Tips For Growing Your Online Business

The way the world does business is changing. The pandemic, the increased use of smartphones and the connected nature of the internet has changed everything you once knew and understood when it came to running a small online business. Now, almost anyone can set up and run a business from their home, and better yet, almost anyone can make it a success.

It won’t necessarily be easy but if you have the right dedication and drive coupled with the below recipe for success then there is no stopping your online business from growing and thriving. Here are some top tips for growing your passion project into a flourishing online business.

#1 Your website

Your website is potentially one of the most important aspects of your online business. It is your shop window and your gateway into the world.

The first thing you will need to decide is whether to hire a website builder, code your own, or use tools to support you in your efforts. Tools like the godaddy website builder are a low-cost option that can help you effortlessly set up a new site, and you can find plenty of online tutorials to learn how it works too.

When it comes to your website first impressions count and you will not have long to impress a user. Your website needs to accurately represent your business and be an effective and easy tool for business users.

It’s also important to address your internet technology needs including data protection. Be sure to check into cyber security monitoring options for your business. You want to make sure both you and your customers have reliable access and up-to-date protections and solutions.

Here are additional ways you can get the most out of your website:

Make it mobile responsive.

Adults spend hours and hours on their mobile phones every day and more and more shopping is being done from the trusty handheld device. Needless to say, that your business website must be mobile responsive to offer a positive user experience.

It’s an excellent idea to hire professionals like the web design Melbourne team to ensure your website is responsive and dynamic. Failure to have a responsive website can result in lost customers and decreased revenue. It will also affect your website’s ranking on search engines making your business harder to discover.

Make it easy to navigate.

Keep your navigation menu limited with no more than five labeled tabs. Also, ensure that it is easy for customers to get back to the homepage.

Make it easy to buy. If your website is selling products then you need to make it as easy as possible for customers to part with their cash. Do not put hurdles, box ticking and form filling requirements in their way before the checkout process. This will only deter customers from completing their purchases.

Keep it simple and keep it consistent.

Maintain no more than two font types and a simple and consistent color scheme with lots of white space. Limit the use of graphics, audio or video. That is not to say they don’t have a place on your website, just be sure to input them selectively and avoid a visual overload for customers.

Display contact information clearly and concisely.

Whether you offer a manned phone service or online chat software, be sure that this information is easily accessible. Customers love to be able to reach out and talk with a business so ensure your contact information takes pride of place.

#2 Other websites

Your website is not the only important website when it comes to growing a successful business online. The fact is other websites can have an influence on the success of your business, and sitting at the top of that list is Google. Google can truly make your company website and send it skyrocketing to heights you had not even considered. Here are several of ways you can use Google to get your business in front of the people that need to see it most.

Google my business.

Google my business is a Google based tool that allows you to add up to date information and details such as the location of your business and the services offered. It will be one of the first pieces of information customers see when searching your business so it is important it contains relevant and up to date information.

Pay-per-click advertising.

This is a great easy way to get traffic to a new site. It means that you do not have to spend hours toiling away at SEO best practices to get organic traffic to your website. A PPC ad will show up in the first three results of a Google search increasing your traffic exponentially. This in turn can result in lead conversation and an increase in sales. You can use specific keywords in your PPC ad to target customers who are using these keywords in search engines. What is more, you can also use this information and data you glean from your PPC advertising to improve your organic reach.

Organic reach and SEO.

If you want your website and or products and services to be a top-ranking search result then you will need to get to grips with SEO best practices. It can be a complex and time-consuming skill to master but once you have it sussed the results can be phenomenal. SEO, search engine optimization, is a series of practices that focus on ensuring your website is on the first page of a search engine result, which in turn boosts your organic reach, traffic and leads. You can improve your SEO by focusing on keywords to distribute across your website, improving your site loading speed, mobile optimisation and overall domain authority of your website.

Google is not the only other website that can lend a hand to your online business. Review websites can be a great way to gain traction and awareness of your business as can chat forums and even creative sites such as Pinterest and Etsy.

#3 Social Media

Your business’s online presence should not just be limited to its website. Internet users the world over spend hours on social media. As a result, businesses now spend unprecedented amounts of time and money on their social media campaigns to ensure they are getting in front of the right customers. Before signing up to every social media account going consider some of these tips to help you strengthen your social media savvy;

Choose the right account.

Contrary to popular opinion you do not need to be on every social media account going. Spend a little time conducting some market research to determine where the majority of your customers ‘hang out on social’. Do your customers spend more time on Instagram or Linked In? Are you more likely to find them on Facebook or Tik Tok? Understanding your customers and where they spend their time is pivotal for your social media campaign. If you are on the wrong platform you will not be targeting anyone who will want to use your website.

Be social on socials.

In order to grow your social media following organically then it is imperative that you invest the time in actually being social on social media. When you think back to the reasons social media was created, it was not for the purposes of businesses to promote themselves. Rather a place for friends and families to socialize online.

While this has changed somewhat and social media accounts actively rely on businesses to exist the ethos is still the same. You need to be actively engaging with other social media accounts. This means commenting on, liking and sharing other people’s content and not just your own.

Pay to play.

You may have heard this term a lot of late. It is a result of the shift in social media algorithms and focuses on profitability. As mentioned, social media wants business users to use social media but they want them to pay for it. The result is your organic reach will be limited as a business user. If you want to make the most out of everything social media has to offer then you may need to do things like buy Instagram followers with a referral bonus and/or pay for advertising.

Offer something valuable.

Finally, one of the best bits of advice to take with you when it comes to running a social media account for a business is to add value to your followers day to day. Spamming their feed with advert after advert or content that is irrelevant to them and you will only see them hit unfollow and leave your account languishing. If you want to create a loyal following of avid users then you need to provide them with content they want to see. Something that improves their day or gives them a reason to keep you on their feed. Relentless adverts are a turn off so make sure to get creative with your social media content.

# 4 email marketing

Another great way to start building a customer base is by utilizing email marketing. Email marketing allows you to reach customers directly by landing straight in their inbox, with their permission. Creating an opt-in email marketing list is easy to implement and offers some of the following benefits.

• Customers have chosen to receive these emails. Therefore, they are more likely to be interested in the content and act upon it.
• It gives you the opportunity to build a long term relationship with customers
• You can keep them apprised of all of the latest business news and developments.
• You can track the data effectively to see just how effective your email marketing campaigns are.
• It is very cost effective.