Digital real estate – the new term every business owner needs to know
- Written by Tess Sanders Lazarus
According to Janty Mohammed, the new battleground for business is online and the key focus should be owning as much of the online space as possible.
Janty Mohammed is the cofounder and client experience director of Australia’s leading digital marketing agency, the Australian Institute Of Internet Marketing Services, also known as the AiiMS Group. He is also an industry thought leader and an expert on all matters involving online business and marketing.
“Business should be aiming to own as much digital real estate as possible. I am not talking virtual houses, I am referring to owning as much of the online space as possible,” Mohammed said.
“When a customer searches key terms on Google and the results come up – your business needs to appear on as many of the search result pages as possible and you need to take up as much space on the pages as possible with multiple listings – starting from page one.
“This is what I mean by digital real estate. This is the new battleground for business. Not only is it important for businesses to come up in search results, they must ‘own’ the search results.”
Mohammed has put together his top tips on how to achieve maximum digital real estate.
High performing website
“While having an attractive and frictionless website is essential for online sales, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is high performing. A number of other key elements are needed to help you achieve this,” Mohammed said.
“Google recently changed its search engine algorithms and now penalises websites that don’t deliver the best customer experience. So if you have a website that doesn’t load as quickly as it could, or loads information in a jumbled way, then you will be pushed down the organic search results ladder faster than you would sliding down a python on a board game of Snakes and Ladders.
“Ensure your website is well designed and that pages and interactive functionality load quickly. By doing this, your website is more likely to appear at the top of the search results than at the bottom.”
Key words
“We have all heard the term SEO, which means Search Engine Optimisation,” Mohammed added.
“Essentially it involves the process of optimising a website to ensure it contains content that people are likely to use as search terms when browsing search engines such as Google. Key words are important when it comes to website optimisation. They connect the search terms people use on Google to terms on your website.
“BINGO – this is where the magic happens – and as a result, your website is more likely to appear in the result results.”
List your site with search platforms
“Listing platforms are critical to elevating your business’ online presence and multiplying the number of times your business features in Google search results. Start with the heavy hitters such as YELP, TrueLocal, ServiceSeeking, Yellowpages and others,” Mohammed said.
“The more sites your business is listed on with relevant key words, the more likely your business is to appear in the form of multiple search result listings on Google search pages.
“The more search result listings, the more online real estate you own and the less space there is for your competitors.”
Social media
“Social media is now very important in the digital real estate space,” Muhammed explained.
“Platforms such as Youtube are essential for hosting moving creative content and also increasing the number of times your business is listed in Google search results. Google penalises businesses that do not maintain current information online, so keep your social media sites updated and ensure the information is consistent across all platforms.”
Reviews and Google My Business
“Since the onset of the pandemic, people have increased their screen time by nearly 40 percent,” Muhammed said.
“Online sales have doubled. Reviews are now more important than ever before and Google agrees. Through its algorithms, Google embraces the power of word-of-mouth marketing and it incorporates the quantity and quality of online reviews to determine the search position. Just as consumers rely on online reviews to validate their purchase decision, search engines such as Google take a similar approach.
“Ensure Google My Business is active and building as many positive online reviews as possible.”
According to Muhammed, given the growing presence of online shoppers and increased online competition, businesses need to aim to own the online space, not just rank highly on it.
“Having an online presence isn’t enough in 2021, nor is appearing on page one of Google. Businesses need to own page one in order to drive more traffic to their online stores and sell more products,” Muhammed continued.
“Partner with the right agency to help your business achieve the results it needs. The online environment is moving rapidly and evolving every week. Don’t risk your business success by trying to do it yourself or involving someone that doesn’t know what they are doing. Digital real estate is the new battleground and it requires intense focus and experience to own it.”
Daily Bulletin
