I have a question for you: Do you consider yourself to be an expert in what you do? Chances are that the answer is yes. But do you look like an expert, especially when people look you up online? The answer to that may not be quite so affirmative…
Yet if you think about it, it’s pretty obvious. If people out there just knew how much of an expert you really are in your field, you’d get a lot more business! That’s because people LOVE to do business with the go-to person – the expert! So how can you get them to choose YOU?
How to Look Like An Expert?
So what does it take to look like an expert online? There are a lot of possible moving parts, yet it all boils down to three key things:
a) Be found online
Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that you look like an expert, but it’s the first requirement – because if people can’t find you, they sure won’t have a chance to be impressed by your expertise.
There are several aspects to getting found. The first is making sure that your website is optimized to be found on Google searches. When people look for someone like you, you want to come up front and center! And not in the ads section, though you can ALSO be listed there. But it’s important to also be listed in the organic search results. That’s what really gives you credibiity.
In addition, there are other ways to come up high in the search engine results, for example through press releases and articles or videos. We’ll talk more about them in point c.
b) Look like an expert on your website
What does your website say about you? Do you look like you know your stuff?
Your website is your own primary real estate, and it is your big chance to, yes, look like an expert. With that I don’t mean list all your credentials and publish your resume. That’ll actually turn people off.
Instead, keep that phrase “show, don’t tell” in mind. If you’ve ever taken a writing class, I’m sure you’ve heard it. Here, it means that you should demonstrate your expertise by giving great information that makes it very obvious that you know what you’re talking about. It also provides value and turns you into the sought-after resource you want to be.
c) Look like an expert beyond your website
Once people check you out on your website, they usually take another step before they decide to hire you: They check you out online. Yes, they want to know what else is out there about you. And you should see to it that there is plenty for them to see that makes you look good.
Here are just a few ideas of what you can do to ensure that you look impressive once people Google your name:
- Write and publish articles (and become an expert author)
- Write and publish press releases
- Do teleseminars (or webinars) and publicize them
- Write books and/or white papers
- Create videos
- Join professional networking sites and get active
And here’s the bonus tip I mentioned above…
If you do this well, people have a lot more ways to find you than just having your website come up in search results. They can find your articles, your videos, your press release, and much more. There are lots of ways for people to find you, and the best thing – all those ways will result in very targeted prospects, which is the best kind!
So if you do your job well, people looking for you online will find lots of impressive material – and you will look like the obvious expert that you actually are – and get more prospects wanting to do business with you.
And if you’d like to know more about how to look like an expert, you’re invited to get my FREE quickstart guide on my Look Like An Expert site. Just click the link 🙂