This certainly won't be the first time you see me write (or hear me talk) about the wonder of our night sky. One of the most fascinating things about our galaxy and universe is that almost 96% of it is made up of something we can't see, can't really detect, and barely understand. It's called dark energy and dark matter. The other 4%? That's what we see when we look out into cosmos.

One of the more interesting traits of dark matter (let's put dark energy aside for a moment) is that it is essentially the key to holding our galaxy together. Without it, galaxies would fly apart – the universe would be completely chaotic. Dark matter accounts for a significant amount of mass in our universe. In fact, some theorize that galaxies are formed around and inside the largest clumps of dark matter.

So – mass creates gravity, gravity pulls things in. . . Ultimately, how much of your magnetic or gravitational power is invisible to the “naked eye?”. . . How much is visible? Certainly, the universe requires this seemingly invisible dark matter and energy to keep in general order, and to some degree so do we (not everything we do needs to be visible, but a large majority of it should!)

So if you want to go from invisible to visible, ask yourself if you are you regularly:

1. Publicly announcing important business developments (new offerings, new engagements, new relationships) through the use of press releases and your professional networks, including your website?
2. Expanding and updating your body of intellectual property?
3. Evaluating the purpose, motivation, and energy behind your intellectual property to directly target those whom you are most interested in working with?
4. Communicating and reaching out to your prospective and existing clients through tools like newsletters?
5. Developing new ways to connect to target buyers / clients through your online presence.

If your force is invisible – regardless of its strength, you're probably only unlocking a small portion of your potential growth (where's that other 96% coming from?). And, as should come as no surprise, your website plays an enormous role in just how visible you are.

Quite often, I run into business owners and consultants – who are genuinely doing amazing work for their clients – that have resigned to the idea of 'if it’s not broken, why fix it?' Business is good, referrals and recommendations are strong... in reality, things could be better – clients could have a deeper understanding of the value you bring to the table -- the results you generate. More importantly, the primary business generating avenues (such as speaking engagements, teleseminars, and other high visibility offerings) are given only lip service. And that’s what we’re here to talk about today...

Click here to listen to the audiocast (~3 minutes)

Consultants and firms that operate in that fascinating niche of (virtually exclusive) business development through referrals and recommendations are uniquely positioned for explosive growth... with the help of their website and online presence. Business development is powered by the cumulative strength of these ambassadors (the person referring, the quality of your previous work, your website, your blog...). The stronger the recommendation and then follow up validation, the more likely a higher value engagement will ensue - isn't this a wonderfully potent equation?

Your prospective client is seeking an ambassador to educate them - make no mistake, you are being sought after, investigated, and discovered. We see this frequently in our work; the emphasis is on the quality of the visitor – the expectation and intent is that prospective clients are current visitors; not random riff-raff stumbling in. Ultimately, we call this type of cornerstone website a 'destination website;' and its importance in validating and speaking for you should not be ignored. Your new clients are literally typing in yourwebsite.com - and they are expecting to confirm (and thus validate) the important things they've already heard.

As an ambassador, the destination website seeks to de-commoditize and uniquely position the firm / consultant; meeting the (typically high or senior level) professional on their level. Language, message, offerings. . . the whole gamut need to be calculated, tuned, and coordinated for maximum effectiveness.

Does your website:

1. Clearly state that you provide results, regardless of how you do it.
2. Create an emotional connection between your brand (whether it’s your person or your position) and your prospective client?
3. Immediately impress upon your visitor the wide range of engagement offerings (from free resources to your most lucrative engagements).
4. Validate your experience with ‘hard to ignore’ cues, such as: testimonials, a selection of well known clients, upcoming high value teleseminars or workshops, etc.
5. Offer portals to specific areas of interest so that the prospective client can immediately dig into what they’re looking for without having to search for it.

How strong is your online ambassador?

Whether or not optimizing your website for Google is a priority, there’s tremendous value in doing thorough keyword research and keyword analysis for your website. Because optimization for search engines is a multi step process, incredibly valuable information can be gleaned from each step of the journey. For now, let’s focus on keyword analysis and research.

A keyword analysis, at its heart, is a research process that looks to unearth the phrases, topics, and literal keywords that people all over the world are actually using when looking for information on search engines. These topics and phrases are qualified by the amount of literal searches they get per month (and annually). They can be further broken down by which states, countries, and regions the users are searching for that information from (local businesses, take note).

Ultimately, a keyword analysis will allow you to pair your discussion topics and potential intellectual property 1:1 with lucrative (highly searched) topics and phrases. It’s not about quantity in traffic; it’s about quality of traffic. If you’re going to discuss a topic anyways, why not figure out what people are literally searching for. These research results are an excellent window into the context and mindset of the searching (professional) public. Find and fill the gap!

Because the internet is constantly growing and offering new opportunities for exposure and interconnectedness amongst colleagues and customers, it’s important to understand that your position online spans far, far beyond ‘just’ your website. We call this your ‘online presence’, and similar to how your business has multiple facets, and many moving parts, your presence on the internet is equally complex and multifaceted.

Companies that successfully leverage their online presence utilize blogs, newsletters, whitepapers / intellectual property, and (if appropriate) professional social networks (among other great tools in addition to their website). These resources offer unparalleled and continued access to you and your customers – sharing your services and intellect, all while building and boosting your authority and credibility.

Having a great website gives you a place to bring all of these pieces together. The more you interact, write, and share, the more your great ideas can be found and bought into – resulting in more business, higher fees, and greater return on your investment.