Important Things You Need to Know to Grow Your Online Business

Online businesses come with significant upside potential. According to Statista, e-commerce sales are expected to reach 6 billion by 2024, up from around 4 billion in 2022. That said, there is a huge threat of drowning in the competition.

Internet Live Stats says that there are 1.9 billion websites and over 200 billion emails sent out every day vying for the attention of 5 billion users. As a result of the excessive competition, it’s important to strengthen your business’s position to attract more customers to grow your sales.

Let’s delve into some important strategies you should know that can catapult your business to greater heights.

Improving your online presence

Figures compiled by Internet Live Stats show that:

• there are over 6 billion views on YouTube every day
• more than 300 million users are active on Twitter
• approximately 3 billion people use Facebook each day
• over 6 billion people use the Google search engine daily

Online sales courses advises that you should go where your customers are. With statistics like these,  it’s important for your business to have a strong online presence to pull more customers. Focus on both your owned and earned online visibility.

Owned online presence

Your owned presence includes all online media that you have direct control over. You can improve your online footprint through the following means:

• Improve the quality of your website. Customers tend to quickly bounce if your site is slow or difficult to navigate. Aim for a loading speed that’s less than 3 seconds. In addition, it helps if your website is easy to navigate.
• Analyze traffic to your website. Assess your overall online presence by understanding where your traffic originates from by using Google Analytics. Knowing where your traffic comes from can help you bolster your efforts in that area. For example, if you have low traffic coming from social media, it indicates that you need to concentrate your efforts more in that area.
• Increase payment methods. Make it easy for your customers to check out by giving them various payment options.
• Make your website attractive. Use high-quality images and top-notch copy to make your site attractive and set your business apart from your competitors. With a better-looking site, customers are more likely to associate your brand with quality, helping you draw their trust.
• Enhance your social media activity. Your activity on social media contributes to the reputation and credibility of your business. It helps to maintain a regular presence by posting and engaging with your customers. Remember that your efforts are best spent on the sites that your customers frequent.
• Consistency. Maintain your brand voice in all your communications and be consistent with any strategies you choose to promote your business online.

Consider creating a content calendar to help you stay on task. Your content output can include:

1. Sales emails. Grow your mailing list by offering a high-value freebie such as an eBook on your website. It helps to take a course in email marketing or hire a trained expert to avoid low click-through rates.
2. First Site Guide highlights that 61% of online users in the US have bought something after reading a blog. On top of that, 77% of people regularly read blogs online. So, include a blog on your site to pull more customers.

Earned online visibility

Your earned online presence comes from incidental mentions that you get on the internet and social media. It helps to monitor any references to your business so you can keep track of:

• false information and communication gaps
• any unanswered questions that your customers may have
• good and bad reviews

By keeping tabs on what customers are saying, you can quickly run damage control when you need to. In the event of bad reviews, you can tactfully acknowledge customer concerns and launch a campaign to show how you’ve improved to present your business in a better light.

According to statistics compiled by Time Doctor, 88% of customers share their online feedback about the customer service experiences they’ve had after a sale. So, it also helps to ensure your customer service is always on point to earn social mileage through positive comments and recommendations on your customer’s accounts.

You can use Google Alerts to monitor any comments or mentions of your business, products, or associated keywords on the internet.

It’s also important to be active on platforms such as Quora and Reddit to prevent your reputation from taking a hit. Answer questions and dispel any misinformation with accuracy and clarity.

It also helps to search the browser regularly and review any “people also ask” questions. Once you know what people are asking in line with your business, product, or service, you can improve the content on your website.

Take your business to the next level

Competition in online business is stiff. However, with concerted efforts towards growing your owned online presence through your site and social media, you can race past competitors and make more sales. To climb to the top, remember to keep tabs on your earned presence as well to avoid any surprises. It’s also important to cultivate your earned presence by refining your customer service training.