How to make your business more visible online

The aim of every business is to make a profit, but you cant achieve that if people do not know about your business. It’s all about increasing the visibility of your business. The good news is that you don’t need to spend a lot of time or money to increase the visibility of your business. You only need to be smart and selective in your marketing efforts and you will quickly notice the positive impact of these small efforts. Investing in small efforts to market your business can help you create a long-lasting relationship with your customers and create a loyal fan base for your products or services.

Here are a few tips for your small business online visibility to get you started on your way to long term success.

1. Build a functional website.
The first step in attracting online traffic is to set up a functional website. A website is the online identity of your business. As a small business owner, a strong website won’t require a lot of maintenance on your part and can boost your online visibility.
Creating your own website establishes trust with your customers and adds credibility to your business. A website is available 24/7 and allows your customers to know more about you and your products anytime, anywhere.
A great way to bring your brand to life online is with stunning photography, well-crafted text, a suitable color scheme, visual assets like your logo, and a smart navigation structure.

2. Do the Right Social Media Marketing
Aside from having a functional website, it’s crucial for business owners to get social. Social media can be used to funnel traffic back to your website, you can use it to promote your brand and expertise. You can even generate sales directly on some social media platforms. Today’s online shoppers prefer to engage with local businesses through their social media profiles. According to Sprout Social, 57% of customers want to buy from brands they follow and interact with on social media. So, if you want to increase your local presence, make sure that your business has social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

Here are some ways to boost the visibility of your social media profiles

• Optimize your social media profiles.
• Ask employees to customize their LinkedIn profiles.
• Use hashtags.
• Optimize for local SEO.

3. Invest in Networking
Developing a strong business network is crucial for the success of your company. Spending time on building up your network will increase the visibility of your business. Start networking within your community to small business owners in your area. Try to know the common challenges in their business, irrespective of what industry you are in. This will allow you to meet new people and get experiences from them. However, when connecting to people, you should listen more and speak less. The key to build strong relationships is to listen more than talking about yourself.

4. Do Content Marketing
Content marketing is not about creating interest and building brands for business. Content marketing focuses on users and the public to build trust. You can create content that includes articles about your services, local events, local news, or stories. You should find and write content based on location keywords, services, or products you offer.
Start your content marketing efforts by blogging on your website. You can also start making guest blog posts on reputed platforms. Focus on educating your audience and not on selling your products. If the audience finds value in your content then they’ll discover more about you and your business. It is an effective way of promoting your brand and establishing yourself as an industry expert.

5. Email marketing
Stay connected with your customers or business clients by encouraging them to sign up for emails. Although we focus a lot on social media, email marketing is one of the least expensive marketing tools and can have one of the highest returns. You can use email marketing to communicate new product launches, sales, promotions, service updates, and anything else that you might be planning for your side business. Another benefit of email marketing is that you have full control over it. Social media platforms can change their privacy or user settings. They can also change their algorithms so that your social media followers might start seeing less of the content that you post. Email is also a great way to share your blog posts and other valuable content that will benefit your customers. Track things like your open rate, number of clicks, and any sales generated to help inform your next email campaign. When it comes to email marketing, your goal should be to include information that’s useful.

Conclusion
Businesses can’t survive without enough brand awareness. Increasing your visibility on search engines is not rocket science. All you have to do is take steps that put you ahead of your competition. Once you have clear insights on what’s working best, focus your efforts on specific channels that result in getting more business for you, rather than spending efforts on everything that comes along your way.