

Online Popularity

 

 

But we all know that rankings have nothing to do with luck. To be at or near the top – and stay there – you have to work incredibly hard to earn and maintain that prized position.

 

However, if your search ranking plummets (even if you are trying your best to rank well), then there may be some other issues you aren’t aware of.

 

Let’s take a look at five potential reasons your online popularity has dropped (and what to do to fix them):

 

1. You haven’t caught onto the content marketing vision

Many people are under the illusion that if they create a website filled with great web copy, then they have “arrived” and simply need to wait for all their customers to get on board.

 

Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Even if you initially receive some interest, it will soon dwindle. In the online and tech world, where everything is moving and evolving at a crazy pace, you cannot afford to remain stagnant. Consumers have come to expect businesses to have a lot of activity online and post frequently to their websites. If they don’t see you doing this, you will soon be dead to them.

 

What We Recommend:

You must create a content marketing strategy and schedule. At the very minimum, post at least one to two pieces of new content per week.

 

Also, if you don’t already have a blog, make sure you start one and post regularly. Blogs are a great place to post news about your company, latest trends in your industry, interesting articles, etc.

 

However, don’t think that blog writing is synonymous with “sloppy.” Even though blog posts may be a little more casual than other web copy, they must still be professional, well-written, and grammatically sound.

 

Remember, all major search engines consider the quality of ALL content when ranking your site.

 

2. Your site needs a makeover

So, guess what? Not only do your customers care about your website design, but so does Google.

 

It’s true: Google analyzes website visitor data to determine quality of websites. Google now looks at how well people respond to websites (how long they spend on them, what they do on them, click-through rate, etc.).

 

So, if consumers aren’t hanging around your site for long, and if they aren’t returning, Google is not going to promote your site.

 

What We Recommend:

First and foremost, you need to know what people think about your website. Use Google analytics to determine:

 

  • The length of time people remain on your site
  • The number of pages they view on your site
  • Your bounce rate (if people leave your site very quickly without looking at any other pages)

 

Then, do your best to connect with people through your site. Make sure the design is appealing and suitable for your product and service. Ensure that the user interface is enticing and easy to use.

 

3. Your site doesn’t respond well to mobile devices

Not too long ago it was less of a priority for companies to make their website responsive to mobile devices. Now, however, it is now absolutely imperative. Many people have ditched using desktop computers and laptops in favor of smart phones and other mobile devices.

 

If your website does not load quickly on mobile devices, and if it’s not responsive/easy to use when in mobile device format, then you are going to lose potential customers left, right, and center. Not only will customers not take the time to return to your site, but your brand will also lose credibility. Besides, who wants to connect with a business who isn’t efficient enough to be accessible?

 

What We Recommend:                                              

Use responsive design coding for your site to ensure it can be accessed properly by people using their tablets or smart phones.  If your site is not mobile responsive, make this a top priority. We cannot stress enough how important it is that you take care of this urgently.

 

4. You’re using the bad, old-school SEO methods

Once upon a time, not so long ago, SEO was all about tricks and quick cheats. Basically, websites would rank well if you knew how to stuff them with keywords and link to any low-quality sites.

 

Luckily, Google’s algorithms (Panda and Penguin) now catch out those dirty tactics. If you employ unethical SEO methods, not only will you rank poorly, but Google will penalize you (and trust us, you don’t want to get on the bad side of Google!).

 

This is great news for people who care about providing quality content to customers. Google rewards those sites who use ethical SEO practices like providing useful, strong content to build their brands.

 

What We Recommend:

For starters, stop all bad SEO practices. If you do happen to have a penalty placed on your site, it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to get rid of it. Visit this blog post for help.

 

5. Your competitors are working harder than ever

Your competitors want to rank well just as much as you do. It’s hard work trying to be in first place!

 

But if you do find yourself in a good position, don’t get too comfortable. You never know what your competition might do to fly higher than you.

 

However, even though the internet is a competitive playing field, you shouldn’t lose hope. Because if you stay on top of the trends and use current content marketing techniques, you will be a strong search engine contender.

 

What We Recommend:

In all honesty, you need a solid content marketing campaign. Now, this may sound like biased advice coming from an inbound marketing company. But that’s why we’re a successful team: we know what our clients need in order to achieve and maintain a strong web presence.

 

Conclusion

A lot more effort is required these days to draw customers to your website. Customers won’t settle for low quality, and neither will Google. Ranking highly is all about being a quality, online contender.

 

Continue to post new, compelling content to your website and your customers will keep coming back. It’s a bit of a no-brainer, really. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes: if you love the information you find, you will return. If you don’t, you won’t.

 

Think about it, content marketing appeals to human nature. That’s why you cannot go wrong with this marketing method.

 

 

Jonathan Wickham

Jonathan Wickham has been in the online marketing industry for over 7 years. He is the current CEO of Digital Flavor Enterprises. DF was called one of the top 3 fastest growing inbound marketing agencies at the Portland IMA Conference in 2014. You can read this page for more about the Digital Flavor’s marketing philosophy.

 

Photo Credits

Steve Garner | Courtesy of Jonathan Wickham

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