How to Establish an Online Presence for Your Small Business
Having an online presence helps potential customers find your business, understand what you offer, and decide whether they want to buy from you. And you don’t need to be a technology or marketing expert to get started.
The key is to focus on the online platforms that make sense for your business and your customers.
What Is an Online Presence, and Why Is It Important?
Your online presence is how and where your business appears on the internet. It can include your website, social media accounts, search engine and map listings, online reviews, ecommerce stores or marketplaces, and other places where customers can find or interact with your business online.
For example, imagine someone hears about your business from a friend. They may search for your business online, look at your website, read reviews, visit your social media page, or compare your products or services with other options before contacting you or making a purchase. All of these customer “touchpoints” are part of your online presence.
A strong online presence can help your small business:
- Be easier for potential customers to find.
- Clearly communicate what you offer.
- Build credibility and trust.
- Sell products and services.
- Stay connected and build loyalty with existing customers.
So, how do you get started building an online presence for your business? Here are eight practical steps to help.
1. Know Who You Want to Reach
Before creating a website or a social media account, start with your customer.
Ask yourself:
- Who is most likely to buy my product or service?
- What problem or need does my business address?
- Where do my customers spend time online?
- What might they search for when they need what I offer?
- What information will help them decide to buy?
Understanding your target customer can help you choose the right online channels and create messages that are relevant to the people most likely to become customers. Visit MOBI’s Marketing and Selling sessions to learn more.
Try This
Write a simple description of your ideal customer. Then write down three questions this person might type into a search engine (or ask an AI assistant) when looking for a product or service like yours.
2. Create a Consistent Business Identity
Customers should be able to recognize your business wherever they encounter it.
Use the same or similar business name, logo, colors, description, contact information, and overall message across all your communications, whether in traditional marketing—business cards, signage, flyers, etc.—or through online marketing—your website, social media profiles, business listings, emails, and other online channels.
Be particularly consistent with basic information such as your:
- Business name.
- Product or service description.
- Location or service area.
- Phone number.
- Website address.
- Business hours.
Keeping this information accurate and consistent makes it easier for customers and online search platforms to understand information about your business. Visit MOBI’s Communication Tools and Marketing sessions to learn more about these topics.
Try This
Search for your business online. Look at the first few results. Is the information accurate and consistent? Make a list of anything that needs to be added, corrected, or updated.
3. Build a Simple, Useful Website
Think of your website as the online home for your business. It doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive to be useful.
At a minimum, make it easy for visitors to understand:
- What your business does.
- Who you serve.
- What products or services you offer.
- Where you are located or what area you serve.
- How to contact you.
- What you want visitors to do next.
That next step, often called a call to action (CTA), might be “Call for an Estimate,” “Schedule an Appointment,” “Visit Our Store,” “Request More Information,” or “Shop Now.” Your CTA should be easy to identify. If you have many links on your site, make the CTA stand out.
Your website could include one page or several pages. Make sure it works well on desktop computers and mobile devices, loads efficiently, is easy to navigate, and uses a secure HTTPS connection. Visit MOBI’s Marketing and Ecommerce sessions and the “5 Steps to Build a Business Website” webpage to learn about websites for your business.
Remember
Your website should make it easy for potential customers to find the information they need and take the next step.
4. Help Customers Find Your Business Online
Once you have an online presence, you want people to be able to find it.
Search engine optimization (SEO), answer engine optimization (AEO), and generative engine optimization (GEO) are the practices of making your online content easier for people, search engines, and AI platforms to find and understand.
You don’t need to be an SEO/AEO/GEO expert to get started. Use clear, descriptive language that reflects the words your customers might use when searching.
For example, instead of a website heading that simply says:
Welcome to Maria’s
A more descriptive heading might say:
Custom Cakes for Weddings and Special Events in Phoenix
Also create useful content that answers real customer questions about your products, services, pricing, location, process, or expertise. Clear, helpful information can make your website more useful to customers while helping search engines and AI-powered search tools understand what your business offers.
If you serve customers locally, be sure to create or claim your business profiles on relevant search and map platforms and keep the information current.
Think Like Your Customer
Ask yourself: What would someone search (or ask) to find a business like mine? Use those words and questions naturally throughout your website.
5. Choose the Right Social Media Channels
You do not need an account on every social media platform.
Instead, focus on one or two channels your target customers use and that make sense for your business. Then provide content that is useful, interesting, or engaging.
Depending on your business, you might share:
- Product photos.
- Helpful tips.
- Behind-the-scenes content.
- Customer stories or testimonials, with permission.
- Answers to frequently asked questions.
- Business updates.
- Educational videos or how-to content.
Pay attention to more than follower counts. Comments, shares, clicks, messages, and other interactions can tell you whether people are actually engaging with your content. Visit MOBI’s Marketing, Advanced Digital Marketing, and Data Analytics for Small Business sessions to learn more.
Keep It Manageable and Sustainable
It is better to maintain one useful, active social media account than several accounts you rarely update.
6. Make It Easy for Customers to Take Action
Your online presence should do more than create awareness. It should help move interested people toward becoming customers.
Consider the sales process from MOBI’s Selling session when thinking about the journey a customer might take:
Find → Learn → Buy → Use → Share
At each step, make the next action clear and easy. Provide visible contact information, answer common questions, explain your value, and remove unnecessary obstacles.
If ecommerce makes sense for your business, you might also provide a way for customers to purchase products or services directly through your website, an online marketplace, social media, or a combination of channels.
The easier you make it for the right customer to move forward, the more effectively your online presence can support your sales efforts.
7. Build Customer Relationships through Email and Reviews
Not every website visitor or social media follower will be ready to buy immediately. Give interested customers a way to stay connected.
Consider adding an email signup form to your website and inviting customers to subscribe for useful information, business news, special offers, or other relevant content. Always follow applicable rules and best practices for email marketing and customer privacy. Visit MOBI’s Marketing session to learn more.
Customer reviews can also strengthen your online presence. Invite satisfied customers to share their experiences on platforms that matter to your business, and respond professionally to feedback. Visit MOBI’s Customer Experience and Feedback session to learn more.
8. Measure, Learn, and Improve
Establishing an online presence is not a one-time project. Pay attention to what works and adjust over time.
Most websites, social media platforms, email services, and ecommerce tools provide basic analytics. Depending on your goals, useful measurements might include:
- Website visits
- Search traffic
- Calls or inquiries
- Social media engagement
- Email signups and clicks
- Online purchases
- Customer reviews
- Repeat customers
You don’t need to measure everything. Choose a few indicators that are connected to your business goals. Visit MOBI’s Data Analytics for Small Business session to learn how to set goals, identify key performance indicators (KPIs), and make data-driven decisions based on information you are already collecting.
For example, if one type of social media post generates more inquiries, consider creating more content like it. If customers frequently ask the same question, answer it on your website. If people visit a product page but rarely purchase, look for ways to make the information or buying process clearer.
Start Small and Build Your Online Presence Over Time
Establishing an online presence can feel overwhelming, especially when you are also managing the day-to-day responsibilities of running a small business. You don’t have to tackle everything at once.
Start by understanding your customer. Make sure your basic business information is accurate online. Build a simple website or improve the one you already have. Choose the digital channel(s) that make the most sense for your audience, and then learn from the results.
Learn More about Marketing Your Small Business with MOBI
The My Own Business Institute (MOBI) at Santa Clara University provides free online business education for aspiring entrepreneurs, small business owners, and anyone interested in building skills for professional success.
MOBI’s free, self-paced courses provide practical information and resources to help you start, manage, and grow your business. Students enrolled in MOBI's courses have the opportunity to earn a Certificate of Completion and/or Digital Badge from MOBI and Santa Clara University.