10 Ways To Promote a Business Online
- Create a Website For Your Business
- Optimize Your Website For SEO
- Optimize Your Website For Mobile
- Build Your Online Reputation
- Publish Great And Unique Content
- Promote Your Business Using An App
- Invest In Paid Ads
- Partner With An Influencer
- Optimize Your Business Profile Listing
- Join Relevant Communities And Groups
1. Create a Website For Your Business
I know that this sounds weird, and while this is obvious for many people, still more than 55% of the businesses in America do not have a website, or if they have, it is outdated.
So, your first step is to get your business online. How you will do it depends on your budget and the type of website you want to create, but the general principles you should follow are:
- Get your own domain name – register a .com or .net domain name for your company
- Host your website on a reliable hosting provider – don’t always go for the cheapest solution, but choose a hosting provider that is reliable and trustworthy. Don’t forget that your website represents your business image.
- Make sure that your website loads as fast as possible – Fast websites have many benefits to offer to businesses, which should not be forgotten.
- Provide information about your business, products, or services – Last but not least, do not forget the primary mission of your website, i.e., to provide information about your business, products, and services professionally. Better do something straightforward and functional rather than stylish but slow and non-user friendly.
2. Optimize Your Website For SEO
Creating a website is the first step; the second step is ensuring your website is search-engine friendly.
Search engine optimization, or SEO as it is widely known, is a set of changes you must make on a website so that search engines can understand it.
The more information you can give to search engines about your website, the greater your chances of receiving traffic from them.
You can read these articles that explain the benefits of SEO for small businesses and how to do it correctly.
3. Optimize Your Website For Mobile
A large majority of users are surfing the Web using a variety of devices besides the desktop, and your objective as a business owner is to make your website accessible to the device of their choice.
Whether it’s a smartphone, iPad, Android Tablet, Amazon Kindle, or even TV (Smart TV, Google TV, Apple TV), they should be able to find, read and interact with your website without problems.
The best way to do that is by adopting a responsive web design technique that makes a website adaptable to different screen sizes and resolutions.
For example, view this website on various devices and resolutions.
4. Build Your Online Reputation
As a business owner, you already know how important your company's reputation is and that this is something you build with careful moves and patience over time.
You also know that a good reputation will make people trust you, eventually leading to sales, loyal customers, and much more.
Well, the Internet is no exception to this rule. You must work hard to build your online reputation as a trusted service provider or retailer.
How can you do that?
- By consistently providing quality services and products to customers.
- Having good customer service.
How can you ensure the online world knows you are a reputable and trusted company?Through Social Media
– Social media is the modern way to spread the word, build a brand, and find new customers. Social media networks have millions of active daily users, including your potential customers.
By running targeted social media campaigns, publishing useful and high-quality content regularly, and engaging with people in your niche, you can gradually build your online reputation.
Another important factor you need to consider is that besides building your online reputation, you should also take measures to protect it.
In other words, once you start the social media game, you need to be able to monitor what others say about you on the different social networks and reply to them in case they have a question, bad review, or complaint.
You can also read the following posts for more information on how to utilize Facebook for business:
5. Publish Great And Unique Content
Search engines and social media networks can only understand one thing: content.
You need content to promote your business online, whether it's news, product information, text, images, video, infographics, reviews, user opinions, forums, or questions.
This process of using content for promotion purposes is known as content marketing, and businesses that manage to do this correctly are most likely to succeed online.
If you are unsure how content marketing can help promote your business, consider the article you're reading now.
I am using content to help you understand a process, i.e., how to promote your small business online, and at the same time, I am indirectly advertising my expertise and services.
What if your niche is not as content-rich as SEO? What do you do in such cases? That’s one of the challenges you have to solve but believe me; you can find a solution with careful thought.
For starters, you can write a company blog about your products or services and how they can solve people’s problems.
You can share industry tips and news, talk about the leaders in your industry, etc.
When talking with new clients, this is always a topic of further discussion, but in the end, we are always able to find a solution, and once they see the results from content marketing, everything becomes easier for both sites.
6. Promote Your Business Using An App
As I mentioned above, besides the desktops, you should also ensure that you provide your users with a mobile-friendly version of your website so they can access it on the go.
Over and above that, you can also take advantage of the different mobile markets (Apple app store, Google Play, Amazon marketplace).
Millions and millions of users download different kinds of apps and games from those markets daily, and if you are not there (i.e., have a native app about your business submitted in those stores), they will not be able to find you.
What kind of app you can create?
Depending on your niche, it can be a content-rich game or showcase app. For example, if you sell a product, the app can have more images and videos about your products in a mobile-friendly format.
The possibilities are endless; the only limitation is the budget you can allocate to establish your presence in the mobile markets.
7. Invest In Paid Ads
The Internet offers a plethora of advertising tools suitable for growing a small business:
- Advertise with Google Ads – Google has the largest advertising network in the World, and you can use it to promote your business online. It is based on a pay-per-click (PPC) auction system, and it can get your ad in front of the millions of people using Google to search the web and the millions of websites that show Google ads.
- Advertise with Yahoo / Microsoft ads – Yahoo and Bing have a system similar to Google for placing ads in their network and the websites running their ads.
- Direct Advertising – If you prefer not to use the PPC advertising model, you can search the web to find websites relevant to your business, contact them, and negotiate a price for showing your ads.
8. Partner With An Influencer
is a powerful way to boost your business's online presence. When choosing an influencer, selecting someone who aligns with your brand values and has an engaged audience relevant to your niche is crucial.
Don't just focus on follower count; engagement rate is far more important. Once you've identified a suitable influencer, collaborate to create content that resonates with your audience. This could be through sponsored posts, product reviews, or even co-created content pieces.
Moreover, encourage the influencer to use specific hashtags and to link back to a dedicated landing page on your site. This targeted approach not only drives traffic but also aids in tracking the effectiveness of the campaign.
9. Optimize Your Business Profile Listing
is a great way to market your business on Google Search and Google Maps and get more customers to your brick-and-mortar store. It's one of the most effective local online marketing strategies.
To optimize your profile, ensure all your business information is up-to-date and accurate. This includes your business name, address, phone number, and operating hours.
Next, focus on enriching your profile with high-quality photos of your business, products, or services.
Regularly post updates or special offers to keep your profile active and engaging. These posts can be a mix of text, images, or even videos and should be relevant to your audience.
Encourage your customers to leave reviews and respond to them promptly, whether positive or negative.
Utilize the Q&A feature of Google Business Profile to answer common questions. This helps potential customers and adds relevant keywords to your profile, enhancing its discoverability.
10. Join Relevant Communities And Groups
Joining relevant online communities and groups can be a highly effective strategy for promoting your business online. Start by identifying forums, social media groups, and online communities relevant to your target audience.
These could be industry-specific LinkedIn groups, Facebook groups, or even niche forums related to your business.
Once you've joined these groups, it's important to participate in discussions rather than promote your business. Share your expertise, answer questions, and provide valuable insights. This approach helps in establishing your authority and credibility in the field.
As you build trust within the community, you can gradually start to introduce your business or products in a way that addresses the needs or problems discussed in the group.
Remember, the key to success in online communities is to provide value first and promote second.
Conclusion
What I have outlined above are only 10 of the available strategies you have in your arsenal for promoting a business online. I believe these are the most important methods that have also been proven to work by generating a high return on investment.
If you are new to online marketing, the best way to get started is by discussing your strategy with a digital marketing agency and creating a short-term and long-term implementation plan with them.
