These days, having a visible online presence is critical for a small business’s success. Here’s a quick guide on how to build one, step by step.

How to build a big online presence for your small business

Step #1: Have a great website

Regardless of whether someone finds your business in a Google search, on Yelp or Facebook, there’s a good chance that they’re going to visit your website to learn a little more about you before scheduling an appointment or making a purchase.

Your website is your business’s home online, and it’s important that it makes the right first impression on your visitors. That means that your website needs to be professional, modern and informative.

A big part of having a modern website is ensuring that it’s mobile-friendly and responsive. This means that all of your users will get the best experience, no matter what device they’re using to visit your website.

Step #2. Get listed

A key pillar of marketing is simply to be wherever people are looking for what you have to offer. If you’re a local business, there are dozens of potential sites, directories and apps people could be using to search for your products or services.

Make sure that your business is listed on any and all applicable local sites, directories and apps, including Google, Angie’s List and Top Rated Local®, and that your business information (like your name, address and phone number) is up to date and accurate.

Having consistent, up-to-date business information ensures that customers can always reach you when they need to, but it can also help with organic visibility on Google and other search engines.

Step #3. Capture market share on popular channels

Having a beautiful website and getting your business listed is a good starting point, but you need a way to increase your visibility and drive traffic. One of the fastest, most effective ways to do that is through multi-channel advertising.

The right advertising campaign can help you get noticed right away and start driving leads to your website. And, when you run ads across the most popular channels, it means even more visibility for your business.

Make sure that you regularly test and fine-tune your ad campaigns to improve your ROI and get better leads. And, get more out of your ad spend by targeting the right audience.

Step #4. Drive organic visibility

While advertising is a fantastic way to increase your visibility right away, paying for every single click (or lead), can add up quickly. One of the best ways to cut advertising costs while driving visibility is through SEO (search engine optimization) and content marketing.

Identify common keywords people might be using to search for what you have to offer, and then optimize your website for those keywords. This includes using keywords naturally in your titles, headings, metadata, image tags and content.

In addition to making sure that you’re using the right keywords on your website, make it a point to build organic content regularly by building pages, writing blogs, posting on social media, etc.

Step #5. Build your reputation

You’ve got a lot of competition out there, and your customers need a good reason to choose you over your competitors. When you want to get a leg up on the competition, start by building your reputation.

People want to read reviews before they make a purchase or schedule a service. And, if you don’t have many recent reviews — or if you have a low average star rating on review sites — it can really hurt your business.

One of the easiest things you can do to start building a strong reputation for your business is to start asking for feedback from your customers. Keep it simple by sending out feedback requests via email.

Step #6. Make connections on social media

Social media used to be about looking at pictures of friends and staying in touch with out-of-town family members, but these days, a lot of consumers look to social media to find new brands and learn about local businesses.

Make sure that your business has an active profile on the social media platforms your customers are using, and keep your profile up to date with pictures of your team, current business information and more.

Establish a consistent posting schedule on your social media profiles to expand your visibility, build recognition in your brand and show prospective customers that you’re active, ready and willing to help.

Step #7. Get more repeat business

A lot of small businesses make the mistake of throwing all of their time and resources into getting new customers instead of nurturing the ones they already have. But, at the end of the day, it’s your existing customers that will make or break your business.

It’s incredibly expensive to always go after new customers. And, what’s more, is that new customers won’t spend as much as the loyal customer you already have, nor are they as likely to refer your business to others.

Get more repeat business and referrals by staying connected with your customers via email and text message marketing. Utilizing CRM software can also help you build stronger relationships with your customers and, ultimately, provide better service.

Step #8. Make data-driven decisions

Every business is different, and not every marketing channel or strategy will work the same for everyone. To maximize your ROI, you need to do more of what’s working for you and less of what’s not.

Keep a close eye on your performance so that you can stop wasting your time and money on marketing strategies that aren’t working, and you can double down on the strategies that are driving the best results.

When you closely monitor your performance, you don’t have to guess what your strategy should be or where you should put your marketing budget. You’ll have data to guide you.

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Your small business’s online presence should be more than just your website and a Facebook page, but managing all of these moving parts can quickly get complicated.

Marketing 360® is the #1 Marketing Platform for small businesses because it gives you everything you need to manage all of those moving parts from one place.

With one platform, you get a user-friendly website builder, a customizable CRM, a social media scheduling tool, easy-to-use email and text message marketing software, reputation management solutions, multi-channel advertising management and so much more. Plus, our incredible marketing team is standing by, reading to help you grow your business and your online presence. See our plans and pricing.