Learn how SMEs can boost their online reputation and credibility with strong foundation principles, and applicable tactics. This presentation was created for a seminar hosted by Nominet for Nominet members.

1. BOOSTING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION ON A
SHOESTRING BUDGET
AISHA KELLAWAY - THIS IS FST

2. WITHOUT CREDIBILITY,
MARKETING/ADVERTISING IS NOT
GOING TO WORK.

3. BJ FOGG - WEB CREDIBILITY SPECIALIST & BEHAVIOURAL PSYCHOLOGIST
4 TYPES OF CREDIBILITY
‣ Presumed credibility – (Recognised brand with good reputation)
‣ Reputed credibility - (Word of mouth referrals, reviews or publicity/citations)
‣ Surface credibility - (Web design and user experience, quality content and trust
signals)
‣ Earned credibility - (First hand experience, customer support, delivering on a
promise)

4. COMMUNICATIONS &
BRAND REPUTATION
AISHA KELLAWAY

5. BRAND IS ANOTHER WORD FOR REPUTATION & IMAGE.
AND YOU DON’T GET A REPUTATION JUST BY CLAIMING
SOMETHING.
Dave Trott -
“One plus one equals three: A master class in creative thinking”
BRAND IS MORE THAN CLAIMS YOU MAKE ABOUT YOURSELF

6. YOUR REPUTATION
PRECEDES YOU
Quite a few people… quite often
REPUTATION IS INEXTRICABLY LINKED WITH CREDIBILITY

8. 2,957 REGISTRARS ARE
LISTED BY NOMINET

9. VISION: MISSION: VALUES:
What are the 3, 5,
10 year goals for
the company?
What is your
purpose? Why do
you do what you
do?
What do you
believe in? How do
you make your
decisions?

10. WHO ARE YOU TARGETING?

11. 20 DOMAINS
MARCUS:
THE TECH-SAVVY BUSINESS OWNER

12. IT WOULD BE VERY HARD TO CONVINCE ME TO CHANGE MY REGISTRAR - I VERY
MUCH VIEW DOMAIN NAMES AS A COMMODITY. I DON’T EXPECT MUCH FROM MY
REGISTRAR, I JUST WANT IT TO BE TRANSPARENT, QUICK, CHEAP AND EASY TO
REGISTER NEW DOMAINS. AVAILABILITY OF LOTS OF DIFFERENT DOMAINS AND
OPTIONS FOR ALTERNATIVES ARE NECESSARY.
WEB HOSTS ON THE OTHER HAND, I HAVE A VERY STRICT CRITERIA FOR...
Marcus: The tech-savvy business owner
USER PERSONAS

13. 3 DOMAINS
DANE:
THE WRITER & BLOGGER

14. I USE GODADDY, PURELY BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE THE REST OF MY DOMAINS AND HOSTING ACCOUNTS ARE.
THAT SAID, I RECENTLY BOUGHT A DOMAIN WITH GOOGLE DOMAINS. IT’S SUCH A PAIN TO USE AND INTEGRATE WITH MY GODADDY
HOSTING THAT I’M JUST GOING TO REGISTER A NEW DOMAIN THROUGH GODADDY.
GODADDY USED TO HAVE LIVE TEXT-BASED CHAT AND IT WAS SUPER USEFUL, BUT THEY DISCONTINUED IT AND NOW YOU HAVE TO RING
UP. MOST DOMAIN NAME PROVIDERS TEND TO MAKE IT VERY DIFFICULT TO GET SUPPORT, LEAVING ME FEELING LIKE THEY DON’T GIVE A
DAMN ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AFTER YOU’VE HANDED OVER YOUR MONEY.
I CAN’T IMAGINE ANYTHING SPECIFIC ENCOURAGING ME TO PICK ONE PROVIDER OVER ANOTHER. IT BASICALLY COSTS THE SAME
WHEREVER YOU GO.
Dane: The writer & blogger
USER PERSONAS

15. 1 DOMAIN
NICK:
THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER

16. I DIDN’T, AND STILL DON’T REALLY KNOW MUCH ABOUT DOMAIN NAMES OR WEBSITE HOSTING.
I JUST WANTED A SIMPLE WEBSITE FOR MY BUSINESS, AND TO HAVE A .COM.AU WEB-ADDRESS.
IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT THAT I TRUSTED THE WEBSITE WHERE I BOUGHT THE DOMAIN, AND THAT THEY MAKE
IT AS CLEAR AND SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, AS WELL AS HAVING FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL AUS-BASED
CUSTOMER SUPPORT I COULD CALL AND TALK THROUGH THE PROCESS TO MAKE SURE I WAS DOING
EVERYTHING RIGHT.
Nick : The small business owner
USER PERSONAS

18. SURVEY CURRENT CUSTOMERS - AUTOMATE REVIEW PROMPTS
▸ Basic demographic information
▸ Why they chose you
▸ What they like about your service
▸ What could be improved
IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING AND MESSAGING THROUGH UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

19. ANALYSE REVIEWS (YOUR OWN, AND/OR COMPETITORS)
▸ Look for trends
▸ Language used
▸ Use insights to enhance messaging and
speak to your target users in THEIR
language (Think Marcus vs. Nick)
IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING AND MESSAGING THROUGH UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

20. USE ANALYTICS FOR QUANTITATIVE DATA
▸ Demographic data
▸ High bounce rates
▸ Time on page
▸ Remember that averages lie
IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING AND MESSAGING THROUGH UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

21. SITE ENGAGEMENT SOFTWARE
▸ Heatmaps
▸ Mouse tracking
▸ Scroll activity
▸ Session recording
IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING AND MESSAGING THROUGH UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

22. USER TESTING
▸ Detailed insights and thought
processes
▸ First impressions
▸ Demographic targeting
▸ Guaranteed quality users
▸ Competitor analysis
IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING AND MESSAGING THROUGH UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

23. SEARCH CONSOLE
▸ User queries
▸ Average position
▸ CTR
IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING AND MESSAGING THROUGH UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

24. WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT YOU?

25. A NOTE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

26. QUORA
▸ 100 million monthly visits
▸ Quora has a high DA - often ranks in the
SERPs
▸ Great for brand awareness
▸ High engagement
▸ Opportunity to stand out and boost
credibility
Interesting read: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-is-quora-and-why-should-you-care/28475/
IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING AND MESSAGING THROUGH UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

27. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

28. FURTHER READING
▸ https://conversionxl.com/website-credibility-checklist-factors/
▸ https://moz.com/blog/diagramming-the-story-of-a-1-star-review
▸ https://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-is-quora-and-why-should-you-
care/28475/
▸ http://white.net/cognitive-biases-part-one/
▸ https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

29. THANK YOU!
AISHA@THISISFST.COM | @AISHAKELLAWAY