by Sharon Jones

You’ve got a business to make popular with the world; it’s why you put it online in the first place. You want thousands of people per month to come your way, spending time on your website, and even purchasing your products and services through it. You want advertisers to sit up and take notice of you, and how you could help them, especially if you’re running a blog with plenty of home grown content.

All in all, you’re looking for ways to give your online business a competitive edge. There’s billions of websites out there, and somehow, someway, you’ve got to stand out from the crowd. Where do you even begin to start? Well hopefully, with some of the pointers below.

How’s your website? (Source)

Know Your Influencers

If you know where you can post your website link, you’ve solved half of the puzzle already. These ‘influencers’ have hundreds of thousands, and even millions, of people following their every move; you could use some of that!

You need to know the kind of people who already have an established presence online, and you need to get in contact with them. Send them a few emails, to see if they would be willing to link any of your content on any of their profiles, and even start offering sponsorships if need be.

Allow Your Customers a Head Start

If you’re running a business that requires people to book a place, or a table, or a seat, then make sure you give your customers the option to book ahead of time. Don’t let them walk into your nouveau theatre, or your restaurant, or your comedy club totally blind - make sure there’s space for them to spend both their time and their money for the evening.

And make sure this booking option is always available, even when they’re away from their computer. Give them a mobile booking option, either through an app or via making your company website mobile friendly. It might be an extra expense right now, but it’s going to increase your profits without needing you to actively do anything.

Make Your Site Exclusive

Especially if you’re selling something, and you’re looking to boost your sales in the long term. One of the best ways to do just that is to offer membership - a few dollars per month and people can have access to all kinds of money off coupons and exclusive products or services they won’t find anywhere else on the site. These options help to entice people in, and make sure they stick around for the long term, always spending some of their money with you. It’s a great way to build a mailing list, at the least.

Your business needs to use the online world to its advantage, instead of waiting for people to come to you. Make sure you remember methods like these to get your company ahead of the game. It’s mostly marketing yourself correctly, but you need the stones to back your efforts up as well!