This document discusses how to build a strong online presence through various marketing strategies. It covers optimizing your website, social media presence, online listings, paid ads, and content. The key strategies outlined include having an attractive, optimized, and visible website; engaging on social media with relevant, shareable content; claiming and optimizing business listings; running effective paid search and display ads; and creating diverse, accessible content. The goal is to improve search visibility, trust, and reach in order to drive more website traffic and conversions.

1. Most Powerful
Marketing Strategies
To ImproveYour
Online Presence
(Now!)

2. How are we different?
It’s all in the name.
LOCAL.
The heart and dedication of a LOCAL
partner, powered by a national network. Our
award-winning journalism and community
connections through 260 daily brands in 46
states across the country makes us the
largest media company in the U.S. Together,
we reach over 155 million consumers - that's
1 in 2 adult
Americans* actively seeking information on
what's happening around them - who choose
to come to us as their trusted source for local
news and entertainment.
iQ.
We match our LOCAL, trusted
brands with innovative technology
and intelligence. Our IQ.
Which, of course, is our industry-leading
technology, digital marketing services, and
tools we've built through partnership and
the strategic acquisitions of ThriveHive,
ReachLocal, SweetIQ, and Wordstream, to
help businesses across the country grow and
thrive.
Sources: Gannett Investor Relations (Note, ex-Guam there are 260 local dailies across
47 states); Comscore September 2019 de-duplicated audience report.

3. Most Powerful
Marketing Strategies
To ImproveYour
Online Presence
(Now!)

4. YOU
Your content, its appearance and quality,
quality, and your activity both online and
and off.
Representation of your business involving reach, rank, and reputation
and influenced by the internet, the public, and you.
THE WEB
Where you stand with respect to search
engine and social media algorithms.
THE PUBLIC
How people perceive and engage with
you; what they say about your business.
What is “online presence” ?
REPUTATION
How much do people and
search engines trust you?
RANK
Do those assets show up in
search results? How high?
REACH
In how many places do you exist
online? How many assets do you
have?

5. Why is an online presence important?
BUT
• The web is busy and highly competitive
• Consumers are picky because they can be
63% And that’s
not just
ecommerce
!
of consumers
search online for
local products and
services
of consumers will visit a
store because of the
information found online.
And that’s
with intent!
of buyer journeys
start online
97% 70%
You need a STRONG
online presence
Sources: Sleeknote, 99Firms

6. What is a strong online presence?

7. So how do you achieve that?
1
Website
2
Social
4
Paid ads
3
Listings
5
Content
Appearance
Experience
Visibility

8. Strategy #1:
WEBSITE
56%
of consumers won’t
consider a business
without a website
Source: Verisign

9. Website
APPEARANCE
What I mean:
Modern and attractive
Authoritative
How to do it:
• Use consistent brand colors and font
• Keep it clean: prioritize information
• Make navigation intuitive
• Have a clear focus for each page
• Use large/bold page titles
Confident + cohesive = attractive!
of consumers admit to
judging a company’s
credibility based on its
website design…
75%
…in
seconds
.05
Source: Verisign

10. Source: SocPub
What I mean:
Optimized for
• Page experience
update
• Mobile-first indexing
How to do it:
• Compress images and resize
(aim for <70kb and no higher than 150kb)
• Make it fully responsive (not just mobile-friendly)
• Check on Search Console and Page Speed Insights
Translation
Time it takes to
load visible
elements
Time it takes to
register first click
or tap
Unexpected
movement
of consumers
won’t recommend
a business with a
poor mobile
website
57%
Core Web Vitals
Tinypng.com
Website
EXPERIENCE

11. Source: Hubspot
What I mean:
Shows up in search results for many different
searches—not just your business name;
gets shared by others
How to do it
SEO!
 Have a blog. Target
keywords.
 Target question keywords to
show up in PAA
 Use numbered/bulleted lists
to be the feature snippet
 Promote posts through
social media and email
Familiarity, trust
Small business
blog posts
Blogging
increases your
traffic by
55% and
leads by
126%
How many times this
search happens per
month
Website
VISIBILITY

12. After
following a
brand on
social media:
Strategy #2:
SOCIAL
MEDIA
Sources: Invespro, Fundera
91
%will visit
its website
will recommend it to
a family or friend.
85%
will buy from
the brand
89%

13. What I mean:
• Is your feed a promo real? Or does it add value?
value?
• Social media is a community to contribute to,
to, not a podium for pitching.
• You help them, they promote your business.
How to do it:
Publish an appropriate mix of content
Abide by the 70-20-10 rule
This makes for shareable content
more website traffic
55%
Your posts should be:
Social media
APPEARANCE

14. Social media
EXPERIENCE
What I mean:
• Do you have a profile? Or a
presence…
• Activity? Or interactivity
• Social media is a real-time and
relationship-building channel!
How to do it:
 Engage back!
 Respond to likes and comments
 Follow your followers back
 Like, comment on, and share their posts
 Ask questions
 Post polls
 VALUE THER INPUT
more website
traffic
55%

15. Social media
VISIBILITY
What I mean:
How to do it:
 Complete your profiles
 Keep your posts on-brand for recognition
 Use hashtags (location, industry, niche)
 Write solid descriptions
Business that blog
get
Just like SEO; optimize your profiles and posts to:
• Appear in your audience’s feeds
• Rank in search results
• Turn up during their passive browsing
#realestateboston
#crgnewton #realestatesales
#newlisting #homeforrent

17. Strategy #3:
LISTINGS
of searchers will pick
businesses on the first
page of local search
results
92%
of Google
searches have
local intent
50%
88%
of people who search for a
local businesses on a mobile
device either call or visit the
business within 24 hours

18. Listings
GET LISTED!
What I mean:
GMB, Yelp, Facebook
Most popular... plus, Google! 
Business that blog
get
520%
more calls,
1,065% more
website clicks, &
2,717% more
direction requests.
GMB profiles with
>100 photos get
How to do it:
• Google: go to
Google.com/business
• Yelp: go to
Business.yelp.com
• Facebook: set page to
“Local Business or Place”
• CLAIM!
Local results Knowledge
Panel

19. Sources: Chatmeter, BrightLocal
Listings
LIST OPTIMIZATION
What I mean:
Complete • Consistent • Accurate
How to do it:
 Every field
-NAP, website, hours
-Description
-CATEGORY
-PHOTOS
-REVIEWS
 Meticulously
-Kims vs Kim’s
-Street vs St.
-[Company[ vs The
[Company]
-Ste vs floor
 Monitor & update
• As needed
• Google yourself
GMB profiles with >100 photos get:
• 520% more calls
• 1,065% more website clicks
• 2,717% more direction requests
lose trust in local
businesses with
incorrect/inconsiste
nt information
online
80%

20. Sources: Qualetrics, Search Engine Journal, ReviewTrackers
Listings
GET REVIEWS
What I mean:
Not just one five-star review from
December 2019, but multiple, recent,
quality reviews.
How to do it:
 Ask for them!
In person
Text
Website page
Email
Social media
Thank you pages/cards
Receipts, invoices, signatures
 Make it easy
 Respond to them
 Prioritize Google
more website
traffic
55%
>half of
consumers read
at least
ranking factor for
local search
#1
Reviews are the
read
business
responses to
reviews
89%
4
reviews before
making a
purchase

21. Strategy #4:
PAID ADS
PPC returns $2 for
every $1 spent
80%
INCREASE in
brand
awareness
50%
than organic.
200%
ROI
MORE
CONVERSIONS
Source: Smallbizgenius

22. Paid ads
APPEARANCE
How to do it:
For display/social
 Use appealing imagery and creative ad
copy
 Check placements & exclusions
For search:
 Prioritize info
 Use extensions to take up more real
estate (sitelink, callout, pricing)
For all: A/B test!
What I mean:
• Capture audience attention
• Build familiarity (trust) with your
brand

23. Elements to A/B test:
Headline
Body copy
Images
CTA

24. Paid ads
EXPERIENCE
more website
traffic
What I mean:
Seamless
Personalized
How to do it:
 Use consistent language, images, and CTAs;
limit # of fields in forms
 Use the power of audience targeting and
layering: Demographics
Interests
Places visited
Apps downloaded
Previous engagement with other ads
or your
website

25. Sources: Salesforce, Marketo
Paid ads
VISIBILITY
How to do it:
 Cross-channel strategy
 Search(Google & Bing), Display, &
social
 Run retargeting campaigns
 Use ad scheduling
 Use PPC AND SEO
more website
traffic
What I mean:
Ads rank high in many places, at the right
times, consistently.
96%
Of people who visit
a website for the
first time are not
ready to buy.
6-8
# of touches
before
purchase

26. Strategy #4:
CONTENT
We’ve already talked about content :
 Website: Modern, authoritative
 Social media: Appropriate mix, engaging
 Listings: Detailed, accurate
 Ads: Attention-grabbing, personalized
• Useful
• Consistent with your brand
• Optimized for algorithms

27. Content
DIVERSITY
How to do it
Represent all types of people in
your target audience:
 Ethnicities
 Gender and sexual orientation
 People with disabilities
For all content:
• Images and illustrations
• Photos
• Customers featured
• Hypothetical examples
Also, reach and reputation:
• People are naturally attracted to
words and visuals they identify
with.
• Stand out to more people
• Gain appreciation and respect

28. Content
DIVERSITY
How to do it
Diversify content formats
 Written
 Audio
 Video
 Short-form
 Long-form
 Interactive
And types:
 Tutorials
 Recommendation lists
 Case studies
 Interviews
 Data
Reach different learning styles, devices, attention spans

29. Content
ACCESSIBILITY
How to do it:
 Heading tags
more website
traffic
55%
What I mean:
Allow people with disabilities to understand
your content the same way a person who could
see the page would

30. Content
ACCESSIBILITY
How to do it:
 Alt text
 Descriptive anchor text
( “Click here” vs “Download the free guide”)
 Sufficient color contrast
Use accessibility checker
Bonus: Great for SEO!
more website
traffic
55%
https://color.a11y.com/