How to Market Your Business without a Website
Local Search Engine Optimision
Regardless of whether you are selling products online or simply advertising your services, at some stage in the life of your business it is inevitable that you will need to invest in a good website. However, when you are just starting out and your budget is limited there are ways to market your business online without a website and at no cost to your business. Albeit limited in its reach, implementing a Local SEO campaign is certainly better than no online marketing at all.
What is SEO
Local SEO Tips and Tricks
We have all heard the term SEO or Search Engine Optimisation, but did you know that this is segmented into different parts? On-Site SEO, Off-Site SEO and Local SEO. Web designers and online marketing specialists often work separately on these things, yet all parts of the SEO strategy need to complement each other to be effective.
On-Site SEO
On-site SEO involves setting criteria such as page titles, meta tags and image names within the website design to match relevant keywords and search terms. It also involves ensuring that on-site SEO activities follow a best-practice approach to meet search engine standards.
Off-Site SEO
Off-Site SEO can involve activities that create links back to your website such as advertising on local directories and link sharing with other reputable websites. It can also involve using Social Media as a way to create links back or traffic to your website.
Local SEO
Local SEO can involve both on-site and off-site SEO, but if your business does not have a website a local SEO campaign can still be successful to some degree in its own right. Local SEO is specific to your business location, meaning that it is limited to the local area surrounding your business address.
" The BEST place to hide a DEAD body is on PAGE TWO of Google Search Results! "
Google My Business
Utilise Free Google Business Products
One of the first things a small business owner can do, is utilise Google products to ensure that Google knows you exist and can therefore show your information to potential customers within your local area. Anyone can open a My Business account by going to Google Business and adding your business address to Google. Depending on how competitive your industry is in the local area, this may be enough to get you listed on the first page of Google. In more competitive industries, some further Local SEO activities will need to complement your MyBusiness listing.
Local Directories
Local directories are a great way to get your business listed in the local area. Local directories generally have a good reputation with Google and rank well within their own right. So if you have your business listed on any directories within your local area, your chances of being found are significantly greater.
The best way to establish which local directories to target, is by doing a Google Search for businesses in the local vicinity and seeing which local directories consistently come up with results. Those are the directories you want to have your business listed on, some will attract a fee and others will be free so it is just a matter of doing a bit of research.
Buy, Swap and Sell Websites
There are many different Buy, Swap and Sell websites around such as Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree. The popularity of each of these sites is different in different locations so you would choose the one that is most popular in your area. If you’re not sure, run a few Google searches and see what buy, swap and sell sites produce results.
Many of these sites have a services section, where you can advertise a service so even if you are not selling a product you can utilise these websites. The best way to figure out which ones to advertise on is to look at buy, swap sell sites that advertise in your area and do some research into how other businesses are utilising those sites.
Social Media
A lot of people shy away from social media as it can be extremely time consuming to implement a successful social media marketing campaign. That is a fair point, but it isn’t necessary to create a heap of amazing graphics and articles to find success on social media.
Social Media can be used as a networking tool, in particular Facebook as it is generally accepted as a business marketing platform. As an example, most suburbs in Australia have a Facebook page for their local school and community. Placing a quiz, survey or offering a special or downloadable product on one of these pages could help to garner some leads.
So Why have a website?
The Website is the Glue that Holds it All Together
A website will eventually form the basis behind all your online marketing pursuits and will provide the opportunity to really become a brand rather than just a business. It is a place where customers coming through from all your different channels will eventually land to find out everything they want to know about you and your business. In addition, a website is a really cost effective way to organically find more customers. So rather than having to chase down customers, they can find you through a simple Google search and can reach out to you.
