Setting up and running an online business can be difficult but if you are willing to put in the hard yards early on, it can pay off for you. An online business can see months of hard work go by without seeing any returns on your hard work. Creating a successful online store takes time and it needs good foundations from the start. If you put in the hard work, it can and will pay off in the future. For most starting off from scratch can be difficult and can look like a daunting task especially with a limited budget. Buying stock to sell is the easy part, selling it is a different story!
In this article, we are going to look at possible ways to promote your business with a very limited marketing budget. A well-prepared strategy can help your small business grow online and boost online sales! You do not have to have a digital marketing degree to grow your business when you have our top 5 tips!
5 Small Business Online Advertising Strategies
1: Content Marketing & Keyword optimization
Some say cash is king but when it comes to online businesses high-quality content is king! Creating content may seem difficult but who knows your business better than you?
Do keyword research and see what keywords your potential customers are using. Check search volumes and competition for these keywords. It is worth noting some keywords you see may have a smaller search volume than others, but this may be easier for you to target. With less competition for these niche phrases, this could be a great place to start.
Create your list of keywords you are hoping to incorporate into your website smoothly. This may be on your landing page or in product descriptions.
Once you know what keywords you would like to target it is time to incorporate this into your website. Be sure to not overuse these keywords and phrases in your website as this may have an adverse effect.
2: Blogs
Blog creations are a great way to add content to your site. Posting links to these blogs on your social media accounts is a great way to interact with your customers and let them know what you do. Using your blog, you can let potential customers know what you do and how great your product is!!
FAQ Page
Who knows your product or service better than you! FAQs are a great way to answer questions your customers may have. If you have done your keyword research, you may have noticed phrases in relation to your products you are selling like “how to use a …” “what is the difference between X & Y” This can be an opportunity for you to answer all of these questions on your website and drive the traffic to you!
Generating organic traffic to your website is the goal. Having fresh and up to date content will give your website the best possible chance to do this. It will help to increase your search ranking on search engines. Always have your potential target customers in mind when creating content, it’s content they want to see and interact with that’s the key! Give your small business the best possibility to grow by working hard on your content from the start and reap the rewards in the future.
3: Social Media
This is a great way to interact with potential customers and grow your business for free. Be active on your social media platforms with up-to-date posts and interactions. The first place to start is by asking your friends to follow your page and share your new business. People understand it is difficult for a small business to start off and will be willing to help. There are lots of different groups on social media whether it be a Mother and Baby club or a DIY club for example. If you have a product or service that you believe may be something new or interesting to them, then reach out. Ask the administrator would they be willing to share your page with their followers. If your margin allows (which it should) you should offer them a discount code for their followers. This way it gives them an incentive to share your page.
Speaking of the above, engaging in forums can also draw people to check out your page and website. It’s important not to just focus on sharing your products but to also create content that people want to share and comment on. You would be surprised by the traction this can take if people tag or comment on a post you have created.
Be sure to have social media buttons on your website but most importantly make sure to keep your content fresh and up to date on your social platforms.
4: Email Marketing
Having a mailing list is a great way to target your audience directly, but how does a small start-up website do this?
If you have recently launched your website and it is not live, let your customers sign up to receive a notification when you are live. This way you can let them know when you are live and ready to take orders. Link up with your social media platforms and let people know if they sign up to your emailing list, they will receive a special offer etc.
Discount codes sign up to our mailing list and receive % off your first order, even if they sign up but do not order, having their contact details for future promotions may bring future sales. Let customers know if you are running special promotions or launching new products weekly or monthly.
Remember to target previous customers and turn them into returning customers, perhaps with a new spring sale promotion or a new range of products you have that may be of interest to them.
Always make sure you have a link to your website in every email, after all the goal is to bring traffic to your store and help it grow for free by getting recurring payments over time!
5: Register your business with Google
Let people know where they can find you! Doing this is quite simple. Go to google and search register my business and fill out the details. Google will then send you a postcard to this exact address with a key. This is to ensure your business is where you said it is. You then need to follow the instructions and input your “key” to verify.
Growing your small business will not happen overnight, there is no quick trick or fix to boosting your rankings and appearing on the first page of Google. If you implement our top five tips above however over time you will start to see your business grow. If you are looking for more tips on how to grow your business, check out our 2021 E-Commerce trends. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day so give your small business time to grow, it will, just put in the work and remember our top 5 tips!
