Part II: Getting Discovered Online Requires a Consistent and Ongoing Effort.

After the initial setup of the site, online store, and social media channels, the work begins.

Getting discovered by consumers and earning high search engine rankings requires an ongoing and consistent effort. Engagement and building a following begins with blogging and social media:

• Website SEO: Post ca. 300-500 word articles every few weeks,
• Facebook: It is ok to post often and respond,
• Instagram: Post 3-4x per week with appropriate hashtags and callouts.
• Pinterest: Pin 3-4 pictures per day.
• Mailing List: Send out a newsletter to subscribers no more than once per month.

It is essential to engage with your audience and others, sharing your interest, liking and commenting on their posts. That not only attracts followers and helps SEO but also demonstrates, to the monitoring algorithms, that you are not a spam account or robot.

Once those gears start moving, the most cost-effective way to get the word out is working with noteworthy influencers and bloggers. The standard practice is to offer them merchandise in exchange for a "shout-out." That normally includes one to three photos of them wearing your jewelry, one or more written endorsements, and links to your site. Those "backlinks" are valuable because they build your SEO ranking. Noteworthy bloggers and journalist can further enhance that discovery process. 

Maintenance

Not only does content require updating but also the technical tools and methods. The online presence is organic rather than stationary, continuously evolving:

• Web domain names must be renewed periodically,
• Web builders are updated frequently, addressing bugs and rolling out enhancements,
• Apps and plugins within the website builder tools also require updates,
• Social media platforms introduce new features on a regular basis,
• Legal rules and regulations must be kept up to date (i.e., GDPR and cookie policies).

In addition to the above, it is important to stay abreast of new trends. The target audience can move from one platform to another quite rapidly.

In Part III - We will discuss our no-website and marketplace solutions for boutique and artisan jewelry designers.