What is a digital footprint, anyway?
In simple terms, it’s anywhere your business information (name, address, and phone number – NAP) appears online. This would include your social media profiles, listings on local business directories, and more. Consider these strands of a web that all lead back to your website.
Why is a digital footprint important?
Most simply, it raises your visibility. That’s common sense, right? The more places your business information appears, the easier it is for potential customers to find you. It also gives search engines like Google a more concrete understanding of your business, helping with local SEO.
In this article, we’ll explain the basics of what a digital footprint is, why it’s so important to your digital marketing success, and how to expand your footprint for free.
What is a digital footprint?
Let’s think like a search engine for a moment. What do they read? Data.
Now, imagine your business as a data point. Specifically, that data is made up of your business name, address, and phone number – it tells Google who you are, where you’re located, and how customers can reach you. Additional data points would include your hours of operation, logo, website address, and more.
All of that information is encapsulated as a single data point.
That’s your digital footprint.
Why is a digital footprint important?
Now, imagine your business has zero online presence – no website, social media accounts, or other listings. Obviously, Google wouldn’t know anything about you. How could they?
But what if you just had a website?
Sure, Google will read that data point… but how much emphasis would they put on it? How much would they trust it? It’s not as if that data point is reinforced with social media profiles, listings on review websites, small business directories, or other relevant platforms.
But what if that data point was reinforced over and over again? What if you:
- Had listings on popular small business directories like Yelp or YellowPages?
- Had GPS listings to your office like Mapquest or Apple Maps?
- Had amazing reviews on your Google Business Profile or TripAdvisor?
- Had listings on niche-specific directories like Houzz or FindLaw?
What if you had dozens and dozens of these listings, all reinforcing your business information to Google?
Suddenly, they like you. More importantly… they trust you.
If you searched for a local pizza shop near you, do you think Google would show you a business that has dozens and dozens of listings around the web… or the one who only has a website or Facebook page?
That’s why a digital footprint is important.
How to build your digital footprint.
If you don’t want the hassle, you could always reach out to us for a free digital marketing diagnosis. We’ll run a “digital footprint” check for free, showing you where your business is listed online (and more importantly, where it’s not). If you’d like to do it all yourself, here are a few free resources:
It’s important to ensure all of your business details are the same when submitting your information:
- Your business name
- Your business address (service-area business can opt to hide this)
- Your business phone number
- Your website address
- Your hours of operation
- Your website address
- Your logo
- Your business category (contractor, attorney, etc…)
This task is time-consuming, but worthwhile.
At minimum, you should aim for 50 listings on these directories.
Your digital footprint is vitally important to your digital marketing success.
Why? Because it tells Google and other search engines who you are, where you’re located, and how customers can find you – along with a whole host of other important information about your business.
When a business is recognizable, popular, and well-established online, search engines tend to reward that business with more impressions and clicks. You also look impressive to potential clients.
Don’t put it off – start building your digital footprint today.
