Rank My Business is a Melbourne and Mumbai based start-up that provides Digital Marketing services to its clients. Having more than 60 employees, this startup entered the Indian market in 2019 and quickly grabbed deals with some of the leading brands in the lifestyle, hospitality, E-commerce, technology, & healthcare sectors.
Kunal, Thank you for talking with us. How and when did you come up with the idea of Rank My Business?
We started off as a primarily mobile app developing company, which is reflected in the name of our parent company, Appsbizz Group of Companies. Over time, we realized the need gap for a specialist digital agency that helps businesses get more out of digital, by increasing their online visibility and reach in an affordable way.
We knew that the search engine results page was going to become a tough, yet precious digital terrain to conquer over the next few years, and this is how the idea of Rank My Business was born. Our agency offers effective, tried, and tested digital solutions for all types of clients, from startups to mid-sized businesses and above.
Tell us more about your entrepreneurial journey
I would say that creativity and out-of-the-box thinking has always been my forte. But I didn’t start off as an entrepreneur. After completing my Masters in IT from Melbourne, I spent some years working in a corporate setup there, which gave me a good sense of how the Australian market works.
As I always was digitally inclined, I decided to start off my own agency, to help businesses through well structured and innovative ways to market their businesses online. We were a very small team initially, and this was a side gig along with my regular corporate job. I would be literally working two shifts, one at my day job, and the other, pitching to local businesses about the services we provide. This went on for a few years. Over time, I started getting more clients, and we had a larger volume of work coming in. This was when I had to make a choice, and decided that I needed to give my full time and attention to my agency, and that is how my entrepreneurial journey started off.
It has been going good so far, and I find a lot of satisfaction in creating a positive impact in our clients’ businesses, and lifestyles through our work.
The ongoing Pandemic has taught most of the traditional businesses that having an online presence is not an option any more. What are your thoughts on this?
This is so true! I have always maintained that having an effective digital presence is important, and the current pandemic has illustrated that and how. We will all agree that the internet has been one of our major support systems during these times, and the fact that we can get our essential needs and other requirements met from the safety of our homes is an indisputable fact.
While all businesses have taken a hit, we can clearly see that the companies which have had a better online presence and visibility have been able to weather this storm better. Digital first is the new normal, and even going forward, this will only become stronger. So for businesses that are yet to invest in their digital presence and marketing, this already has been a wake-up call.
Taking the last question forward, just having an online presence is not the solution. People should be able to find you online for say, certain keywords more than they can find your competitors. What are some of the ways, online businesses can achieve this?
You’ve put it really well. Yes, it isn’t enough to merely have an online presence if you are not found by your prospective customers when they are looking for you! And Search Engine Optimization, popularly known as SEO, is one of the ways businesses can achieve the desired visibility online. Put simply, this is the process that will help websites rank for specific keywords on search engine results.
Now there are 2 types of keywords – brand keywords and non brand keywords or generic keywords. Ranking of brand keywords is absolutely mandatory for all businesses; there are no two ways about it. A good branding exercise will get more people to search for your brand online, but it is also really important for your brand to be visible for generic, category centric keywords as well. This is what will ultimately bring in new visitors to your website.
SEO involves a long-term, sustained effort to outrank your digital competitors, and improve your rank, using specific tactics to improve the overall user experience and offer more value. All businesses, online and offline, should look at engaging a reputable SEO specialist agency for this purpose.
Your firm Rank My Business has helped several companies achieve their Digital Marketing Goals. Tell us more about how you take any project with your clients forward.
Our approach starts off with getting to know our clients better. We take all the relevant business details and understand their short term and long term digital goals. We then analyse their online presence against competitors in their own industry, and propose customized, ROI driven solutions.
In your view, what are some of the important SEO trends one should keenly follow?
This is a very interesting question, more so as this answer will continually change. However, what will not change is the emphasis on creating a better, more enriching user experience.
At this point of time, as a higher percentage of people access digital content and services from a smartphone, it is absolutely essential to focus on improving the mobile site experience, including the mobile site loading speed. Apart from this, it also helps to create long form content along with video content and social media content, and doing Voice Search Optimization as well for the increasing voice searches.
In your view, of all the marketing techniques including content marketing, video marketing and others, which works best? Or it has to be a combination of different techniques?
I believe that each technique has its own salient points, and can offer that little extra edge to the brand. So yes, I feel that the right combination of multiple techniques and tactics, both organic and paid, can help brands achieve their digital goals.
I would also like to state that there is no set digital formula for success, and the combination of the different techniques can best be decided only after an in-depth analysis of the company’s goals.
How has Covid-19 impacted your business?
This pandemic has not spared any business, it seems. Even digital agencies like ours have been affected, as most of our clients are experiencing a massive slowdown and some of them have even had to temporarily stop their operations since months. In times like these, just getting by becomes a challenge, let alone spending on marketing and future growth.
In the case of Rank My Business, I am proud to say that we have successfully managed to retain over 80% of our clients, and continue to help them with their digital activities. These clients understand that this is the best option for them in the given times, as everyone is now spending more time online. It is actually a good opportunity for brands who aren’t active online, to continue being active and put out engaging content that will help them stay connected with their customers and prospects.
Lastly, for our readers who want to have a better online presence, what suggestions would you give?
As I shared earlier in this interview, one of the keys to digital success is having a balanced strategy for all digital channels, and be consistent in your efforts. Focus on improving you online user experience and look for ways to offer more value, wherever you can.