If you don’t have an online presence by now, you are running the risk of your competitors overtaking you and generating more business at your expense. Being online, whether that is through having a website or active social media pages, can help you to grow your customer base and reach a broader audience to generate more revenue and leads. So, if your competitors are online and you’re not, you can almost guarantee they will be more successful.
 
Building and maintaining an online presence can be a lot of work, but it can reap great rewards for your business in the long run. So, what do you need to do to achieve an effective online presence, and what impact can it have?
 

Building a website

A website is like your digital shop front. It can help you advertise your services, tell people more about your business and help people find you when searching online. As more and more customers use search engines to find out information about products and services, it is key that your business is there.
 
Creating a website can also help you build your brand, showcasing your business’ personality and appealing to your customers in the right way, all while offering a solution to their problem or question.
 
It is crucial to market your website effectively, building your online presence and helping your site show up for related search queries on Google; this is known as SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Through unique and engaging content and an easy-to-navigate website, you can tailor your website to help your customers discover your business.
 
Having the right SEO strategy can ensure you get the most out of your website, and help it serve its purpose.
 

Local listings and backlinks

Lots of businesses, including opticians, rely on local trade. After all, many people who need an optician will look for one in their local area. There are online strategies you can execute to help your online visibility in your area, such as local listings.
 
Local listings are essentially business directories, making it easier for customers to find you. It improves your online visibility and contributes to your SEO strategy too.
 
What’s more, you can also enhance your online presence through backlinks on other websites, creating referral traffic to your website, increasing awareness of your business and putting your website in front of new customers.
 

Google My Business

To further aid your online presence and increase your success on search engines like Google, you need to manage how your website appears on Google Search and Maps results.
 
A Google My Business listing helps you to build an online profile, with information such as your location, opening hours and reviews all in one place. When a customer searches for an optician in your area, your listing gives you a higher chance of appearing at the top of those search results.
 

Social media pages

When running a business, posting things on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram can seem trivial. However, it’s pivotal to your online presence and raising awareness of who you are and what you do. If a customer is hoping to ask a question or find out more about your services, social media is one of the first places they will look.
 
Social media can be responsible for growing your customer base and increasing leads. Running a social media page can offer you another avenue to reach new customers and advertise your services. On Facebook, in particular, you can target your content to a specific audience, based on factors like age, location, job title and if they have engaged with your business before.
 
Together, these different factors work to help you build a robust online presence.