Did you know 97% of consumers search for a business online before purchasing? As such, a solid online presence is no longer good but a must-have in the current internet age. It allows consumers to find your business while increasing brand reach, growing brand awareness, and enhancing credibility and reputation.

While an online presence is beneficial, many businesses, especially SMEs and startups, struggle to create a robust digital presence, thus missing many growth opportunities. Today, enterprises have many channels in the digital space to take their brands in front of millions of consumers.

Whether you are a brick-and-mortar business or a service-based one, you can establish an online presence in the following ways.

Consider SEO

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CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Forward-looking brands use SEO to establish a presence online. SEO strives to enhance a business’s visibility on search engines such as Google and Bing when users search for their offerings or expertise. It optimizes web pages and content to attain high rankings on search engines. 

Since search engines are a significant information source for consumers, ranking highly on SERPS increases traffic to your site. In fact, 93% of all web traffic comes from a search engine. Besides growing organic traffic, SEO improves credibility, elevates brand visibility, provides a competitive edge, and offers good ROI. 

A crucial part of SEO is link building, whereby you boost the number of backlinks from other websites to yours. It increases your website’s authority and enhances search engine visibility.

Regrettably, link-building can be complex and time-intensive, making link building outsourcing lucrative for many businesses. They hire an experienced link-building agency to develop quality backlinks and improve Google rankings.  

2. Create a Website

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Having a website is mandatory for businesses building an online presence. A website is among the first places people visit to learn about a company. It allows customers to find you anytime, regardless of their location. Research shows that 56% of shoppers won’t consider an enterprise without a website.

With a website, brands reach a broader demographic, establish trust, get a low-cost advertising forum, and gather visitor insights. A website lets you provide essential business information such as company descriptions, offerings, and contact information. Also, you can show off your brand and tell its story with colors, fonts, images, and videos.

You may wonder how to create a website for your business. Here is a simple guide;

• Select a domain name –a unique and consistent domain name increases brand visibility and makes you stand out. Keep the domain name short, easy to spell, and include relevant keywords.
• Register your domain and pick a hosting provider. Some domain providers offer registration, hosting, and design to make the process easier and stress-free.
• Add valuable pages such as the home page, ‘About Us’ page, FAQs, and shop page. Remember to include a contact page with phone numbers, social media accounts, email, operating hours, and a contact form.
• Optimize the site for SEO to attract traffic. Consider both onsite and offsite SEO.
• Ensure design and content are mobile-friendly.
• Test the website before publishing to ensure content is error-free and has no broken links.
• Maintain your website by tracking its performance, publishing new content, and ensuring all aspects work correctly.

3. Utilize Social Media

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Social media is the hallmark of online presence, with people increasingly spending significant amounts of time on these networks –currently 151 minutes daily.

Social media lets your company reach potential customers, humanizes your brand, generates leads, gets customer feedback, and manages your reputation. Also, you position yourself as a thought leader and an authority in your niche.

The first step in leveraging social media is choosing the platforms your target audience frequents. Whether you settle for Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram, the secret is staying active and tracking performance metrics. Quality, not quantity, is critical, so you don’t need to create a page on every social network.

Businesses can employ social media to increase their online presence and grow their brand in a few ways.

First, network with other businesses and industry leaders and connect with potential employees.

Second, share information to inform, educate, and entertain followers. Third, target specific audiences interested in your products or services.

Lastly, establish meaningful engagements with your audience to cultivate trust and loyalty.

4. Produce Content

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Generating content is among the best ways to show up online. With quality content, your business shows up on search engines, social media, and paid ads. Your brand should aim to create valuable, entertaining, relevant, and consistent content in a broad range of formats.

Identifying your customers’ pain points and writing content around them is a good place to start. Also, you could advise on a specific topic, respond to questions, or try guest posting –the bottom line is to create value for the reader.  

According to the Search Engine Journal, blogs, images, and videos were the common types of content for 2023. Research reveals that social video gets 1200% more shares than other content types –text and image combined.

Also, YouTube seconds Facebook as the most famous online platform in the US. Videos complement other marketing strategies, boost social shares, and drive engagement and conversion.

Blogger outreach can help you promote your content and increase its scope. It involves connecting with bloggers in your niche and utilizing their authority to get your content and offerings to new audiences. When using blogger outreach, the following best practices are handy.

• Select bloggers carefully –opt for those with a high domain rating, blog traffic, and business relevance.
• Cultivate long-term relationships with the blogger. Something as simple as commenting on the blogger’s posts and offering them freebies can go a long way to nurture the relationship.
• Produce quality content so the blogger is proud and willing to share with their audience.
• Monitor and improve the results of the outreach.

Conclusion

A strong online presence is mandatory in the digital age as consumers spend much time online and e-commerce surges. It exposures your brand to a large audience, establishes trust and credibility, and creates a good reputation. The strategies above help you get your business in the digital space and pay off with more leads, sales, and long-term profitability.