Consumer behavior has changed over the past couple of years. Your customers are now spending the majority of their time online. They are not looking at the yellow pages for places to go or for help with a problem they might have. They are spending their time on search engines and social media websites.
If you are a small business owner, how are you currently advertising or promoting your business? Are you using the yellow pages? Are you running an ad in the local newspaper? Are you putting flyers around town? That might have worked well in the past, but times have changed. Like I said before, “your customers are online, and you need to be there!”
Small business owners listen up; you need to focus the majority of your marketing efforts online. You need to get in front of your customer, and have them remember you when it is time for them to purchase a product or service. Below I have listed ways to help market your business effectively online:
- Search Engines – Your customers are using search engines a lot more than any other directory to look up products or services. You need to make sure your business website has a strong presence on the most popular search engines. The most popular search engines are : Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Google, however, has 80% of the search market and you need to focus your search engine efforts there. Make sure you have completely created your Google Places page.
- Social Media – Create a social media account on these four sites: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Use them to share tips, ideas, and information about your business. This will help form a personal relationship with your business.
- Citations – Citations are local directories where you can list your business. Citations include Yelp, Citysearch, Yahoo Local, and more. They are important, because they create quality organic back links to your website. Being able to have your business name, address, and phone number all over the internet consistently will help add credibility, and help your search rankings.
- Blogs – In 2013, content is king! When it comes to search engine optimization, the content you write on your blog is extremely important for your business. Use your blog to share tips, ideas, information about your business, and help your customers. This will bring in internet traffic from search engines and the traffic will be directed to your website. Having a blog helps establish your credibility and builds trust with the reader.
- Newsletters – People check their emails every day. A great way to get in front of your customers is to send out monthly or bi-weekly newsletters. The newsletter will help them keep your business in mind when they need your help. You can run promotions, tips, and ideas.
- Mobile- If your website is not mobile friendly; you are hurting your online marketing strategy. Everyone today has a cell phone and the majority of people have a smart phone. Your website needs to be easy and simple to use for your customers. They should be able to get everything done with one touch!
- Call – to –Actions- This is important because your internet visitors need to know what to do when they come to your website, social media page, blog, or citation. Having a call-to-action will result in an action by the web visitor or provide some kind of value. When a visitor arrives, they may be undecided about the purchase. But, if you ask them to do something or provide valuable information, it may convince them to contact you!
The tips above will help increase traffic to your website, and increase the number of customers in your door. Make sure you have created goals and a plan for your internet marketing strategy before you move forward.
If you have any questions about online marketing, please contact us at help@repairshopwebsites.com or 1-866-665-1605 Option 2.
Thanks,
Justin Raymond/Customer Service Representative