Although digital marketing should be a top priority for every small business, many enterprises regard it as an afterthought. In addition to costing them business in the short term, this approach can have an adverse impact on long-term growth and profitability. As such, small business owners who don’t place much importance on digital marketing would do well to reassess their priorities. In the interest of strengthening your digital marketing efforts and getting your business noticed online, consider the following measures.
Work with a Dependable Web Marketing Company
If your existing digital marketing efforts have proven largely ineffective, consider reaching out to a highly-rated web marketing company. From website updates to mobile optimization to search engine optimization (SEO), the right company will be able to guide your efforts across a variety of digital channels. Working with experienced web marketers can also provide your business with the long-term tools it needs to get ahead in the digital space. Knowledgeable web marketers can also assist you in becoming a Google certified partner, which can be a boon to any business, regardless of size.
Utilize Online Business Directories
In the 21st century, search engines and online business directories have largely taken the place of the Yellow Pages. So, if you’re looking to get noticed by prospective patrons, you’d do well to use popular directories to your advantage. By creating accounts on popular directories, you can dramatically increase your odds of getting noticed by your target customer base and growing your business exponentially.
For maximum effectiveness, you should actively encourage customers to leave reviews for your business on various directories. The more favorable feedback you accumulate, the more likely prospective customers will be to give you a chance. However, while there’s nothing wrong with requesting that customers leave reviews, you should avoid asking them multiple times, as this is liable to come off as annoying and ultimately reduce their likelihood of complying.
Update Your Website on a Regular Basis
Regularly updating your website stands to benefit your business in a number of ways. To start with, there’s a chance that regular updates will help boost your search ranking. Since update frequency is among the factors many search engines take into account when compiling results, a consistent update schedule is liable to work in your favor. Secondly, regular updates provide existing patrons with incentive to visit your site on a consistent basis, thus providing you with web traffic.
With this in mind, take care to produce at least one new piece of web content per week, although you’re certainly welcome to create and post content on a more frequent basis. Engaging, informative blog posts and feature articles will serve you particularly well in this endeavor. If you have little to no experience crafting web content, farm this task out to knowledgeable staff members and/or talented freelance writers. This will help ensure that quality content is produced on an agreeable timetable and that your target audience remains informed and entertained.
Use Keyword Integration When Creating Content
When setting out to create content that will get you noticed, never underestimate the importance of effective keyword integration. As the name implies, this practice entails plugging terms your target audience is likely to search for into your web content. For example, language like “best burgers in Madison, WI” and “professional detailing in Ann Arbor, MI” can prove beneficial in this area.
Of course, this isn’t to say that all keyword usage is good keyword usage. Engaging in keyword stuffing – i.e., littering your content with keywords – is liable to turn off your audience and elicit negative attention from search engines. Unsurprisingly, this behavior is typically frowned upon by search engines, and businesses that engage in it can expect to see their search rankings drop considerably.
No matter how hyperlocal your small business’s focus is, you should never skimp on digital marketing. A strong online presence can be a boon to any small business, regardless of how large – or small – their general reach happens to be. In fact, after kicking your online marketing efforts into high gear, you’re liable to find that your potential customer is much larger than you initially thought. Small business owners looking to effective ways to drum up online attention can benefit from the pointers discussed above.
