How to Maximise Your Online Presence as a Small Business Owner
Within the competitive commercial landscape, it can be difficult for small business owners to establish and grow their enterprise while vying for the attention of the consumer. While traditional methods of marketing such as print or billboard advertising, mailing and event marketing are still viable options, they are costly. Therefore, they are less accessible options for those with a tight budget trying to get a business of the ground. When it comes to building brand recognition and reaching the target audience for specific goods or services, online is the way to go. It will allow you to reach a wider audience and can require a lesser budget than traditional methods. Here are some ways to maximise your presence online.
1. Build a customer focused website
It is crucial to create a customer focused website. In order to do this, you need to put aside your personal preferences for colours, styles, logos and place the consumer first. Ensure the site is user-friendly, informative, offer clear imagery and is easy to navigate. Make it as simple and straightforward as possible for customers to complete the action you want them to. Providing a website in which it takes the least amount of clicks possible to search a product of service, add it to basket and check out. This will lead to greater conversions rate between number of visits to your website and the number of successful sales.
2. Invest in SEO and PPC
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the ranking and visibility of your site on a search engine. Ranking highly requires providing valuable content, optimizing content to include keywords for your business. Another form of SEO is link building. A link acts as an endorsement of your site. Building connections between high authority websites and niche industry relevant blogs can take the form of guest posts or columns. Another option is to create content in the form of a blog on your website that with attract visits and others will want to share. It is a time-consuming task, so there is the option to outsource link building services in order for an established agency to reach out to on your behalf.
Pay per click (PPC) is a type of advertising in which the business pays with advertising platform only when the ad is click on. It can drive valuable traffic directly to your site as people are going to interact with ads that appear at the top of a search engine results page.
Both SEO and PPC will require some investment from your marketing budget in order but in the long term you will improve the quality of your website in the eyes of search engines.
3. Use a variety of platforms
Social media is one of the greatest influences on our shopping habits nowadays. Therefore, in order to target a wider audience of customers it is important to utilise social media platforms.
Provide content in the form of images and videos. It is an excellent opportunity to show the product or service in action. Putting yourself in front of the camera as the face of the business, allows people to connect with you to see who you are and what you stand for. Ensure you’re the brand name and logo are consistent across all platforms as this will help build brand identify and recognition among consumers. It doesn’t take a lot of money, but it will allow you to interact with potential customers and means your sales pitch is constantly available, even outside of office hours.
4. List your business
List your business on online directories relevant to the local area and industry. Ensure that the business is listed on maps, the contact details provided are correct and there is a link to your website. Enable reviews and interact with them. This is an excellent way to build trust and gain feedback from consumers.
Strategic website planning, investment in your website’s SEO and clever use of social media platforms are some of the most effective ways to maximise the online presence of you business and will enable you to compete with larger companies.
