How To Create A Big Online Presence For Your Small Business

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Post written by

Andrew Gazdecki

Andrew Gazdecki is the founder and CEO ofBizness Apps, a company that helps small businesses build mobile solutions to help them grow.

Andrew Gazdecki ,

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A stroll down Main Street is not what it used to be. Your windows and facades may be enticing and inviting, but they are not enough to keep you competitive in these technological times. You also have to paint a pretty digital picture if you want your business to stand out from the competition. If it doesn’t, there’s a good chance that potential customers will stroll right past your business and on to the one that showed up in their most “near me” mobile search. In fact, over half of “near me” searches result in a store visit. If you want to stay strong on Main Street, you need to get into the “click to brick” game. The most important player in this new marketing game is your online presence. So, how do you up your online game so you can stay strong on Main Street? Strengthen your local search engine optimization (SEO).

You Have To Be Present

It should go without saying that to develop an online presence you have to be present on digital channels. However, a large number of small businesses still rely entirely on traditional means of marketing. These businesses lack a website, social media profiles, a mobile app and so on. A 2017 study shows that 29% of small businesses still operate without a website, but that number is expected to shrink to roughly 8% by the end of 2018.

These digitally deprived companies cite a number of reasons for their slow adoption of a branded website or social media accounts. The most common one by far is that business is going well enough without it. Why rock the boat, right? There’s a significant distinction between getting by and thriving that a lot of small businesses forget — sometimes because they’ve never known what it’s like to thrive.

Creating a comprehensive digital presence may be the key to experiencing that feeling of having a thriving business. In one case, Bad Pickle Tees saw their sales double by creating a website to sell their goofy t-shirts for food lovers.

It isn’t enough to just be present online, you need to be active too. No one is going to bother following a social media account that hasn’t been updated since 2015, nor is anyone going to revisit a website that has no new content or an outdated design. You have to invest the necessary time if you want to be successful in building a digital presence.