No business can function without a website these days. Even the least technology-savvy businesses need to invest in online marketing in order to make a living. At the very least, a website tells potential visitors who and where you are. People Google businesses rather than simply going there in person to check them out.
First things first, you’ll need to choose a host. Choosing the right host should be a priority, as it can make or break your business website. There are many popular options, but if you want an advantage, VPS hosting might be right for you. If you want your website to have immediate access to extra resources, finding the best VPS hosting can make a major difference. VPS hosting requires you to share a server, as with other types of hosting, but you are allocated a lot more resources that you alone will have access to.
Aside from hosting, there are a range of online strategies that will bring traffic to your business website. Some of the most useful have actually been around for longest.
Cold Emails
Many people immediately discard cold emails. When done by amateurs, they may not make it past your spam filter. But cold emailing is still one of the most effective ways of bringing traffic to your website.
Cold emailing refers to sending out emails to people who have not subscribed to a mailing list or expressed interest in your business. In order to get them to even open your emails, you need to provide value. There are many strategies to writing the perfect subject line, and if you get it wrong, the results can be embarrassing. However, if you get it right, just by sheer volume, you will get some good traffic, or at least a few responses.
Social Media
Some people love social media networking. But most of us don’t. There are few people who have always dreamed of running a business Instagram account.
After all, some businesses don’t seem cut out for social media. Who would follow a hardware store’s Instagram account, for example?
However, if your company exists in a space in which competitors are using social media to good effect, you have to at least match them. And even companies that you wouldn’t expect to see on social media can get a cult following.
Even if you don’t have many followers, a good Instagram account can convince people to check out your website and, hopefully, your product. For example, I was recently looking for a place to buy a guitar. A music store stood out to me with its Instagram account, which had pictures of its staff enjoying themselves, as well as happy customers with their new instruments. The account had fewer than 100 followers, but it drew me to the company nonetheless.
Active social media accounts also assure potential customers that they have a lifeline to call if something goes wrong. Emailing a business’s support@ address feels like a gamble, whereas sending a message on Facebook tends to get a more immediate response.
