Online presence is everything for your business. Even if you’re a local company such as a cafe, launderette or shop that doesn’t sell online, you still need to be out there on the web or you risk losing customers. People will be searching every day for businesses like yours, and regardless of what you do or sell you need to be out there. You need to have a strong presence that shows you are active online, have followers and are who you say you are. Whether you’re a new company looking to get out there or just want to boost your presence online, here are a few ways to go about it.

Invest in a Fantastic Website

Your site is your online representation of your business. It is the first thing customers and clients will see, so it needs to be right and make a good impression. A web designer will be able to create something custom for you and help you stand out from your competitors. Try and do this yourself and your site might look amateur and put people off before they’re even properly looked. It should be visually pleasing, not cluttered with ads and have beautiful graphics designed. A good website doesn’t come cheap, but is a very worthwhile investment for your business.

Advertise Correctly

There is no point having a fantastic business if no one can find you. Advertising and marketing is so important, it allows you to get out there in places where potential clients and customers can find you. You could go with affiliate marketing, Adsense, banner ads and guest posts from bloggers and so much more. A big part of your budget as a business will be on getting yourself out there. Don’t underestimate this, make sure your finances allow for room for it.

Have A Responsive App Created

A cellphone app is a amazing way for small and medium-sized companies to get ahead of their opposition. It is the perfect way to basically get your business onto the phones of your customers. It gives you the opportunity to have all of your information, products and contact information in their pockets, only ever a touch of a button away. It makes you appear like a dependable and trustworthy company, and this is beneficial if you are new to business. Customers know that a rip-off company isn’t going to go to go through the trouble of creating and paying for an app, so seeing yours can reassure them that you are secure to shop with.

Write An Engaging Blog

Blogging is something that grown in popularity over the last few years. The benefits of blogging for business are well established, and this is something you should definitely consider getting on board with if you’re not already. It’s fantastic for your business’s online presence, as well as helping to grow your audience, getting more organic traffic and showing your customers you’re a legitimate business. You could write the content yourself or work this into one of your staff members jobs. Or you could work with a talented freelance writer there are plenty of sites online which can connect you. Use a company’s SEO services to ensure you’re using the right keywords and tags to get your posts seen by as many people as possible.

Ask For Reviews

It’s against the law to provide compensation in return for a positive review. However if you’re doing a good job, people will naturally leave good reviews. And there’s no harm in asking your customers if they’d like to leave a review on social media, your website or a third party review site like Reevoo. That way other customers can see that people have used and had a good experience with your site which can mean they’re more likely to go through you themselves. Another option would be to work with bloggers. You could provide a product or service to them free of charge in exchange for an honest review. This can also get you backlinks on high quality blogs as well as a (hopefully positive) review of your business. Again you can’t ask for a positive review, but if the blogger reviewing has any issues it doesn’t hurt to sort these out so you’re getting the best write up possible.

A lack of online presence could mean the end for your company- even if you don’t sell online. Follow the steps above to get your business out there and seen by the right people.