As the times have changed, so have the ways of handling business. If you can even imagine, there was a point in time where businesses were run from a physical store or some would call it a “brick and mortar” store. The way those businesses achieved success was by word of mouth, flyers, and good old fashioned customer service… the idea of “internet” was unheard of!
Today, it’s virtually impossible to run a “brick and mortar” business without having some type of online aspect with it. Because of that, a lot of first-time entrepreneurs have opted to run their business strictly online. Now, with running an online business, there are some essential elements you will need to have a SUCCESSFUL online business.
Have a Clear Purpose
When it comes to your business website, you need to make sure that anyone who visits your site, knows the purpose and intent of your business. Some businesses make this apparent on an “About Me” page while others make this statement clear on their website’s home page.
If you have a car detailing business and will travel to your customers, make that a selling point on your website; it can even be part of the slogan. For example “John’s Mobile Car Detailing… We’ll Come to You!” The purpose and message you want your business to portray will need to be evident to anyone visiting your site immediately.
Tributemedia.com says that a visitor to any website needs to be able to figure out what the website is about within the first few seconds of being on the site. It also says that this can be accomplished via the slogan or logo.
Make Your Website Easy for Visitors to Navigate Through
Organization and structure are key here. You remember how we talked about how a visitor needs to be able to figure out what your website is about within the first few seconds… well, that same rule applies with website navigation. If your website is hard to navigate, a customer will leave your site just as quick as them not knowing what your website is about.
For instance, one navigation tip is to make sure your menu bar doesn’t have too much going on. Try breaking your menu items into sub-categories or sub-pages. You also want to have a “Contact Page” to make it easy for customers or visitors to get in touch with you in case they have questions or feedback for you.
Utilize SEO to Your Benefit
What’s the point of having a business if your business can’t be found? With that being said, that’s why your site needs SEO (search engine optimization). Some of the best SEO tools out there – provided by seoforgrowth.com – can help your business have a higher ROI and rank high in the top search engines out there.
SEO uses target keywords that are relevant to your business in particular through titles, meta descriptions, and various headings within the content of your website. These aspects help effectively branding your business as well.
Get Your Business Set Up on Social Media
Whether you like social media or not, you can’t deny the fact that it has proven results of taking various businesses to the next level with consistent posts, pictures, and videos. If your business has a blog, you can promote your business by sharing different blog posts and you can encourage friends to share as well. Some of the most common social media platforms include:
As far as your website, you want to make sure your business has social media buttons on each page of your site so that visitors can have easy access to your business’ various pages to find out a little more about you.
Make Your Site Trustworthy to Visitors
This is especially important to customers when they’re deciding how to spend their money. Whether you’re selling makeup, clothing and apparel, or massage services, your website needs to have customer reviews, testimonials, and even a list of the people you’ve worked with to establish credibility and trust with potential new customers.
When customers see this, it helps them to make the decision of whether or not to spend their money on your business. So with that, if you know your product or service is good and of high-quality, you shouldn’t feel intimidated or nervous to put customer reviews on your site.
Overall
Success isn’t going to happen overnight. It’s definitely going to take hard work and dedication on your end but it can be done… people do it all the time. If you’re serious about starting your own business, make sure you keep the keys to success in your pocket to reference; it won’t lead you in the wrong direction.
