Search engine optimization is the process of getting more traffic to your website from search results. Most SEO services revolve around things you can do on your website and other online assets to boost your rankings. However, optimization does not end once you step away from the keyboard. Here are 3 things you should be doing offline to boost your SEO efforts.
1. Customer Service
When people have a bad experience with your company, they are slightly more likely to post an online review than those that have a positive experience. Right off the bat, you can see why maintaining excellent customer service--both offline and online--are an essential part of building your brand reputation.
That reputation, however, will affect your SEO results as 88 percent of consumers trust an online review as much as a recommendation from a friend. That means that positive reviews on sites like Yelp drive more traffic to your website. Positive and negative experiences can also inspire online writers to craft a review of your business or products. If it reflects well on your brand, then you'll gain from backlinks, social media mentions, and consumers searching the web for more information on your company.
If you don't think offline events can affect SEO, remember how one ordeal affected United Airlines. In addition to the bad press, searches results for "United Airlines" returned pages filled with the incident for days.
2. Events and Trade Shows
In-person events are another place to build your brand reputation. In addition to enthusiastic interactions with potential customers, events and trade shows will help you spread brand awareness and build knowledge around your products and services. As more people find out who you are and what you do, you are likely to get more traffic to your website as a result of branded searches.
Live events also get a lot of live coverage from attendees. Whether you're a featured speaker at the main event or holding down the fort at a tradeshow, getting mentions and having your name included in the coverage of the event will boost your SEO efforts as well.
3. Update Your Collateral Pieces
Backlinks and referral traffic are an essential component of any SEO effort. Networking and guest blogging can be great ways to build links and mentions online. Having all your digital assets listed on your collateral material is a must for bringing offline interactions back to the web.
Make sure your sales folders, letterhead, business cards, and other pieces all list your web address and social media accounts so you are easy to find once you leave the conference room.
Holistic SEO Services
Building a great website and following the best on-page SEO practices are the bedrock of your SEO efforts. To bring your search traffic to the next level, be sure to think about SEO during your offline activities for a holistic approach to getting more traffic to your website.
http://streetfightmag.com/2012/08/14/poll-bad-experiences-are-more-likely-to-inspire-reviews/
