If you have something to sell, if you have information to give, if you want to connect with people, your business needs a website. Business
has changed drastically in the last 15 years; the internet has changed customers’ expectations: information should be a click away, and products available to buy immediately and conveniently.
In the main businesses have responded but the number who have failed to make a jump is surprising. Figures for the USA in 2010 showed that over 50% of small businesses did not have a website, leaving the door open for their switched-on competitors.
Investing in a good website with, if relevant, an online shop is the first step to a successful online presence. Now you just have to get people to visit it, which is where online marketing comes in.
Build traffic
People get to websites in three different ways.
Instinctive visitors
People have an online routine: they boot up their laptop, visit Facebook, check their emails then move onto the sites they are instinctively loyal to. These ardent followers are the most valuable customers.
Ideally yours will be the kind of site that people visit religiously. The best way to do this is to provide a regular source of informative, entertaining content – blog posts, news, videos, images – on your website and through social media.
External prompts
Secondly, they will visit your site because they have been prompted by an external source. That can be an advert in a bus shelter or trade journal or, more likely, on another website. Being linked to by another site – including social media sites like Facebook or LinkedIn- is a great way for growing your audience and building your reputation.
The simplest way to do this is to be interesting, and by that we mean add to the debate or present your great products and services well. Alternatively, reach out to bloggers and journalists through PR or by simply sending an email or a sample of your product. Provide news and blogs that are relevant to your field, promote your own research, and become a trusted source of information in your industry.
Search engines
The final way in which people will find themselves on your site is through search engines. These people are your dream customers. Why? Because they want something – you don’t Google “bicycle pumps” or “conveyancing process” for no reason – and if they are on your site, they may very well want what you can offer.
The trick, therefore, is to get higher up the search engine results pages – SERPs – and that is where Pay Per Click or SEO Services can help. Pay Per Click ads feature at the top of a Google search page and can prove a highly cost-effective way of attracting new leads. Meanwhile, SEO experts identify ways you can increase your site’s rankings for the key searches that most suit your business, driving them up the rankings and increasing your traffic.