How Your Local Business Can Be Put Online and Be Found

For local businesses, having an online presence is just as important as having a physical storefront.

In fact, depending on the nature of your business, it might even be crucial to the long-term success of your business that you start building an online presence. Yet, a lot of local businesses are still not online.
Some local businesses are put off due to a fear of technology or lack of understanding about the online landscape. Some business owners don’t think going online will be worth the cost, and some are stuck not knowing where to start.
Fat Cow Media have helped dozens of local businesses get online. We’ve also continued to work with a number of them and seen their businesses grow as their online presence does.
We know exactly what it takes to get local businesses online and help them be found by new customers they would otherwise not have had contact with.
Here is an explanation of the key areas we help local businesses focus on when taking their business online:

Professionally Designed Responsive Websites

An online presence starts with a website. Your website is the first thing your customers will see, so it represents you, your business, and your brand. Therefore, nothing less than a professionally designed, fully functional website should be considered.
It doesn’t cost as much as you’re probably thinking, and the cost is always worth it for the exposure you will get to a much wider audience.

Google My Business

Google My Business is a free tool provided by Google. It’s designed to help local businesses build an online profile for their business that will appear when people search for them. It also helps you appear in the search results when people search for products or services that you offer.
You will get a marker on maps, can receive and respond to customer reviews, and you’ll receive reports detailing how people are finding you online. It’s an invaluable tool for local businesses, and we will set up your business’ profile as part of our services. According to Sarah Walkers from The Whit Group "For many of our clients, choosing a local team that understands the local market has been an eye opener to them. You will initially be considering things like cost, design and functionality, but market localization is extremely important when it comes to conversions and your bottom line."

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Search engine optimisation or SEO for short is the process of improving a website’s visibility within search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The better the SEO of your website, the more visitors you can expect.
It’s an ongoing process and largely revolves around producing quality content that helps solve a problem or answer a question for a search query.

Social Media Presence

Social Media is another avenue to gain exposure online without relying on SEO and search engines. By using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, you can promote your business, demonstrate your products and services, and connect directly with your customers.
Utilising social media effectively requires a deliberate strategy to avoid sinking time into it with a small return. Some platforms are better than others depending on your industry, but we can help advise you which platforms are best suited to your business.