Having an attractive storefront is a great start for your business, but how do you get potential customers to walk through your doors? More importantly, how do people even know you’re there? 

That’s the same challenge that small business owners face after they’ve taken the time, effort, and expense to build a website for their businesses: how to get potential customers to click onto their sites and stay there when they do.

Making your website easily searchable and marketing it to potential customers is a daunting challenge, but one that small business owners need to take on. After all, a well-crafted site won’t do you any good if no one is looking at it. 

Get to Know SEO

Over 60% of internet searches are done on Google, so it is crucial that you learn how to optimize your website so that it pops up in Google searches whenever someone searches for businesses such as yours. Optimizing your site can be tricky, however, and if you don’t have a lot of technical skill, there are plenty of companies that specialize in search engine optimization (SEO) services.  If you can’t afford one, there are steps you can take to do it yourself.

If you’ve already created a website, then you most likely are using a content management system. This is software that allows you to write, optimize and transfer text and artwork to your website, with the most common being WordPress. 

No matter which CMS software your choose, each one will have a feature that allows you to write in meta tags and titles – a short description of your content that is embedded in the underlying HTML of your page that makes your content more searchable online. It is important to have your meta tags and titles include keywords that you believe web browsers would naturally type into their search engines when searching for businesses such as yours. 

Show up in Local Searches

You should also set up a Google My Business account and fill your account with photos, descriptions, appropriate key words and up-to-date information about your business. This way, your business will show up in local searches. 

For example, if you own and operate a local Italian restaurant, you want your restaurant to appear in the “businesses near me” Google result when a resident in your community does an online search for “Italian restaurants.”

Use Sitemaps

Google Search Console will allow browsers to seamlessly sift through the pages of your website.

A sitemap is a list of the URLs of the subpages on your website that search engines can use to discover and index all of your content. One of the easiest ways to ensure Google can identify your most important pages is to create a file that meets Google’s standards and submit it through Google Search Console. This will help web browsers to follow a path to all of your website’s pages. 

Appear in Image Searches

Image searches are also becoming increasingly popular as well and optimizing your images can drive further organic traffic to your website. This is especially important if your business sells physical products. 

Whenever you search for something on Google, you may notice that images also appear atop the search results. For example, if you own a small furniture company and someone is looking for a new sofa set for their living room and Googles “white sofa set,” you want images of your sofa sets to appear in the search results. 

Alt text (also referred to as alt tags) can be inserted into whatever CMS software that you are using when you post images. In order to come up with alt text, think about what potential customers would type when conducting a Google search for the type of products that you sell. For example, if you own a pet store, you may want to type in “cute dog toys” or “gourmet cat food” as the alt text for your images.

Marketing Your Website 

Everyone pretty much knows that their websites should be SEO optimized, but often, optimizing your site won’t be enough. Everyday small business owners shared some of their most successful tactics to get visitors to their websites, indicating that getting backlinks (getting other sites to link back to your website) is also crucial. 

They also emphasized marketing techniques such as offering weekly specials or discounts, appearing on podcasts applicable to your industry, writing guest blogs or columns, and promoting your site on social media as key steps to making sure your website gets noticed. 

Market Yourself in Podcasts

Ray Blakney, CEO of Live Lingua, says appearing in podcasts is a sure way of driving traffic to your website.

“You can get more website hits by being a guest on podcasts in your business niche, as this initiative will place you right in front of an audience of thousands, tens of thousands, or even more listeners who are in your consumer target market,” said Ray Blakney, CEO and co-founder of small business Live Lingua. 

“Capitalize on this by discussing your business offerings and sharing your website during your interviews. Also, every SEO guru knows the importance of getting backlinks for a website. Every time a new website domain links to an enterprise’s website, it can help boost that company’s ranking in search engines. This in itself will result in more clicks when people search for the products or services that that business offers.”

Maximize Social Media

Setting up pages for your website on as many pertinent social media channels as possible will go a long way towards getting to people to find your website. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram are just some of the platforms to use to get your name out there. However, when you do set up a page for your business, don’t just describe your business – give readers a reason to visit your website. 

“Hashtag themes get great responses from customers, e.g. ‘#giveaway Monday,’ etc.,” said Avrind Patil, business developer at Selectra. “Add details of your business that catch the attention of the customers by giving them exciting offers and discounts. Include games and coupons for your loyal customers.” 

Connect With Influencers

One key step in getting your website (and business) noticed is to try to connect with influencers in your community. These people may be local news anchors or business owners in a community that are well known by residents. 

Summer Romasco, marketing director at Ad Hoc Labs, says connecting with influencers in your industry will get people to go to your website.

If you own a plumbing business, for example, and you know a bad rain storm will hit the area, you may try to get the local news station to instruct residents to make sure the sump pumps in their basements are working in case of flooding (while giving a plug for your business, of course). 

“The best way to find out if a particular influencer will effectively reach your target audience is by following them on social media,” said Summer Romasco, marketing director at Ad Hoc Labs. 

“Doing so will help you discover how that person interacts with their followers and if their voice and messaging resonate with your brand and your target audience. Once you determine that the influencer is a good fit, engage with them directly through a message or chat. Ask them if they’d be willing to share your content or even create content that will resonate with your desired audience,” she said. 

Write Guest Blogs

Another effective way to get backlinks is to find popular publications and blogging sites that write about your industry, and see if they will allow you to write a guest blog. This will help establish you as an authority in your industry, and create publicity for your website. 

“When we write [guest blogs], we make sure that they are relevant to the type of audience we want to bring. Moreover, we link from the guest blogs to our website, using relevant anchors and links,” said Snizhana Kolomiets, marketing manager at Better Proposals. “This ensures we get highly qualified, relevant traffic to the right pages.”

Engage in Email Marketing 

Email marketing involves emailing promotions or information about your business on your website to a bulk of potential customers. Of course, many of your emails may get tossed in people’s spam folders, but don’t get discouraged. According to the Data & Marketing Association in the U.K., email marketing on average yields a whopping 4300 percent ROI for businesses in the US. 

“Many businesses fail to attract more visits to their website because they never consider the importance of email marketing,” said Henry Davis, owner of Adept Golf. 

“Email marketing lets you reach your ideal visitors personally. If you do email marketing right, you not only boost your website hits, but you also attract customers that are high-quality.” 

Offer Promotional Games and Contests

“Organize contests and games where you give winners prizes, freebies, and giveaways. Hosting a contest is one of the simplest ways to boost website hits,” said Liam Johnson, CEO of The Hitch Store. 

“People fancy getting rewards and freebies, and they also enjoy competitions. Holding regular contests like trivia, raffles, and mini-games leads people to your website. It increases brand awareness, too.”

Next Up in the Claim Your Corner of the Internet Series – Become an Authority

Creating and marketing your website will go a long way in making your business more successful. However, you can compound that success by adding a blog to your site. Blogs (such as the one you’re reading right now) give you a way to intellectually and emotionally connect to your customers and become a leading authority in your industry.

Do potential customers know about your small business and what makes it special? Do they know the story of your company and what makes your products or services unique? Do they see you as a thought leader in your industry? Do potential customers know and trust your brand? If your answer to these questions is no, then you most likely need to execute a public relations strategy for your business.

A good PR strategy will manage your company’s reputation in a variety of ways by pitching reporters, editors, and bloggers about all of the unique ways in which your company’s products or services help your customers. It can also establish you as an expert in your field through news articles, blog posts and other digital mediums. Your reputation can also earn trust among potential customers. These factors can lead to greater brand recognition, public admiration and, ultimately, more sales.

A reputable outside PR agency can do all of this for you, but most of them are extremely expensive and may not fit into the shoe-string budgets of many small businesses. 

Should You Hire an Outside PR Firm?

Hiring an outside PR firm will certainly have its benefits, but will also be very expensive, as it will most likely cost your business several thousand dollars per month. If you have that kind of budget, you may wish to hire a smaller, boutique firm that will typically charge less than a large agency.

An outside PR firm should be able to handle media and community relations for you. It should also prepare pitches for the press, maintain a positive public reputation for your company and help you increase your online visibility. If you believe the price is too expensive, you may consider the fact that these boutique agencies are small businesses as well, and as such, need to charge a fair price for their services in order to survive.  

If an outside PR firm doesn’t fit into your budget, however, Here are some steps you can take to solidify your reputation and draw in new customers.

#1 Prepare a Pitch

One of the benefits of hiring an outside PR agency is that most firms have a fat rolodex of influential editors and reporters and can reach out to them on a moment’s notice. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t promote yourself to the press as well. But, before you seek out reporters, you’re first going to need to come up with a compelling pitch – a story idea that you bring to the press. 

For example, if you own and operate a retail store, you may want to pitch the idea of an article that covers “The 10 Best Ways to Find Bargains During the Holidays,” or if you own a restaurant, you may want to write a pitch about original Thanksgiving side dishes. Doing this will serve as fodder to engage reporters, editors and bloggers, all of whom are seeking good, thought-provoking content.

A pitch is just a few sentences describing an idea for an article, and shouldn’t take too much of your time. It should be focused and compelling, and speak directly to reporters, editors and bloggers on the topic you believe should be written about. Of course, include your contact information and offer to give them expert quotes or commentary 

#2 Solicit the Press

Soliciting reporters and editors can be a tricky business, and this is where an outside PR firm may be able to help you. If you don’t have the budget for one, however, there are steps you can take to do it yourself. 

Your search for reporters and editors should be targeted. Sending out a press release or pitch en masse via services such as PR Newswire is extremely expensive and will rarely bring you the targeted results you are looking for. Instead, think about the exact audience you are looking to reach, and then search for print and online publications that do reach them. This could include your town or city’s local business newspaper that’s widely read by members of your community, or a specialized, digital publication that specifically covers your industry. 

Finding the contact information for the right editors, bloggers and reporters of those blogs or publications should not be difficult – they are typically in the masthead of the publication. You may want to pitch them an article idea, or, if it’s a local publication, an idea for a weekly column.  Additionally, most publications do have an op-ed section in which you can write opinion pieces that will be published. Many national publications also list guidelines on how to author or contribute articles to the publications. 

You can also use digital online service Help a Reporter Out (HARO) from Cision, which is free. HARO routinely sends out queries from journalists, editors and bloggers who are seeking commentary on a wide array of topics. You can search by subject and most likely find a query that matches your area of expertise, and you can respond directly to that reporter or request to be interviewed for a story. 

#3 Get Involved in Your Community

If your budget allows you, a great way to gain brand recognition, public trust and credibility is to sponsor charitable events such as your neighborhood’s annual 5K race for a good cause, for example. You should also consider setting up a booth at any festivals that your neighborhood may hold. If you own a retail store or restaurant, you may also consider holding neighborhood events so that potential customers can see your business not only for the products or services that you offer, but as an important member of the community. 

For example, if you run a small, gourmet coffee house and want to differentiate yourself from the local Starbucks, maybe you can have a weekly night of poetry reading or live music to attract customers. If you own a restaurant, you may consider holding a weekly tasting event or a “kids-eat-free” night to show that you relate to your customers. 

#4 Create a Media Kit

One day you notice that your competitor is offering a new product or service. Although you may already offer a superior product, you see that articles and positive reviews are being written about your competitor’s product. How did this happen? The answer may be that your competitor has an online media readily available to the press, and you don’t.

A media kit, aka a press kit, is a set of tools to promote your business to reporters, bloggers and editors to assist them in writing articles about you when you have compelling news to share. Every small business, no matter the sector, should have one. Media kits typically include a comprehensive description of your company and what makes it different or compelling; your contact information; social media statistics and testimonials from past customers. Think of the “about us” page on your website on steroids.

#5 Be Active on Social Media

A great (and free) way to get your name out there is by hitting social media. You should create pages on various platforms specifically for your business, and include your media kit on it. Platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and others typically have chat groups or digital rooms dedicated specifically to your industry or profession in which you can comment and post your own thoughts. You should also use your page to regularly post compelling ideas or thoughts about your business in order to make connections, get advice from industry peers and further establish yourself as an authority. 

Have Patience

If you are going to execute a PR strategy, there is one crucial ingredient that you will need: patience. Establishing a rapport with reporters takes time, and no matter how strong your story pitch is, it may be delayed or shelved due to changing news cycles. You shouldn’t allow that to discourage you, however, because in the long run, PR will bring your business credibility, public trust and ultimately, more success.