When it comes to business nowadays, it is all about online presence. And not only business, for that matter.

From bloggers to entrepreneurs to business owners, everyone wishes to hit the first page in Google search and hang out with all of the cool kids. There is a good reason why that is important. Nearly all searches take place online, and if your business is not on the first page, it’s missing out on new clients.

Email marketing has reached stellar highs, with a myriad of businesses within target industries competing for every new customer. Scary, isn’t it?

Sure is, but luckily, there are tips and tweaks that will help you boost your business’ homepage in nearly no time at all. The first goal most businesses have is to convert visitors to subscribers and, thereby, sales.

To even get there, however, you’ll need to keep your content fresh and evergreen and to provide new pieces on a regular basis. This is by no means an easy task, so do all optimization beforehand.

And while there are no general guidelines to running a popular website, there are still some things that will increase its visibility and provide a little motivation. The trick would be to do your keyword research, optimize for local searches, be active on social media, make use of newsletters, hand out promotional materials and improve physical store designs.

1. Local Search Optimization

It is always recommended to perform localized keyword research when monitoring your SEO performance, as it is only natural to count on people in your area becoming your business’ new customers.

This means your keywords should include recognizable locations and landmarks. Google’s Keyword Planner is a great tool to get you started; the app filters keyword searches based on location.

2. Social Media Exposure

As regards social media, it is no news that the real action takes place there. Social media exposure can easily make or break a business, especially if the target audience comprises millennials or younger generations.

On top of that, social media posts get shared and re-shared regularly, which means more people will get to see your ads on a daily basis. Plus, it’s also a great place to show off images!

3. Newsletters and Emails

Newsletters are among the most popular advertising techniques, and for a good reason. They cost no money to send. The only trick is to get the recipient to actually open them and read them.

To do that, you’ll need to learn two skills:

• The art of writing stellar subject lines (boosts open rates)
• The art of writing concise and tempting newsletter content

Newsletters are a good way to communicate with the audience on a more personal level, and personalization is the key to keeping a customer and making them wish to recommend your business to their friends.

Newsletters should be concise, written in an informative way and should deliver on your business’ promise. That means they should include a call to action that will lead the reader directly to the point of sale.

Sending expert personalized newsletters translates into knowing your audience. To attain that goal, use insights from your email marketing campaign. Demographics, gender, interests, previous purchases and similar will tell you all you need to know about the recipient.

Additionally, you’ll want to add a little pizzazz to your regular emails. Get in the flow state, and consider attractive thank-you, receipt, abandoned cart and out-of-office message templates, to name a few.

4. Promotional Materials

Promotional materials are an effective and cost-efficient advertising strategy. The most common form of promotion nowadays is email marketing campaigns.

Email marketing is a phenomenon in itself, given that just any business — large and small — uses it profusely. Email marketing campaigns are cheap, known to boost ROI dramatically if done right and beneficial in terms of deepening communication with the audience.

There are numerous email marketing strategies, including newsletters, special offers for new customers, special offers for loyal customers, various bonuses and bundles, and so on. The type of offer is best left to a business’ discretion.

To capitalize on email marketing campaigns, again, you should know your insights. Remember to personalize and follow up, and add shopping cart reminders if you run an online store. It doesn’t hurt to use different email accounts for your marketing strategies.

On top of email marketing, there are other types of promotional materials to consider. I.e., handing out business cards and t-shirts is a good idea for local businesses. Just remember to keep everything lean whenever possible.

5. Physical Store Design Improvement

Businesses owning actual physical stores can do wonders with small investments. Improving a store’s physical design is a cheap way of attracting more people.

For example, a fitness studio may benefit greatly from some high-end table lamps, fresh paint and nice pieces of furniture.

It seems like a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want to feel comfortable in a gym just like in their own home?

Pro Tips

There is seemingly no end to advice on how to empower company websites and increase businesses’ online visibility, regardless if your site focuses on wedding videos or vintage clothing. With the world being logged in, some tips are only natural to keep in mind.

Let’s break down some simple pro tips to grow your business overnight:

• Make your website mobile ready. Use larger fonts and smaller (but high-quality) images.
• Update your credentials regularly. Keep your “contact us” page evergreen.
• Make a testimonials page. Ask your happy clients to provide feedback.
• Create eye-catching and informative content. It should directly answer customers’ questions with authority and style.
• Post content regularly (at least once per week for smaller businesses and daily for larger ones).
• Share insightful information on social media. Remember that everyone “hangs out” online.
• Send reminders to customers for every action that gets interrupted (e.g., cart abandonment reminders).

Other tips may also come to mind, but we want to stick to the ones that are easy to undertake and can boost your business’ operations speedily.

The key insight to remember here is that, no matter the medium, communication with clients (which requires successful employee engagement) remains the top priority, even if you run an online business.

Think in terms of personalization and keeping in touch with the customers. If you run a physical store, even better! Listen to your clients so that you can always come up with a personalized offer. After all, such gestures never leave anyone unmoved.

Portions previously published on Business2Community