Online Business Best Strategies.
All of us know that the Internet has indeed become an integral part of consumers’ local commercial activity. It can easily be said that we have reached an inflection point where the balance of power in local shopping is shifting to online shopping. As discussed in my post Awesome Online Visibility Ideas, regardless of whether your primary focus is on a local market or your aim is much broader, the point remains that you need a solid internet presence to be successful in the modern business landscape.
I know it is easier said than done and it can be challenging for small business owners and new entrepreneurs to know exactly where to start building contacts. There’s no way to possibly explain in detail without compiling a manual the size of a dictionary, every aspect of building your internet presence, that is actually how much this market has been explored. But you can learn a lot by taking an expansive look at the various steps involved and spending some time reading about trends and tricks of the industry.
Thereon, you can do some research and learn more about the intricacies of these tasks and how they overlap one another.
As discussed previously, evaluating a competitor’s website is a good way to get some quick ideas. There are three primary areas that you should be looking at- the overall design, the perceived user experience, and on-site optimization. When you have seen the designs of a handful of competitors, you will get a feel of what styles of websites are common in your industry or niche. From here you can pick the idea for what your site should look like, or see what you want to do differently on your own website. If you want an expert to assist you with deciding what’s best for your industry, contact HyperEffects. Our need-based and customised websites could be exactly what you have in mind and much more, because we also offer a free one-hour consultation session, for any doubts that you might have regarding your website and business advertising. Our strategic planners consider external factors, such as the competitive environment, in addition to internal factors when crafting strategic plans for online presence of your business.
The user experience of your competitors’ sites may or may not go hand in hand with the overall design and layout. So, it is important that you take an expert’s help in studying how their on-site navigation works, how clearly labelled sub-categories are, whether menus are simple to find and whether they offer a mobile site or responsive design. As for on-site optimization, poke around a bit and see if the keywords and search terms they’re using are appropriate and gather insight on best practices. When you use new keywords, cross-reference how successful they are at ranking by conducting simple Google searches.
Competitive analysis involves keeping track of the number and nature of competitors presenting a direct or indirect threat to your business. Aspiring entrepreneurs can get a clearer understanding of the market conditions in an industry they are considering breaking into, through competitive analysis. It also helps established businesses refine their strategic directions. Understanding the advantages of competitive analysis in strategic planning can take your strategic plans to the next level and help you small business grow at a faster pace. It is important that small business owners understand the importance of these terms in today’s business world.
The next important task is to evaluate your competitors’ social media presence. It is advisable to start with LinkedIn pages, but I personally don’t think so. For example, a local electrical hardware store may not have any business on LinkedIn. So, based on your industry, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest may be worth analysing, too. Most some small businesses that are just starting up would probably not have the budget to employ a full-time marketing person, but would nonetheless want to establish their online presence as soon as possible. So, they mostly find an online media consultant to help set up their Facebook page, Twitter account, website and so on.
In my next post, I going to discuss some more easy tips to help you grow your online presence and benefit from online groups and communities. Keep checking back and questions and comments are always welcome!
