How to Market Your Small Business Online

The Best Ways to Market a Small Business

When you are running a small business, your time and your budget are generally stretched relatively thin. You probably don’t have the finances to hire an in-house marketing team, but you also don’t have the time to add marketing to your plate. Many steps go into harnessing the marketing power available online. GuaranteedSEO wants to help you make the most of it. Let us show you all the ways that you can get your business seen by potential customers.

We can be the marketing team your business needs helping you develop a solid internet marketing strategy that will get your information in front of potential customers and draw those customers into your store whether it is a brick and mortar establishment or an online boutique. Let us help you navigate the world online ads, SEO, and social media marketing.

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Website Marketing is key to small business growth

For the vast majority of businesses, a website isn’t just an option; it is a necessity. According to recent polls, 95% of people in the 18-34 age group check out the online presence of a company when choosing to patronize a business. People depend on online reviews and website content for help when deciding where to spend their hard-earned dollars. That is why it is imperative that you have a solid website to attract the attention of your potential customers. With that said, the only thing worse than not having a website at all is having one that is outdated,  uninformative or simply crappy!.

Websites need to evolve continually.

Don’t let your site get stale. You need to make sure that you are continually adding new and engaging content. Make sure that the design showcases your brand and is contemporary. If you have outdated photos, you will want to replace them with high-resolution images that are dynamic and eye-catching. Your website marketing should showcase precisely who you are and what you can offer to your customers.

Another thing to consider is the use of video! If you have products that can be demonstrated, then you should create high-quality videos to showcase your merchandise. However, you will want to make sure that your videos are of extremely high quality. They should be well lit with good audio, and you might want to consider the use of subtitles and closed captioning. It may be in your best interest to hire a professional to create one excellent video than to stuff your site with several lower quality ones. Many good video production options exist, and GuaranteedSEO will be happy to recommend one for you.

Live Chat can help you connect with Customers.

You should also consider installing a live chat option, especially if you have a customer base that spans the globe. Many of your customers may not be in your time zone, but they deserve the same quality customer service experience as those that located next door. A live chat allows you to communicate with your customers 24/7!

Does your Brand stand out?

If your website isn’t looking up to date, or it just isn’t giving you the leads you desire, it may be time for a rebrand. You can update everything, including content, colours, layout, and even your logo. Anything that isn’t working for you should be given the axe. That may mean starting from scratch, but it will be worth it if the rebrand causes you to expand your customer base.

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Be sure to Use SEO; it’s the foundation of all that you do online.

Don’t forget SEO! Search Engine Optimization is key to getting your website seen on search results pages. When someone enters a query about a product or service, you want to appear on the search results page.  Every day, hundreds of millions of people use a search engine to find small businesses, online stores, and local establishments, information on a product, top rated service providers and other research. It would be best if you made sure that when your target customer is searching for your product or service that your business is one that pops up in their results, ideally at or near the top on the first page of results.

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SEO has steadily changed and gotten more sophisticated.

Research consistently shows that users trust SEO results and are more likely to click on them and more likely to be converted into customers than for other marketing channels such as PPC and Social Media. This does, of course, vary by sector, business, target audience and many factors, but as a general rule employing good SEO practices and consistently doing the work SEO requires pays off and helps other marketing channels such as paid advertising work more effectively too.

GuaranteedSEO can help with your SEO needs by using our proven digital marketing strategies and expertise which include, content development, link-building, and monitoring your analytics to ensure that you are getting the hits that you want from all the major search engines. SEO takes some time to kick in, so it is a medium to long term strategy, but time after time surveys have shown that for most users SEO offers as good or better marketing ROI than any other online approach.

Direct marketing via e-mail can be powerful.

Another big area of website marketing is the email campaign. Create a hook that will get you into people’s inboxes, and you can have direct access to your customers. A lot of sites or businesses use the lure of a free product to capture the elusive email address. Once you have your customer’s email address, you need to perfect your campaign. Note, depending on where your business is located the laws of the land regulating e-mails might require specific permission or proof that the client has opted in (agreed) to receiving your e-mail. Check the local rules before sending out e-mails or you may be breaking the law. After confirming your mail list the initial hurdle will be getting your target recipients to open that email in the first place. Be sure you have an interesting and relevant Subject for your e-mail, a compelling and brief message and a compelling call to action.  Send your audience something interesting or a great offer and they will soon be clicking through to your site. Once you have their interest you have an opportunity to build a relationship with them and become a trusted provider. This is a privilege, so make sure you respect your audiences time and don’t spam them or over/under communicate.

Paid Online Advertising – use it properly and win!

In days past, a business utilized a billboard on the highway to snag the attention of possible customers. While the location may have changed, the concept is still similar to online display ads. The road has merely become the web and the traffic that passes your ad has multiplied exponentially. Instead of only being seen by the people that drive a particular stretch of highway, you now can get your ads seen by millions of people per day.

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Another type of ad that can get you a lot of traction is an ad on a social media platform. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (plus other platforms) are all places you can use targeted ads to significant effect. People are guaranteed to be on social media in droves every single day. Once you narrow down your target audience, you can put your information, product offer or message under their scrolling thumbs.

Proper market research is key to online marketing.

It is essential that you do your proper market research before attempting to run any ads. You don’t want to go about it like splattering paint against a wall. There is already so much in the online space to compete with; you need to target the exact people who will be receptive to your message. GuaranteedSEO can help you figure out who your customers are and where they can most effectively be reached in the digiverse. Knowing this will give you the most bang for your buck every time you decide to run an ad. Internet marketing doesn’t have to be difficult, not when you are pointed in the right direction.

Get Testimonials and let your customers be your voice

Another area to consider with your internet marketing techniques are your reviews. The population trusts sites like Facebook, Homestars and even Google Reviews, so working hard to earn good reviews will be a valued signal that your business is trustworthy. Likewise, lots of poor reviews particularly ones with no response from you or explanation can put a damper on your traffic. It is important that you encourage people to leave good reviews, and that you properly handle the bad ones.

Respond to your reviews, good and bad!

You should always try to respond whenever possible, but make sure that you are responding professionally. While it may be difficult to keep your cool when someone is speaking poorly of your hard work, it is crucial that you do not react in an angry or hostile way. Remember to respond to your good reviews as often as you respond to the bad ones. Do you want more information about this subject? Please check our article: 5 Reasons Why Customer Reviews Are Important.

Social Media Marketing can be powerful – don’t ignore it!

Social media is getting ever more intertwined with SEO.  Google claims that they take notice of a company’s full online presence including the company’s Social Media profile. As such, they look at many factors to gauge what is referred to as “brand signals,” which are considered signs of trust or relevance.

Small business owners sometimes ignore social media marketing as a serious marketing channel and as a result, it is often done poorly. GuaranteedSEO does not believe that social media is something that should be left to your teenage niece or an unpaid intern just because it seems to lack a certain seriousness. Social media accounts have been known to make or break companies. While setting up a basic account is easy, it can be an extremely time-consuming process to create the content, schedule, and then engage with the users daily.

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GuaranteedSEO understands the importance of a well-run social media campaign. That is why we offer social media marketing as one of our services. We can help you generate compelling content that will build your brand awareness. We can engage or help you engage with your followers expanding your reach and building trust within your community. It is important to remember that social media at its core should be a conversation between your brand and your followers. Give them engaging content that will spark conversations. Don’t simply toss various sales pitches out every few days.

Different Social Media platforms require different approaches

Tailor your approach to the platform and use tactics that will get people sharing and liking your content. Photos and videos are great for catching the eye. Contests, polls, and quizzes are great for getting people engaged. You need to find a well-rounded strategy that makes sense for your brand but will also lead people to your site and eventually your products.

Don’t forget to experiment with different types of content, use your analytics to see what is working, and create new plans with that information. You can try A/B testing the copy, the graphics, and the hashtags. There are so many variables to try; you never know what will end up being the perfect hook. Remember to stay flexible though because social media moves fast and what works today may not work next month!

GuaranteedSEO’s Online Marketing Services

At GuaranteedSEO, we build great, marketable websites, create SEO-focused content, deliver paid search campaigns, and develop social media followings for our clients. We have worked in varied and unique industries including industrial, retail, professional services and manufacturing.

For over 20 years we have had a proven reputation of getting results for our clients by getting your information in front of the right viewers at the right time. Call us for a FREE 30-minute site review! It will give you a first-hand look at areas that could use improvement. You can use the information to target fixes on your website, improve your marketing or create your own campaigns. If you want you can choose to have us do the work for you.

Contact GuaranteedSEO today and let us bring high-performance results! CALL: (604) 630-0767 TOLL FREE: 1 (866) 588-8282

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