With over 80 percent of consumers researching online before making a purchase, having a strong online presence is crucial for the success of a small business. Promoting your brand online is not only going to help you turn leads into customers, but also help with your search ranking.
Investing in SEO and keyword research is the first step to small business marketing. You want to optimize your online assets to increase your chances of your website showing up higher than your competitors.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. HubSpot describes SEO as the technique to help your website rank higher in organic searches. SEO helps with making your website more visible and plays a large role in small business marketing.
Did you know that most consumers do not go past the first page of their Google search? This is why it is important to rank high on search results. There are lots of factors that plays into where a site ranks. Use relevant keywords and be mindful of the placement of the keywords on the site. Other factors include the length of your content, the quality of your content, how fast your page loads and how often you post.
Your website wants to drive in organic traffic, which is when someone finds your site through their own search. This is the most cost efficient way to get new business and you can achieve this by spending time on what HubSpot calls the core elements.
- Website
- Blog
- Brand
- Email Tool
- Conversion Tool
- Social Media
Website
Your website may be one of the most important assets of your small business marketing planning. A professional looking website that shows who you are, what your business offers, where your business is and how to contact you is going to help with your online presence. Small business marketing starts with a nice looking yet functional website. It is best to leave this to the professionals if you are unsure on how to build a website. You can hire an independent contractor or an agency to work with to create the right website for your small business. Keep in mind that it is important to revamp your website every now and then and keep it updated for SEO.
Blog
Website content and blogging play a large role in the ranking of your site. When it comes to small business marketing, blogging can be very beneficial. If your content contains the desired keywords often and if the content is useful, then your page will more likely have a higher ranking. There are many free tools out there to help you get started and you can always hire a freelance writer to write high quality content. Blogging will help improve visibility of your brand online while also educating customers.
Brand
A consistent brand identity will attract new leads that could turn into more customers. Setting a tone that includes feelings and emotions for your brand will help build relationships with consumers. Things like your company name, logo, design and color scheme all play a part in identifying your brand.
Email Tools
Email might be one of the most effective tool for your small business marketing. Over 70 percent of consumers prefer using email as communication. Plus, it is easy and free. Using emails and sending out newsletters help strengthen the communication between you and your customers in an efficient way.
Conversion Tools
When you get a lead, the main goal is to generate it into a customer. Using simple conversion tools can help. You can add a widget on your site that collects emails of potential customers and then you can send out promotions and special offers. Optimizing your website will help drive in more leads to give you the chance to convert them into actual customers.
Social Media
Social media accounts are actually powerful tools when it comes to networking and branding your business. A large part of small business marketing is not only online presence, but also social media presence. Social media can help increase website traffic and improve your rankings while engaging with customers. Facebook and Google business is very useful for small businesses that are mainly local. The reviews and engagement help boost rankings. Just be sure to include contact information like location and hours on your pages. It depends on your company, but most of the main sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest are going to help your business grow.
This is just scraping the surface of digital marketing, but it is a good start for small businesses who are looking to increase their online presence. Being visible online is going to increase your ranking, which will increase your website traffic. Establishing a small business marketing plan is the first step of successfully branding your business on online.
