Owning Your Digital Footprint

Did you know that how you and your business appear online is called a "digital footprint"?

It's true! It tells us how long you've been online, what kinds of things you're interested in, and what you do online.

This works for individuals and businesses alike.

Now, I'm not really here to tell you what to do for your personal digital footprint. You should follow basic safety steps and keep your passwords hard to crack but easy to remember. Anyone can search your name and find you fairly easily. I recently searched for a friend we hadn't heard from in almost 20 years and was able to get a phone number and call him. It's pretty simple!

This goes for your business as well. Anyone can find your business, but what does your digital footprint look like when it's found?

When it comes to your business's footprint, we're talking about things like your website, domain name, social media pages, maps listings (Google, Apple, Mapquest - which is still a thing) for your physical location, and so many other things that a lot of digital marketing agencies don't cover.

One spot that is often overlooked is the Secretary of State's office. Your local Secretary of State website should have your business filing with the correct name, phone number, address, etc listed. Anyone can go to the SOS website and search for your business by name. Which means Google can do it, too.

Industry listings are important. If you're in manufacturing in the USA, it's imperative that your business is listed correctly in trade publications and websites along with any other listing services. If you go to trade shows, make sure they have your information correct in their listings of who will be in attendance. These things show up in searches, too.

Making sure that your logo, other photos, and your business citations are up-to-date and accurate across the web creates a solid digital foundation and footprint. This, in turn, enables potential clients to find you, increasing your leads and sales.

And who doesn't love more sales?!