Whether we like it or not, working-from-home is quickly becoming our new normal. If you’ve been standing on the sidelines protesting fully-remote work weeks, you might want to consider hopping on the bandwagon, holding on tight, and enjoying the ride to a fully-remote workforce. If you’re a current or aspiring business owner, you may be wondering: What does it take to become a full-remote business that runs like clockwork?
The process begins with a change of mindset. Once you redefine your expectations and formally break up with traditional office culture, you’ll need to deploy the right tech-based tools for communication purposes, data sharing, task management, and data security. Is that all?
Not quite. You need to set clear goals. Because you won’t physically be in the presence of your team, you’ll need to adopt a goal-oriented approach for better oversight. Having set clear goals, devise creative ways of connecting with your team. Should you fail to overlook the importance of company morale, your employees may struggle to find the motivation necessary to complete projects promptly. After all, when an employee doesn’t feel accountable to a team, they may feel more comfortable slacking off or downplaying the importance of a positive attitude.
Are there any challenges to anticipate? Much like any other system, remote work presents its fair share of its challenges. Some of these include poor communication, costly distractions (especially if you have children), security risks, and lack of social interaction.
Despite the above challenges, working from home is quickly becoming a fan-favorite model amongst employees and employers. Why? It offers loads of benefits which include:
- Improved work-life balance
- Less commute stress
- Reduced office overheads
- Reduced carbon footprint (because of less driving)
- Flexibility leading to increased productivity
- Access to an unlimited talent pool (no geographical limitation)
However, it isn’t all rainbows, butterflies, and cost savings when you transition to a fully-remote business model. Breaking your commercial lease and deciding against a designated office space can negatively affect your business’s SEO strategy and search engine rankings. How? We’re glad you asked. Please read on for more insight.
The importance of a physical address in an SEO strategy
With more and more businesses working remotely, the big question is whether a lack of physical address on your website will hurt your search engine rankings. While having a physical address on your website won’t automatically rank you high on SERPs, it can give companies a much-needed boost when developing an SEO strategy. How so?
Ranking highly on Google requires an element of trust-building. By posting a physical address on your website, business owners can make their sites appear more trustworthy to Google crawlers. While those uninterested in SEO best practices might manage to trick the algorithm with a fake address, your trick won’t outwit Google maps. Google recognizes existing addresses only. In the case of a new address, Google will try to identify it with a “did you mean” response.
But won’t a postal address work? Not with Google. Google can’t locate postal addresses on maps. So, what’s next? If you established a fully-remote business model from the get-go, a virtual office is the next best solution.
Virtual office 101
A virtual office is a service that provides businesses with all the offerings of a brick-and-mortar office without having to own physical office spaces. It enables businesses to work remotely and offers the following amenities:
- A virtual business address
- Mail management services
- Toll-free company phone number
- Meeting rooms
- A live receptionist
- Personalized voicemail
Depending on the plan, a virtual office will cost from $30 to $100 per month. For the cost of a nice dinner, business owners can enjoy benefits such as a strategic location, enhanced professionalism, efficient call management services, and increased flexibility.
The importance of SEO
If your business tends to cut corners when it comes to SEO, it’s about time that you reassess your marketing strategy priorities. When executed correctly, a thoughtfully-designed SEO strategy helps your company stand out and increase conversions. It also improves users’ experience when navigating your site.
Other benefits of a thoughtfully-crafted SEO strategy
Increased visibility
By ranking higher on Google search results, users are likely to click on your site, boosting your visibility online.
Boosted site traffic
If users can’t find your website, it translates to missed sales. Ranking on page one of SERPs pulls traffic to your site. With more site visitors, the more brand information prospective customers will digest, increasing their likelihood of making a purchase.
Increased reputation
When you rank higher, you appear on the first pages of search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Users are likely to trust businesses that rank on page one or two of the search engines. Only in rare cases will users go beyond these first-page results.
Keys to a successful SEO strategy
Building your website is a notable milestone. However, if you want the world to know about it, it takes more than guts. You need to up your SEO game. Are you wondering where to start? Practice the following strategies for optimal SEO.
- Conduct keyword research
- Create unique, refreshing, and compelling content
- Optimize your site for mobile devices
- Attract quality outbound links
- Improve your site load time
- Optimize your title and metadata
Wrap up
A thoughtfully-crafted SEO strategy is a must-have in any marketing department. While the tips offered above won’t boost your ranking overnight, consistency and persistence (and a slow and steady approach) will surely get you to first-page results. Remember to stay updated with the best SEO practices. What’s working today may be outdated in the SEO world tomorrow.
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