Authenticity Is the Currency of the Digital Era

A large part of this post has already been in my draft folder for a few months. Originally it was supposed to be called “Make Your Website Visible on the Web” but reading the headline again feels like using a horrible clickbait title. I was going to talk about good SEO. However, by now I notice how not only my interests have changed (online marketing and SEO are no longer subjects in which I still have a strong interest), but also what I want to write about in this blog. Not SEO. So I have little desire to write a long, detailed article about SEO again.

Nevertheless, I would like to talk about my experiences with SEO and also I’d like to spread the aggregated information, which I consider the most important basics for SEO apart from technical details, into the world. I’ve broken them down to the core.

That pretty much concludes the SEO chapter for this blog. So here comes my synoptic experience report, so to speak. The essence of effective SEO. 😉

Ever-Applicable Tips to Improve the Content of Your Website

Do you want to improve your content or step up your SEO game but got carried away by the amount of features SEO tools offer? Or you just want to get some new straightforward input for 2019? The following advice can always be applied to hone your website. Anytime.

• Get the basics right – optimize your page titles and descriptions neatly.
• Optimize your website for its users, make them happy and offer relevant content.
• Keep checking if the content of your pages is still relevant.
• Track down as many broken links as possible and redirect properly.

Breathe Outside of Your (Online Marketing) Bubble

I urge you to step out of the online marketing bubble from time to time. Maybe even out of your own business bubble. It’s like taking a walk: You’re more focused when you’re back home. And your brain still solves problems, even if you didn’t assign any deliberately.

Now you might complain about how I dare to distract you from checking your key performance indicators. Well, because getting carried away is easy. After all, it’s fancy to visualize data and drop words which sounds even fancier than the graph which is spoken of.

(For you, dear reader, who don’t know what those key performance indicators are: KPIs are essential to systematically measure the success of implemented optimizations, to monitor SEO processes and to derive new actions. Some of them like click-through rate I have described already in this post.)

It may sound simple and for a fact, I know it’s not. For sustainable creativity and therefore sustainable content production I recommend you to find your (SEO) voice and:

Think About Your Content

• What is the core impulse to buy your product or consume your content?
• What is your (true) unique selling point?
• What can you do that others cannot?
• Are you honest to your customers?
• Why you? Why your product/content?

Answer those questions for yourself or even write them down. Thereby you can derive starting points on where to begin improving your website.

Answering rather trivial questions will open up new ones for you, which in turn will strengthen the sense for your product and yourself. The more you stand behind the product and yourself, the larger the pool of resources will be, from which you will be able to derive new marketing ideas, brand management models, content notions, et cetera.

If You Don’t Feel like It, Be Yourself

The very essence of good SEO is reflected in the title of this article. Authenticity Is the currency of the digital era.

People appreciate authenticity. I appreciate authenticity. Even if you can build up a crowd of followers who are into an artificially advertised product, the question of their loyalty will arise at some point. Whereas people who truly feel authentic about you — no matter how many they are — will feel true loyalty, which is worth more than any artificially erect. Not only are they buyers, readers or epicures, but they are also people who are resilient for a long period of time.

Such is the case with interest. Anyone who feels comfortable on your website and perceives your authenticity enjoys to look around and will come back again.

Being authentic also has advantages such as more freedom. You don’t have to think within the limits of fixed strategies but can act by feeling. This, in turn, will be noticed by interested parties and/or your followers and will lead to more attraction on their part.

Be yourself!

Closing Remarks

Some say better done than perfect, but I encourage you to go the extra mile, whatever you are trying to optimize.

I’ve had perfected graphics, text passages and UI elements in such a way that they stood out from the competition. It was that certain something that let customers choose the specific product or service I wanted to give an SEO push. In the end, people did sense the thoughts and love that went into creating the website. And I can’t even describe how pleasant it was to get that confirmed in some emails and chats.

Put icing on the cake 🍰 and suddenly your website can work much better. It’s worth the effort.

Fine. Article finished. If you spot a typo or have thoughts about this article, feel free to write me. 🙆‍♂️