Many businesses start-out online; they’ve got a good website and are up-to-date with the latest digital marketing trends; others may be new to the internet or are underperforming for an unknown reason. If this sounds like you, then chances are you will need to update your online strategies to help grow your customer base and help your business to thrive. There are many ways to do this, such as building a user-friendly website and developing an effective SEO and content management strategy. In this article, we look at some of the best ways to help your business to thrive online.
Develop a winning website
‘Winning,’ in this instance, doesn’t mean a website with lots of graphics and fancy animations; in fact, a site like this could prove to be counter-productive, especially when users navigate away because it takes too much time to load. No, a winning website, in this instance, is one that is simple, clean, easy to find, and easy to navigate.
There are so many websites around that people feel there’s a need to stand out from the rest by being extra appealing - but that’s not the case. Unless you’re a graphics design company, who wants to show off what you do, there is no need for any bells and whistles. People coming to the internet generally know what they are looking for and want the process to be efficient.
Rebrand if Necessary
Have you looked at your analytics recently and noticed that they are underperforming? There are many steps you can take before completely rebranding your online business; things such as better SEO, new ad campaigns, and better content management, are worth your time and attention. But if it becomes clear that your business is not improving, it could be time to consider a re-brand.
Business rebranding can be an excellent opportunity to rekindle an existing brand, use the existing customer base and contacts lists, to create a business that is more in-line with your values and new business goals. Before rebranding, you should ask yourself some questions such as: what do I want my aesthetic to be, what materials will I need, what tone do I want, and how can I stand out? Rebranding is not something you want to do a lot of, so it’s worth taking some time to get it right.
Use SEO that works
If your business is underperforming, it could be down to your out of date SEO and/or your content management strategy. SEO is excellent when it is optimized correctly, it can zero in on the exact search terms of users and present your business right at the top of the rankings, but the algorithm is always changing, and new competing sites are coming online every day.
Review your keywords regularly, perhaps monthly, and ensure that you are using the best core keywords and clusters of related terms in your content and website copy. Keeping your SEO up-to-date is one way to ensure that search engines know you are relevant. It might be time-consuming, but it will pay dividends.
Local SEO services are the most suitable ones for businesses in the surrounding area. Indeed, they know the competition and what the keywords that work best are. With a bulletproof local SEO strategy in place, you can start capturing the audience of non-locals and locals interested in businesses like yours! Get there first and beat the competition.
Campaign with PPC ads
It’s advisable to do as much SEO work as possible to rank as highly as possible on the organic search results, but if you’ve achieved this and you’re ready to take a step further then pay-per-click ads (PPC) are the way to go. PPC ads refer to the top ranking ads you see on the search engine; these ads are search results that are relevant to your search and have the highest bid. A company will not pay for the ad unless it is clicked.
To improve your ranking on the search engines, over and above your organic SEO results, you will need to open an account with Google Adwords and/or Bing Ads to optimize your keywords and allocate your budget so that you’re competitive in the market.
Social media is your friend
It was once only for keeping in touch with friends, but now social media is an invaluable tool for companies who want to understand their target audience better, get feedback on new products and market them to people who are interested in buying them. If your online business is not taking advantage of social media, it is an area of potential growth.
Suppose your small business is a startup or one that’s recently set up and doesn’t yet have an online presence. You will want to have a social media presence but don’t sign up to every social media site, concentrate on just one of them and grow a customer base: you can do this through influencer marketing.
