People form an opinion of you inside seven seconds to meet you in person. They give you 0.05 seconds on the Internet.

With such a short window to deliver a first impression, why present yourself online – the world’s window to your organization – as anything less than your full value?

Your digital reach has become your new business card after COVID-19 disrupted commerce as we know it. Customers and employees get a sense of you in a fraction of a second after seeing your website, how you appear in online publications and on professional social media.

Your online presence precedes all future interactions, whether virtual or physical. An old or nonexistent website, media placements, or social presence are a signal to the world that you don’t care about your business, whether it’s true or not.

It’s never too late to turn the tide and demonstrate the specific solutions you offer to your specific market in 50 milliseconds.

Start by attracting search engines to your website with words that reflect the way you talk to other people in your industry. You can search for terms people search for on platforms like google trends, Ubersuggest and Mozbar. Also, write in words that are unique to you and your product to better attract those you want to attract.

Regularly update your “news” or “blog” section on your website with more relevant language. Search engines like Google, Yahoo! and GoDuckGo scour the web with bots at unfathomable rates to find the questions people are asking about your industry. You should appear higher on the results pages because search engines reward websites that accurately answer questions.

Words matter, especially with Voice search upward trend. Look for the coveted Google excerpts box for an example of the power to appear at the top of search results.

Your efforts will provide your customers and talents with the easiest path to your exact products and job openings when they need them.

Go further in your words and actions by reaching out to legitimate online posts in your market with newsworthy information.

Journalists and editors who cover your industry want to know how you are helping their readers. Your news can be as simple as announcing a new executive hire to acquire a global competitor.

Everything you send should meet the test of its relevance, timeliness, and interest to its audience. An employee celebrating his dog’s birthday won’t cut him off. A new product line that improves efficiency and creates jobs would.

You stand out online when disinterested third-party authorities such as trade newspapers and magazines write about you. You can bet your competition is working hard to market themselves in that same tight space.

Then, incorporate the same language into your LinkedIn.com posts to further engage your audience. LinkedIn is where you share information like new blog posts on your website and showcase the media placements you earn.

Posts appreciate that you help spread their news on your social networks. This increases the number of clicks on pages – and therefore advertising dollars – to pay their own talents and bills.

Finally, ask your customers to write reviews of their experiences with you. The multitude of positive reviews about your superior service on your website, industry online review sites, and LinkedIn will far outweigh the horseflies that you will never like.

Engaging writing and presentation amplifies your great work, service, and culture. You wouldn’t want to physically sell your wares for anything less than the best facility you can afford, so why try to stand out online in a Rotten Potato Barn?

Serious leaders in strong companies want to work with other serious leaders in strong companies. Employees committed to certain core values ​​want to work for organizations committed to similar core values.

You never get a second chance to impress your customers and employees the first time they see you. In just a fraction of a second, inspire them with your new digital business card.

Dave Yonkman is president of the digital public relations firm DYS Media, former director of communications for Capitol Hill and former Washington correspondent for Newsmax Media.