Most people now recognise the importance of having an online presence for new businesses. 76% of people now use internet search engines as their primary source of information when researching products and businesses. 48% of consumers report combining social media with search engines when making buying decisions. If a new business has no online presence then it is going to struggle to attract customers.
For people who are new to running their own business and new to the online world the variety of products, options and services can be confusing, let alone some of the acronyms and jargon that are used to describe them. The aim of this post is to provide a simple guide for people who are just starting out.
1) A Website
If you want your business to show up in search engines like Google or Bing then you are going to need a website. A good all in one package will include website hosting and technical support so all you will have to do is come up with some text and pictures. When thinking about what website to buy one of the main considerations is how easy it is going to be for you to update. Many websites come with simple Content Management Systems (CMS) that are word like processors. Make sure you look at how this works and that it is easy. Also have a think about whether you want to sell products online now or whether you might want to in the future. Look for websites that have this as an option.
To allow people to find your website you will also need to buy a domain name, which is the address for your website. Try to pick one that includes the name of your business or describes what you do.
2) Website Content
Having a website is great but it needs to have good relevant content (words, pictures, videos). A whole industry has built up around search engine optimization (SEO) which is the art of making your website come first in the search engine results. The top place result in Google will typically get 36% of all clicks while the top 3 get nearly 60% between them. Getting your site to the top of the search engine results is therefore seen as critical to attracting customers. The one piece of advice that all SEO professionals give is that there is no substitute for great content. Having words, pictures and videos that are relevant and interesting is the best way to get people onto your site. When writing your content think about the words someone would type into a search engine like Google if they were trying to find a business like yours.? Make sure that you include these words in the titles of your pages and the rest of your text.
3) Links
One of the ways search engines work out how good a website is, is what other websites link to it. If you are a retailer make sure that suppliers and distributors have links to you from their site. If you are a member of a professional body or local business organisation get them to link as well. A story in the local newspaper about your new business can also be a great source of links. Try to keep the links from relevant websites though. Too many links from irrelevant websites will make your website look bad with the search engines.
4) Maps
If you are a shop, cafe or Bed & Breakfast or similar business where you want people to physically visit your premises then getting your business featured within internet mapping services can be a great way to attract customers. Services like the Bing Business Portal and Google Places allow you to add your business to their maps and include a link to your own website. Increasingly these maps will show up in normal internet searches as well as in specialist map searches. This is a great way to gain extra exposure.
5) Social Media
Social Media is the current hot topic amongst marketing people. The basic theory is that knowing one of your friends likes a business on Facebook, or has recommended them on Twitter, is more likely to convince someone to use that company than a traditional print or TV advert. As services like Twitter and Facebook are essentially free to use they are seen as a better use of a company?s time and money than expensive adverts in local newspapers or magazines. There are lots of books and websites dedicated to social media marketing but the best way to get to grips with it is pick a relatively simple service like Twitter and have a play around. Tell people about what your company does, post pictures of new products and share news stories or links that will be interesting to your customers.
Looking at these basic areas will get the online side of your business off to a good start. Once you have the foundations you can then get more involved in SEO and website analytics to track the impact of what you are doing.
At The Company Warehouse we offer a full range of website services including web design & hosting, CMS websites, domain name registration and SEO reports. If you need any help or advice on getting your business online then get in touch.
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