Investing your marketing efforts in building a solid online presence is one of the best decisions you can make as a small business, but unfortunately, a lot of small businesses are either unwilling or do not know how to invest in a strong online presence that would consistently draw potential customers and ultimately result in a great ROI.
Most times trying to explore the best online opportunities can seem overwhelming but here are a few common mistakes to avoid. In addition avoiding these mistakes would make your business’s online presence a rewarding one.
Neglecting local SEO
A surprisingly great number of Internet users look for local businesses on the internet anytime they need a product or service, which goes without saying that, small business should not ignore local SEO and its possible advantages.
Local SEO makes it possible for your business to draw in shoppers who carry out searches for specific location, “like restaurants in NYC”. By optimizing your business website for local searches, you are making it possible for buyers to find your product and services easily.
A poorly accessible website
In this technologically driven era, a large number of internet users are becoming more demanding when it comes to the quality of a site. Hence, companies ought to ensure that they invest on mobile optimization, speed, and usability to maintain a high quality website.
It is important to note that the number of mobile phone users have surged in recent years hence, an unimaginable number of internet users prefer a mobile friendly site for easy accessibility and convenience. As a matter of fact, a mobile-friendly site with maximum speed and other great features enhances the prospects of conversion.
Most users are going to immediately leave a site if it takes too long to load. This shows that it extremely crucial for a business to gauge the functionality of its site in order to cut down its loading time.
Not making the most of customer reviews
Online reviews are increasingly becoming a great influence on consumers’ buying decisions. Most customers believe reviews just like word of mouth or referrals from a trusted person. The more reviews a small business get, the greater the likelihood of getting more credibility in the eyes of it prospects.
Businesses need to motivate their customers to leave great reviews because they work as the greatest social proof a site.
Not connecting with customers
It’s extremely crucial for a company to understand its market, because a proper understanding of the market would ultimately guide the company in setting future goals.
A company with an excellent online presence is in the best position to pay attention to its buyers and prospects and listens to their specific requirements and needs with regards to the company’s products or services. This would ultimately lead to improvement in the company’s products and services and also strengthen the company’s relationship with its numerous customers and prospect.
As a final note, the overall objective of creating an online presence is for a small business to get closer to the customers as well as build purposeful relationship and solid customer engagement. The two-way contact between the business and the customer right from the initial user experience must be measured and assessed, this would help companies optimize every critical point of engagement and get the highest possible value.
