15 Ways to Increase Your Businesses Online Presence
It’s no secret that the Internet has changed how we market our businesses. It is now one of the most important ways to get your business noticed and increase sales and profits. Instead of spending money on expensive advertising methods such as billboards, newspapers, magazines, and yellow pages ads, you can now create a presence online to increase your customer base while saving yourself some money.
The following are 15 ways to generate traffic to your business website or blog.
1) Social Media
Because social media is free, it is one of the most popular marketing strategies on the web today. By becoming active on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can increase awareness of your business, establish yourself as an authority and gain valuable insights about serving your customers better.
2) Blogging
Many companies have a blog updated regularly with content that is pertinent to their industry or niche. Not only does blogging give you a chance to establish yourself as an authority in the business, but it can also drive traffic to your website. However, just like any marketing strategy, you have to be creative and produce fresh content that is interesting and informative if you want people to read it.
3) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Another way to increase your online presence is through SEO, where you optimize your website so that search engines will pick up the site when someone searches for a product or service related to yours. This can take some work, but if done correctly, you could see an increase in traffic which means more visitors to your website resulting in more sales!
4) Link Building
By linking out to other websites relevant to yours, helps search engines determine what your site is about, which makes it easier for them to return your site in search results. You can complement this strategy by linking back to the websites you have linked to; these are called “do follow” links, which some search engines may prefer over others.
5) Pay Per Click (PPC) Ads
With PPC ads, you only pay when someone clicks on an ad related to what they are searching for online. This works well with SEO because many of these ads will show up when somebody searches on Google, Yahoo, or Bing, and depending on how much your bid is, your ad could show up at the top of the list, or it could be buried underneath less relevant ads. Another advantage of using PPC ads is that you only pay when somebody clicks on your ad, unlike other advertising methods such as newspapers and magazines.
6) Social Bookmarking
Using social bookmarking is a great way to encourage more exposure for your website or blog. Many websites are dedicated to helping people find new places to visit online such as Digg, Delicious, and Stumbleupon. When you submit your site or blog to these sites, it will be submitted to millions of users who frequent them, resulting in a spike in traffic if the content is relevant enough for people to click on.
7) Email Marketing
Not only does email marketing help establish a connection with customers by frequently giving them updates on promotions or special events going on at your business, but it can also drive traffic back to your website or blog. Depending on how frequently you send out your email newsletter, people could subscribe to receive updates from you via their email, which will give you a direct line to your target market.
8) YouTube Videos
When done correctly, videos can be a great way to establish yourself as an authority in the industry while also driving traffic back to your website or blog. It doesn’t matter whether you have a video camera and can shoot it yourself or if you hire somebody else to do it for you because the purpose of having a video is so that customers can see what kind of products or services that you offer and why they should buy from you instead of from one of your competitors.
9) Offline Marketing Methods Such as Flyers and Radio Ads
Although these are more traditional marketing methods, they can still be very effective if done correctly. For example, flyers are a great way to promote your business during specific seasons such as Christmas or back-to-school time, where people are looking for things to buy that are related to the season. Likewise, radio ads work well because you get to speak directly into somebody’s car, which means they have already taken some action by turning on their radio and hopefully listening to it!
10) Speaking Engagements & Seminars
Whether you do this in person at a local venue or through teleconferences, speaking engagements and seminars offer many benefits, including getting yourself known within the community while giving valuable information on topics related specifically to your niche. In addition, people appreciate when businesses give out free recommendations and will be more likely to check out your website or blog when they better understand the products or services you offer.
11) Website Optimization
Having a website optimized for people to find your business online through search engines will be one of the most valuable pieces of real estate you have online when done correctly. In addition, having an SEO-friendly site can mean that your website comes up at or near the top of the list when somebody searches for your product or service using popular search engines like Google and Yahoo.
12) Generate More Content
One of the easiest ways to get more exposure is to generate more content. Whether you blog regularly or write articles that can be submitted to article directories such as Ezinearticles, having an ongoing stream of fresh content relevant to your business will help customers become more familiar with who you are and what you offer.
13) Event Marketing
Attending events in your community related directly to the products and services you offer will give your business instant credibility and show existing customers and potential customers that you care about making people’s lives better through your product or service. It also lets you interact with current clients when they come up and introduce themselves while picking up valuable from them, enabling many businesses such as dentist’s offices, tax software providers, and even insurance brokers to stay top of mind with their clients.
14) Focus on Local Marketing
Although some businesses benefit from having a national or global reach, many others can see the majority of their business through leads that come through local marketing methods. By focusing on making your website visible locally for search engines like Google and Yahoo and on offline niches such as flyers and billboards, you will be able to connect with more people in your area who are looking for what you offer rather than just anybody who is searching online.
15) Product Reviews & Discounts
An effective way to get people into your sales funnel is to offer product reviews or discounts on products related directly to what you sell, either by giving away free samples or offering limited-time deals. Although this may not sound appealing at first because of the costs involved, the power of product reviews on blogs and the ability for new visitors to get a good understanding of what you offer before they buy will more than make up for any costs or losses.
Final Thoughts on Increasing Your Businesses Online Presence
Your online presence is the lifeblood of your business. Without it, nobody would be able to find out about the great service that you offer or even have the ability to contact you for further information! So follow these 15 steps and watch your profits skyrocket next year as more people are exposed to what you have available.
References
- Indiana University. (n.d.). Increasing Business Traffic Heading into the New Year – Marketing Moves. Retrieved from https://blogs.iu.edu
- U.S. Small Business Administration. (n.d.). 5 Tips to Make Your Small Business Social Media Savvy. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2023, July 11). Online presence management. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_presence_management
