Did you know that 38% of people in the US will leave a poorly designed website and judge a business by how their website looks?
A strong online presence is crucial to your long-term success when you’re running a business, whether it’s strictly an online business or not. Remember, your website is also the number one way to get your business and brand out there for people to remember.
You’ll need to keep reading this guide to learn how to boost your business’s online presence and start getting noticed!
Table of Contents
Create a Solid Website
Your first step is creating a solid website. This may seem obvious, but the reality is that 28% of small businesses in the US don’t have a website.
It’s important to understand that your website is essentially an online version of your retail store. Your website still represents you as a business even if you have a brick-and-mortar store location. It’s also where people go to get information about your business, such as:
- Your business location
- The products or services you’re selling
- Contact information
- Your portfolio
- Pricing information
You have a few different options when it comes to creating your website. You can build the website yourself using a website builder like Squarespace or start a WordPress blog. You can also hire a design agency to create your site or employ an in-house web designer.
Before making a decision, consider different factors like time and price and make a list of the pros and cons.
If you don’t have any experience in web design, keep in mind that you may prevent your website from functioning at its highest potential. This is because certain design choices can make your site clunky and challenging to navigate, which affects your conversion rates.
Optimize Your Website’s SEO
Next, you’ll need to increase your visibility in Google search results with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
SEO involves using specific keywords in your content so that your website appears at the top of search engine results, which increases your website traffic and gives you a solid online presence.
Your first step to increasing the SEO on your website is analyzing your website data. You’ll need to see how many visitors click on your CTA and what they do once they land on your website. Also, do people stay on your site and interact with your content, or do they leave quickly? In addition, how quickly does your website load?
You can use tools like Google Search Console to help you see a clear picture of how your website is performing.
Other ways to improve your SEO include:
- Use tools like Semrush to find high-ranking keywords related to your business niche
- Post valuable content regularly using relevant keywords
- Optimize your site for mobile use
- Improve your website’s speed
- Use high-quality backlinks from guest posts or authoritative websites
- Build relationships with journalists and bloggers in your niche
Maintain a Strong Social Media Presence
It’s easy to get started on social media as a business, but before you take the leap, it’s best to come up with a solid plan.
Although it doesn’t cost anything to get started on social media, the time involved is still an investment in your business, so you’ll want to be as efficient as possible.
You can start by researching your competition and finding out how they’re using social media. Take a look at what platforms they use, the type of content they post, and how much engagement they’re getting.
Evaluate the content they post to determine the best times to post your content, as your direct competition will have a similar audience.
Next, you’ll need to identify the target audience you want to reach with your social media channels. These are people who most likely will be interested in your products or services and the content you post. You can start with broad definitions like single moms or millennials and narrow it down from there.
You’ll also want to take steps like:
- Engage with your followers
- Connect with other business owners and influencers in your niche
- Mention your followers in posts and stories
- Use interactive tools like Instagram stories and Twitter polls
- Pay attention to trends
- Use social media automation tools to schedule posts
- Consider hiring a social media manager
Invest in a Digital Marketing Campaign
If your online company is a new business, you likely won’t gain the traction you need by just hoping potential customers will stumble across your website.
While SEO is a valuable tool in your online marketing efforts, it will take a few months to really start driving traffic to your site.
Therefore, you’ll need to make smart decisions when it comes to how you want to run your digital marketing campaign. A good place to start is content marketing. You’ll need to focus on giving your visitors useful content that they can learn something from.
You can post guides, ebooks, quizzes, videos, blog posts, and infographics to start. You can also include demonstrations and testimonials about the products or services you’re offering.
Other digital marketing strategies that are worth your investment include:
- Social media marketing
- Pay-per-click ads (PPC)
- Email marketing
- Affiliate marketing
- Influencer marketing
- Video Marketing
Mobile marketing is also something you don’t want to miss out on, and these days it’s the number one way to reach your potential customers.
You can invest in mobile marketing in a number of ways, such as creating an app, instant messenger marketing, or automated SMS text message updates about your services. You can also offer mobile content that will engage your users, like video content or infographics.
Remember, ensure you have a plan in place and regularly analyze the results of your ad campaigns so you can make changes along the way if you need to.
Boost Your Online Presence Today
Now you have some strategies in place to boost your online presence; you’ll be able to get started today by putting these tips into action.
Remember, don’t be afraid to reach out to the professionals for help and guidance along the way. It will be well worth the investment in the long run.
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