One of the most important parts of marketing for any company, regardless of size, is visibility in the public sphere. For a small business, this can be even more important, as there’s not as much leeway in losing customers.
One of the most basic tools for gaining visibility is the internet, as that platform provides the opportunity for anyone to gain an audience. Still, it can be difficult to be seen in a place where users have literally trillions of things to find and look at. One way to improve your chances of being seen is to utilize search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines, like Google, are a huge part of how people navigate the internet, and it can be easy for a small business to get lost in the shuffle.
Most search engines have complex algorithms that not only find appropriate keywords but also their relevance, usage, and the overall reliability of the website. As they get better, redundant and uninformative pages are less likely to show up. It’s therefore important for your website to have more than just product descriptions that never change.
Constant and informative updates are a great way to show search engines that your website is a good resource for those looking within your industry. Updates can be anything from news updates and blog posts to constant updates in product availability and comment sections.
Social networking is important here as well, as page views and sharing of pages on your website are also good indicators to search engines that your site is important and would be interesting to potential viewers. Viral advertising can be a great way to utilize that angle. A video that becomes very popular and is entertaining is likely to be shared on personal websites and social networks. If these are properly linked to your website, it’s likely to provide a huge increase in traffic. Even if people are just looking for your video and not that interested in your product, the increased page views will help promote your name to those who are interested in your product.
Your business’ social network page can be another great resource. Combining Facebook-only promotions with links to your company’s site will be a good way to build up a loyal fan base and will make your company name even more visible.
Consider hiring a writer to focus on your social networking pages, crafting entertaining and informative tweets and blog posts. Try to find as many ways as possible to appeal to your audience as well. Focusing on your sector of business is a good idea, but to gain potential new customers, being entertaining and interesting is just as important.
Consider expanding your website as well. An easy to navigate and appealing website is a great way to encourage potential customers to remain for some time. Easy access to blog or video archives will give them the opportunity to linger for long periods on your site, which can be another good statistic for SEO.
Overall, you have to make sure that your products appeal to your potential customers. Giving them the opportunity to access your site is a great way to pique interest, but if your product isn’t appealing then all your efforts in SEO will be for nothing.