Why businesses are failing
We live in an era where a business’ success is heavily influenced by its online presence and overall level of activity on the internet.
Most people nowadays go online go online whenever they need anything, whether a product or service. When you have a strong online presence, you are making yourself present to them right at that moment when they are searching for you.
3 common reasons why small businesses often fail
1. Not having a website
A website is like a piece of real estate on the internet. It is the hub where consumers can access information about your products and services. Owning one is absolutely crucial in this digital age.
While the costs associated with a website can sometimes be on the higher side, there are many ways to minimize them. For example, you can use platforms like Freenom to get a free domain, and Google Could to get free hosting. You can even get your entire site for free on plaltforms like FreeWebDesign and Wix. There’s just no reason why your business shouldn’t have a website.
2. Not prioritizing SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of increasing a website’s organic ranking on Google and other search engines.
The majority of people only visit pages they come across in the first page of the search results. Make it your SEO goal to get your website on the first page for all keywords and phrases related to your products or services. For example, if you have an electronics store, you can target keywords like:
- “smartphones for sale”
- “cheap laptops for sale”
- “where to buy an iphone charger”
SEO has 2 main components. The first is called on-site SEO, and it involves optimizing individual pages on a website to make them more user friendly and search engine friendly.
The second component is called off-site SEO, and it involves increasing the number of backlinks pointing to a website. Most search engines determine a website’s importance through the number of links pointing to it. Since link building can be such a hectic process, it may be easier to outsource the work to an agency that specializes in it.
3. Not building an email list
An email list is a fundamental digital asset that unfortunately gets neglected by many businesses. When you have an elaborate list, you can easily send your marketing messages to your target consumers without any barriers or restrictions.
For example, whenever you publish a post on social media, only a small percentage of your followers actually get to see it. Social media companies limit your reach because they want you to spend money on ads.
On the other hand, whenever you send an email to your list, you can be sure that it gets delivered to most of the contacts.
You can start building your list by offering your website visitors a free item such as an ebook in exchange of their contact information. Actively building an email list is one of the most effective growth hacking methods.
