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Wrap your online business in a Google-proof bubble

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is an of tenused phrase to warn us away f rom impending doom.

Sometimes we take this advice on-board, sometimeswe ignore it.

In the modern online world we should take it on-board, especially if our ‘basket’ is organic traf f icf rom Google and the majority of your businesscomes f rom one source; Google’s organic searchresults.

Why is it such a potential problem?

The answer is simple – next t ime Google updates itsalgorithm all your traf f ic could disappear in a puf f of internet smoke.

It ’s happened bef ore and it will happen again. It ’s just a matter of when.

How to avoid the carnage

Dramatic? Possibly, but if it happens to you your business could go f rom making hundreds or thousandsof pounds per day, to almost zero, in just a f ew short hours.

Over the past couple of years Google changed how it ranks web pages. Through a string of major andminor updates, nicknamed Panda and Penguin, it targeted sites with low quality content and dodgy linkprof iles. Overall the changes make f or a better user experience, but some businesses suf f ered majorlosses as a result.

Some might say it ’s their own f ault. Some might say it ’s the f ault of the SEO company they used. Somemight say it ’s Google’s f ault.

Whatever the reason, it ’s not a good situation to be in.

So, what can you do ensure your online business isn’t burned next t ime Google updates its algorithm?

Besides creating great content and better managing your link building process, you should look af teryour customers and create and nurture a community you can rely on to spend money with you, and torecommend you to their f riends and acquaintances when they need the services you provide.

Consider traf f ic f rom Google a bonus, make the most of it while it lasts and never, ever take it f orgranted.

If it one day disappears and you don’t have a loyal customer base or a community behind you, youronline business could very quickly go under.

Looking af ter your existing customers takes many f orms:

Engagement through social media, of f line conversations, newsletters, email and other f orms ofcommunication

Special of f ers and discounts

Understanding their needs and making them f eel special

Provide the best service you can at every opportunity

Build real relationships

Forget the hard-sell

Building a community is tough, especially in the early days of trying to do so. Luckily, through social mediachannels like Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn, things have become somewhat easier, butdon’t expect it to happen overnight and without a lot of ef f ort.

When it comes to success in social media too many people f ocus on high numbers and assume thehigher the number the better.

This isn’t true.

And Twitter f ollowers and Facebook likes can be easily bought.

What’s most important in social media is the interaction between you and the people who f ollow you.

Take Twitter; it ’s better to have a reliable percentage of 500 f ollowers who react to your Tweets than5,000 f ollowers who take no action at all. The small percentage who retweet, reply or click links in yourtweets are more likely to become a paying customer than the 5,000 who ignore you.

Here are a f ew pointers to help you develop an audience and rely less on Google f or customers.

Always provide quality content that your f ollowers f ind usef ul

Create a mailing list and provide a regular newsletter

Give stuf f away – industry specif ic reports, f reebies, vouchers – whatever works f or yourbusiness

Ask questions about the wants and needs of your customers – and meet those needs

Try the sof t-sell approach

Handle social media yourself , or pass it to somebody you trust (don’t let the new bod handle it)

Share interesting industry related content on your social platf orms – it ’s not all about you (tryScoop.it as a curation tool)

Use social media to build brand awareness, trust and to connect with, and build your customerbase

The bottom line here is that you are trying to build your online presence so your business could surviveif Google ever decided it didn’t like your website, f or whatever reason. The aim is to communicate andengage with your existing customer base to build up trust and loyalty.

Many small businesses operate on a ref erral only basis, they don’t advertise because they don’t need to.They provide a good service so they retain customers and earn new ones through recommendations. Ifyou build-up a small community around your business you stand a chance of being in a similar situation.Once your community exists, nurture it and look af ter it, as one day, you might have to rely on it.

Photo – Mrs Logic