How to Stay Ahead of Your Competition in a Web-Based World

 The need to stay ahead of your competition in business is as old as – well, the world of business.  For thousands of years, those in the realm of commerce have been trying to prove that their product or services are better than the competition’s.

There are two differences now, though. One is that, due to the internet extending to every part of the globe, your competition can potentially be world-wide; the other is that, because of that very computer platform, there are now dozens – if not hundreds – more strategies to publicize your services (Twitter is just the beginning). Of course, that also means your competitors have more strategies to get ahead of you!

The basics don’t change however: have an excellent product or service; research and target your market; build a reputation; and get the word out. The methods of achieving them, though, have changed more in the past couple of decades — during the rise of the digital world — than in the entire previous history of industry.  It’s almost impossible to do business now without fully engaging with digital media.

Getting Your Website Right 

Your website is your shop window, but remember that it has to compete with all the other digital shop windows out there.

A website’s true purpose is to lead the customer, with as little distraction or confusion as possible, to the checkout or contact form. Features to bear in mind include:

• • • Making the site’s navigation as easy as possible.
    • Using images to illustrate physical products, but not cluttering the page with them.
    • Including one call to action on each page — usually a link to the shopping cart, checkout or contact form.
    • Keeping the text informative, but as brief as possible.
    • Making sure the colors, fonts, image-sizes etc. make the site appealing.
    • Making sure each page loads quickly.
    • Ensuring the site adapts easily to mobile platforms, since this is increasingly how customers will access it.

Don’t Forget the SEO! 

A great website has to be seen, and most potential customers will find it through a search engine, probably Google. They’ll also find your competitors, however, and most won’t look beyond page one of their search — probably just at the top two or three items. So how do you make certain that yours is up there at the top?

This is done with search engine optimization (SEO), which involves ensuring that the site has the right keywords and meta-data in the correct places to respond to common search questions. Not only is this a complex process, but SEO has to be constantly updated to match changing trends. You can do this yourself if you’re confident enough, but otherwise you’ll need an expert digital agency to take it on.  For an easy-to-read introduction to the basics of SEO, see this article from searchenginewatch.com.

Use Social Media Wisely

There are something like two hundred social media platforms out there, not to mention whatever blogs you may write, and, through them, you can be seen in every corner of the world. Twitter and Facebook are the most popular, with Pinterest gaining ground, but think about what each platform offers, then pick the two or three that best suit your business.  (You can start to get an idea of useful social media platforms and ways of publicizing your website by reading an article here.)

Remember that the point of social media isn’t to sell — not directly, at least. What you want is to get people interested in you, so they’ll hopefully click on the link and go to your website.

You don’t even need to mention your goods or services, unless you have a special offer or a new product. Instead, be entertaining, offer information, and provide links to sites that are nothing to do with your company. If the viewer is interested, they’re more likely both to investigate further and to “like” or retweet to a wider audience.

Be careful, though. The same platforms that can enhance your reputation if you use them well can ruin it if you miscalculate. Instead, think specifically about who you’re targeting and what they want to see. Once you focus on the details of this, you will realize that social media can give you a massive global advantage.