Building an online presence for your small business can be a challenge, but it’s worth the effort. Here are a few strategies to boost your success!

How to Build a Strong Online Presence for Your Small Business

Almost  95% of all purchases will happen online by 2040. We’re not there yet, but there’s no question that COVID-19 accelerated online shopping trends.

As a business owner, you have to adapt if you want to grow. People turn to search engines and websites before they make a purchase.

They’ll look at your online presence, and make a judgment about your business. That judgment dictates whether they’ll buy from your business or not.

Digital marketing seems confusing because there are dozens of options. Don’t worry because you just need to know the basics to build your online presence.

Keep reading to discover how you can promote your small business online.

1. A Target Audience

Online branding and digital marketing always begin with your target market. The more you understand your target market, the easier it is to reach them.

Think about who your favorite clients are. What qualities do they have? What are their challenges? How have you helped them?

If you’re a brand new business building your online presence, you’ll approach this a little differently. You’re essentially creating your ideal client like you’re creating a fictional character.

2. A Good Domain Name

What’s in a business name? It’s how people remember your business. You want to tell people what you do and for whom in as few words as possible. You then want to make that an even shorter URL.

Do you have you use a keyword as your domain name? A lot of people feel that it’s needed to rank higher in search results.

It’s not necessary. If you’re a chiropractor in Pittsburgh, it’s not necessary to get the domain name chiropractorinpittsburgh.com.

Just make sure it is easy to remember and reflects your business name. Once you have a name in mind, you’ll need to secure the domain name, which costs about $13 a year. It’s possible that your chosen domain name is taken.

Try different variations and extensions. You can try using a domain name generator to help you out.

3. Stellar Hosting

Once you have your domain name, you’re going to need a place to host your domain and your website. Don’t overlook website hosting.

Your business needs a reliable and fast website host. As you search for the best small business web hosting providers, you’ll come across the same companies.

Security has to be part of the conversation as well. Small businesses start out with a shared hosting plan because it’s the least expensive option.

The downside is that you share resources with a lot of other sites. If any of them engage in spam or is it with a security issue, your business can be affected.

4. A Flawless Website

The advantages of creating a website are not usually considered

Did you know that only half of all small businesses have a website? Your website serves as the hub of your online presence.

It’s not enough to just have a website. A good user experience is critical. That means your site has to load quickly and is easy to use.

Most website hosts make it easy to build a website. You can install WordPress with one click. WordPress has thousands of site themes, plugins, and templates that make it easy to customize the site.

Remember your target market when you build your website. What’s the information that is most important to them? That’s the information that needs to be front and center on your home page.

5. Search Engine Optimization

Most people run a query through search engines to research products and services. You can position your website to be at the top through search engine optimization.

Search engines scan every website online to determine the content of the website. Websites are indexed like a library catalog. When someone runs a search query, the search engine runs it in its algorithm to produce the most relevant results.

Your job is to make your site appear among the top search results. The majority of the clicks go to the first few results.

6. A Social Media Following

Do you need a massive following on social media to have a business? No, you don’t. You just have to reach the right people with the right message at the right time.

You can sell a lot with a small social media following as long as you connect with your audience. That’s why step one in this process is so important.

You know the social media networks that your audience uses the most. You also know what they look for in your products and services. Your content deepens trust, positions you as an expert, and educates your audience.

Don’t feel like you need to be on five social networks. Pick one or two and do them really well.

7. Amazing Online Reviews

Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes for a moment. You’re online looking for a new product to buy. You have a few brands in mind, but you’re not sure of the differences between them.

You bounce back and forth between a few sites to research the differences. You have the choice narrowed down between a couple of products.

What’s the tiebreaker? Product reviews. This is where people turn whenever they evaluate products and services.
They need to trust that they’re making a good buying decision. You have to help them along by getting your customers to provide reviews. Ask your customers to post reviews on Google and other directory sites.

Build Your Online Presence One Step At a Time

What does it take to build your online presence? Patience. You’ll want to rush through these steps to start your digital marketing campaigns right away.

Take your time to develop your online branding and deepen your knowledge of your target audience. It’s well worth it as you work the rest of the steps presented here.

You’ll end up with a thriving small business because you have a great online brand. Check out the other articles on this site for more business tips.

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