Businesses that operate completely offline often have a hard time understanding the internet and how competitors use it to generate more sales. Some jump into the online bandwagon but get little to no benefit because of limited know-how and bad implementation.
Team UpReports is here to share top-ranking strategies and sales generation tactics with local & offline businesses that want to gain business mileage from the web. And yes, most will be so simple that you can do it all on your own!
Let’s begin.
Map your business
Google Map results appear above organic search results. If optimized correctly, your Google business listing will give you top visibility which will introduce you to new customers searching for businesses like yours. Getting your business on Google Maps is simple. Click on this link to list your offline or local business on the biggest search engine in the world.
Don’t forget to add:
- Business details
- Business hours
- Website if any
Remember, an incomplete Map listing has very less chance of appearing on top results. So, fill in all the business details correctly.
Create a Facebook page
Facebook Business page carries great potential to generate direct business queries, and create a brand following. The Facebook page also ranks quickly in search engines like Google and Bing. That’s why we recommend spending time optimizing your Facebook page by working on:
- About Us section
- Image optimization
- Theme optimization
- Post optimization
For optimization, use relevant and popular business keywords. For instance, if you have a bakery shop in Seattle, then, add phrases like ‘best bakery in Seattle’ and ‘birthday cakes in Seattle’ in the About Us section.
Post quality images with relevant tags (#cakeday and #baking). Also, use features like Check In and Tagging to improve post engagement.
Get a website
When it comes to the internet, the website is the biggest part of a business’s online identity. It tells your customers what you are about, what you sell, and how to find you offline. Having a website to represent you online will directly increase store footfalls, sales, and business inquiries. So, you got to get a website.
Already have one but it doesn’t generate any business advantages? Probably it lags in design, content, or optimization. Get a report to discover where the problem is or get in touch with us directly.
The above points are enough for business owners that are just making the shift from offline to online. However, if you want to make the internet one of your biggest sales generation channels, then, you got to do more.
Take care of the following to expand and grow your offline business online:
Setup Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free service from Google that furnishes useful data and matrices for website owners so that they can:
- Optimize the visibility of websites
- Discover crawling errors
- Get manual spam penalty notifications
- Discover top-performing keywords
If you already have a technical team managing your website, then, just notify them about this. If you don’t have one, we can manage it all for you at a small cost. Drop a mail at hello@upreports.com
Setup Google Analytics
Google Analytics is another free service from Google that generates traffic, ads, and performance-related data. It is widely used to gather insights about:
- Non-performing pages
- Visitor demographics
- User behavior
- Traffic statistics
- Much more
Again, your technical team can manage the setup with ease for your business website. If you don’t have one, then, Team UpReports will take care of the setup and technical aspects on your behalf.
Invest in branding-focused SEO
Optimizing social profiles, creating Map listing, and enhancing site content are all part of the SEO but there is more to it. The process of targeting search engines is quickly becoming synonymous to brand building, and that’s exactly what businesses need to rank higher and sell more.
Start by analyzing what your competitors are up to and what they are doing to get more footfalls and higher Google rankings. After that comes the part of creating a branding and SEO strategy. This is something that will take time as well as specific skills. So, consider hiring a dedicated team to get the technical aspects right.
Prepare for paid ads
We didn’t recommend PPC for small offline businesses because it mostly requires monthly investment in a team that understands both. However, bigger businesses can afford to spend on paid advertising and marketing to grow their business faster.
While a smartly managed PPC campaign will help your business rank above organic results, banner ads will give your business visibility on platforms that matter to your audience. The benefits, however, will come only if your team has relevant experience and expertise in running paid campaigns.
For 2017, we took the resolution of continuing our drive to share SEO, social media, PPC, and digital marketing insights with business owners, working professionals, and everyone else.
Do you have anything to add to our e-marketing starter pack for offline and small businesses? Make use of the comments section to share your thoughts!
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