Preparing for 2019 Digitally

By Quinne Lowe | Published December 7, 2018

2018 is coming to a close, and for many companies, the first quarter of 2019 is already planned out. For those who have procrastinated, there is still time to start the new year off in the right direction… if you address these digital questions.

When was your last SEO Audit?

Search Engine Optimization is essential for any company looking to be competitive digitally. Technology changes at a rapid pace, and if your company hasn’t had its paid and organic search presence audited within the last three to six months, you could be missing out on growth opportunities you have no visibility of.

Below are components of an SEO audit and the recommendation is to reassess each periodically.

• Your competition – Analyze the successes and failures of similar companies and learn how to surpass their wins and avoid their pitfalls.
• Accessibility – If your page takes too long to load or there are broken links customers will leave your site. Verify page load speed and look for any 404 errors.
• Keyword analysis – A lot of traffic comes from keyword searches. Find out where your company ranks for high-value search terms.
• Crawling & Indexing – Does your website come up in Google or Bing searches when people enter those keywords? If not, you may want to research how the site is being read by Google (crawled) and if your web pages are being included in Google search results (indexed.)
• Business Strategy – What are the company’s goals and how will its digital footprint facilitate those goals?

Is it time for a website refresh?

Getting to your website may no longer be an issue but what do consumers see once there? Depending on when your last detailed site evaluation was conducted, your website may only need retooling. If it hasn’t been updated in years, it likely requires a complete overhaul.

Converting your website from unsecured to secured is an example of a minor site retooling many tend to overlook. If your website is processing highly-sensitive personal data, it is essential to encrypt it through a public key certificate. The easiest way to determine that is to look for the (s) at the end of the “HTTP” code. If there is no “s,” then your site is not secure and is susceptible to cyber attacks.

On the other hand not being mobile-first, not having a responsive site or having a site that uses old technology, are signs you should seek out a complete overhaul. Consumers want to access websites on their mobile devices, and they want it to be visually appealing, and if your site is not, they will quickly find one that is.

What is your social media presence?

In today’s interconnected digital world, a company’s impact can be traced back to its success or failures in the social media space. Whether its Twitter, Facebook, and now even Instagram, it is crucial to have an influential voice on those social channels. Moving into 2019 if you don’t have a social media voice, create one, and if it’s quiet, it is time to amplify it.

Post frequency – How often do you post? There is a happy medium between 5-10 times a day and only posting on special company occasions. Create a posting schedule and use a third-party site like Hootsuite to streamline your posting pattern.

Subject matters – What are you posting? Is the content relevant to your company and the industry? The topics should give the audience a real sense of what the company represents and believes.

Extend your reach – Paid ads are a great way to generate exposure for your company and brand. Determine a budget (monthly/quarterly/yearly) and develop content that will reach new audiences and convert them into clients.

If this all seems too overwhelming to handle in-house, let the experts at Osky Blue be the ones to evaluate and update your all your digital needs. Whether its one component or all three Osky Blue has the expertise needed to get your company digitally ready for 2019 and beyond. Contact us today.