Congratulations! Having a website is the most important step in building your brand in today’s digital world. However, there’s still more you can do. After you’ve set up your website, here are some ways to strengthen it and improve your online presence in general.

This is important because you’ll give your business more visibility in other places online, and you’ll drive more traffic back to your website. Also, people who search on these platforms (TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.) are usually ready to take action, so they’re high-potential customers you shouldn’t ignore!

Depending on what your business does, the relevant platform will be different. For example, if you’re a restaurant, you might list your business on Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Foursquare. If you’re a wedding photographer, you might list your business on Yelp, WeddingWire, and The Knot. Make sure you think about your business and research the best places to list your site!

Though some businesses might benefit from listing on more specific platforms, some generally helpful business directories are Yelp and Google My Business. (Of course, this varies from country to country!)

2. Showcase your website everywhere possible, in both the digital world and the physical world.

Physical World:

• Business cards
• Napkins at a restaurant
• The front door of your business
• T-shirts
• Banners
• Your menu (if you’re a restaurant owner)
• Flyers
• Tattooed on your left bicep

Digital World (every link to your website helps you rank higher on Google!):

• In your email signature (this also adds a touch of professionalism!)
• Facebook page
• Twitter Profile
• On all platforms discussed above, like Tripadvisor, Yelp, etc.
• On specific posts you make on social media

3. Include your website in your other marketing efforts.

Now that you have a website, you should integrate it with other ways of getting your name out there:

• • Give business cards or flyers with your website on them to nearby hotels

• Hand out flyers or posters with your website to tourist info centers
• Partner with local shops and have them direct customers to your business
• Make sure everyone knows to visit your website to learn more about your business!

Whenever possible, direct people who are interested to your website to learn more and to take action.

4. Add custom email addresses

Let’s say John, the owner of JT Design, wants to send an email to some customers. It’s much more professional for him to send the email as “john@jtdesign.com” than to send it as “johnjtdesign@gmail.com”. The latter is unprofessional, and, unfortunately, a bit embarrassing.

To make your business communication more professional, set up custom email addresses using your new domain name. For example, use contact@yourwebsite.com or yourname@yourwebsite.com. Use Google Apps or Zoho Mail to set this up.

5. Embed apps to engage with your customers

From reservation widgets to forums, you can add pretty much anything to your website. These apps can even help you save time outside of your website. For example, if you add a reservation widget to your site, people can make reservations directly online instead of taking up your precious time with phone calls.

Remember, a website is an active tool that can help you bring in more customers. But to get the most out of it, you should do everything you can to make sure people visit it. If you follow those steps, you’ll be on your way to mastering your digital presence.