Building an Online Presence for your Small and Medium Business
90% of people using the internet are looking for local businesses.
If your small business doesn’t have an online presence, you could be missing out on reaching new customers. This is because 90% of people using the internet are looking for local businesses.
How do you get your business online?
Building a digital presence for a small company isn’t the same as developing one for a big brand. You don’t need to invest thousands and thousands of dollars, all you need are two basic things to compete with your local competitors online - a business website and local search optimization.
Business Website
If your business is one of the 36% of small businesses that don’t have a website, it’s time to get one. A website gives customers a place to learn about your business, see your available products or services, and get in contact with you. Think of it like your digital storefront.
When it comes to developing and designing your business website, a simple 5-7 page website that is easy to navigate, has helpful information for customers, and lists accurate business contact information is more than enough for you to be successful online. Let’s take a closer look…
User-Friendly, Responsive Design
While your business website should look good from a brand marketing perspective, it ultimately needs to be focused on the site visitor. That means your website should have clear navigation and work on all devices from desktop computers to smartphones so that customers can easily through your website to find the information they need quickly.
High-Quality, SEO-Driven Content
For a small business website to even have a chance of being found in search engine results, it’s going to need content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). After all, websites don’t magically appear in search engine results; they earn their positions because search engines determine which websites have the best and most informative content for people who are searching for answers online.
Accurate Local Business Information
Another important feature to have on your small business website is a local citation—that is, your business name, address, and phone number in your website footer and on a contact page. Why is this important? Customers visit a business website because they’re looking for contact details like an address or phone number, but having this local citation is also necessary for local search optimization efforts.
Local Search Optimization
Simply having a website isn’t enough for your small business to get the attention of customers. You also need to make sure customers can find you whenever they search for local businesses and services online.
This is where local search optimization (or local SEO) can help. By creating consistent local listings to your business and adding them to major online directories and search engines like Google, you’re more likely to be found by local customers.
Google My Business
Setting up Google My Business is necessary for improving the digital presence of your business and reaching local customers online. This free tool allows you to add your business name, address, phone number, website URL, hours of operation, and other important business information directly into Google’s directory, which can help your business appear in Google’s search results and Google Maps for relevant local searches.
Local Business Listings
Adding your local listing information to online business directories can help you appear in more local searches online. Every business category has specific directories where information can be added, but there are other prominent business directories to consider as well.
Taking the time to work on your local search visibility and investing in a good website can help you reach more customers online where they’re already looking for businesses, products, or services like yours.
Looking for help expanding your online presence? Let's chat.