How to increase the online visibility of your small business?

Nowadays, it is difficult to find a niche in which very few companies operate. In the vast majority of cases, start-up companies are faced with the presence of well-established competitors.

In such a situation, the problem may be how to increase the visibility of a small company on the Internet. How can you do this when others are thriving around you?

Well, everyone started once. The beginning may be difficult, but the point is to take effective action. Results will come sooner or later if the individual steps are taken correctly.

The main thing is that the site itself has a purpose. It cannot be created just to "hang" around the Internet. An effective website is the right combination of useful content, pleasing design and proper technical construction.

So learn how to start building your online image to gain online recognition as quickly as possible.

How to increase the online visibility of your small business? - 6 Tips

Expand website content.

Unfortunately, despite the passing years and ever-evolving technology, it is still possible to find sites created just for the sake of formality. Several tens of days pass, the site is created and ... that's it. It does not change in any way for several months or years. Besides, why do it if the requirement to have it is already met.

This is especially true for companies that operate locally and don't have a good online image. If so, then it needs to be changed.

The website says a lot about the entrepreneur himself. In the end, someone "at the top" approved of its content and design and found it representative enough for the company.

The fact is that the growth of the Internet and its importance can no longer be stopped. The Internet is becoming more and more part of our lives, so the company's image on the Internet simply must be worthy.

So make sure your site has extensive content:

• Introduce your company on the front page. Don't focus on praising your company. Instead, focus on detailing the benefits that potential customers will get by doing business with you instead of your competitors.
• You can include a little more detailed information in the "About Us" section. If someone came to this page, it means that he has a specific goal - he wants to get to know you better. Therefore, make it easy for them to find the information they are interested in here.
•  The contact subpage should contain very clear and concise information. You need to be prepared for the fact that different people may want to use different forms of contact - for example, a personal visit to your premises, a phone call, sending an email, or even contacting you via Facebook. Make each of the available options visible as appropriate.
• It's also a good idea to create a separate subpage for presenting your offer. Be specific and show what you have to offer as accurately as possible.
• As I said, focus not on boasting, but on what can be gained from working with you. If your business is somehow significantly different from your competitors, emphasize these differences and try to convince potential customers of the need to contact you.
• It's also nice to have CTA (call to action) sections, i.e. buttons or other elements that direct site users to perform a specific action. This action could be, for example, going to a contact subpage or a quick offer form. In this way, you in some way instruct visitors to follow a predetermined path.

It's a good idea to conduct a site content audit, which can clearly indicate how it needs to be improved to make it more accessible to potential customers.

Add a blog feature.

A blog is a great way to increase the visibility of a small business. It may not be a quick fix, but it has a great long-term effect if you manage your blog the right way.

In my last text, I listed the many benefits of having a blog with an online store. While this post is mainly about e-commerce, there are many reasons why blogging is good for "regular" sites as well.

One of the main advantages is that the blog gives you a lot of opportunities. While you can expect fairly obvious content from subpages like "About Us", "Offer" or "Contact Us", the blog is very versatile. You decide what you want to publish on it.

There are plenty to choose from - from in-depth texts about your products, to industry posts and expert articles.

Also, how do you increase the visibility of your small business if, as a rule, small business websites are not very extensive? A blog comes to the rescue, as each entry added increases the number of pages that are indexed by search engines. This increases the likelihood that any subpage belonging to the company's site will be found by the search engine.

Improve your site's SEO.

Sites built just to just "be" are usually characterized by basic SEO mistakes.

You can still find sites with texts obviously oversaturated with keywords. In fact, to this day you can find lines like: "metalworking Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv", etc. It's very artificial. Not only for us users, but also for search engine robots - the very ones that are supposed to "catch" tricks in the style given above.

SEO for small businesses is easy.Adhering to absolutely basic standards (including correct meta tags, correct H1, H2 and H3 headings, friendly URLs, no broken links, correct keyword selection in content) is not a laborious task and can give you a significant advantage over competitors who completely ignore SEO issues.

Therefore, contact the right person or company to get your website's SEO right. With the confidence that everything is technically in order, you can do things like grow your blog or acquire valuable links to your site.

Be active on social networks.

A common situation among people who have recently opened their own business is the creation of several accounts on various social networks. Of course, I understand the purpose of this - the desire to get as much coverage as possible.

However, there is no point in wasting time on these promotion channels, which should be treated casually in the long run.

Focus only on those portals where you can actually be active and interact with other users. This will help you build trust on social media.

By the way, I should also mention the negative comments on social networks that - sooner or later - happen to every entrepreneur.

The trick is to handle them correctly. Remember that each response must be meaningful, professional, and emotionally balanced. There is nothing worse than a hasty response, the tone of which can damage the reputation of the entire brand.

Be sure to read this text if you are interested in this topic. Moreover, it is worth revisiting for one more reason - despite the elapsed time, this article is one of the most read texts by our readers.

Collaborate with influencers in your industry.

Collaborating with famous people in your industry is one of the most effective ways to build visibility for your small business.

This is not surprising, because it is well known that famous names attract. What matters, however, is who you work with.

Every industry has its experts. People recognized for their experience and knowledge.

Offer them the opportunity to contribute to an expert article, i.e. blog article, which collected materials from many authorities. Plan to write a text on a relevant topic and ask famous people for their opinions. You will receive material that will have a chance to gain at least a share in social networks, which will lead to an increase in traffic to the site.

Add guest posts.

How to increase your small business visibility with guest posts?

Take a close look at existing sites in your industry. Write down who blogs. Ask if you can publish your text through them with a link to your site.Many sites agree to such an agreement as it provides a win-win situation.

In other words, it is beneficial for both parties. You provide valuable material to the site owner, who in turn publishes your text with a link to your site.

Of course, this is a gross simplification, since the issues of possible reward and the type of link (simple or nofollow) are still to be discussed. Ultimately, however, the idea is to spread the word about you or your brand, and guest posts make that possible.

How to increase the online visibility of your small business? - summary

It's undeniable that aspiring small business owners can sometimes find it hard to get their business noticed online.

That is why the issues mentioned in this note - especially those related to the design of the company's website - are extremely important.

This is often the main axis through which buyers are attracted. So make it a worthy platform to represent your business with pride.