Are you looking to take your small business or start-up to the world? Here are a few expert tips on how to increase exposure for your business:

Optimise Your Website for Local Searches

Many small businesses rely on local customers for their initial success. There are a few exceptions when it comes to ecommerce, but the best clients and customers often end up being those that are based in the area. With that in mind, it’s important to optimise your business website so that it appears in local searches.

Here’s a quick guide to get you started with local SEO.

Become a Social Media Guru

Social media receives plenty of buzz when it comes to online marketing, but relatively few small businesses are really making the most of this opportunity. When leveraged to its full potential, social media allows you to engage your current and target customers in a conversation.

Rather than going for the hard sale every chance you get, try treating social media more like a social gathering or party. This is an opportunity for you to get to know your customers, share the occasional anecdote and build trust with your customer base. Just remember that the best social media platform for your business depends upon the nature of your operations.

Facebook is popular, but it may not offer the greatest potential. As an example, if your product is visually based, Instagram and Pinterest are going to deliver more.

Claim Local Listings

Following on from our previous point about local SEO, small business operators can benefit greatly from third-party listings and business citations. In this case, we’re thinking specifically about sites such as Thomson Local, which add credibility to your business by offering contact information and reviews from previous customers. Search engines such as Google and Bing look kindly on listings like this, as it reassures them that your business actually does what it claims to do.

Look for opportunities to create local listings, and watch your search-engine performance soar as a result.

Start a Blog

Blogging comes with many advantages. To begin with, a blog can provide a constant stream of new information that your readers will return to over and again. This increases traffic to your website whilst serving to foster engagement with your target customer base. It’s also worth noting that search engines are fond of blogs, and operating one is likely to boost your search rankings.

Become an Expert in Your Field

When your business is just getting started, one of the best things that you can do is look for ways to put your expertise on display. When your customers have questions, you want them to turn to you for answers. Likewise, it’s ideal when local distributors, vendors and non-competing businesses look to you as a source of information – or as a place to direct customers who are interested in products like yours.

You can establish yourself as an expert through blogger outreach (i.e. contributing blog posts to third-party sites), speaking at symposiums and writing e-books or white papers related to your niche.

Now over to you!

What are your tips and strategies for increasing exposure for your local business? Let us know in the comments section below.