How To Use Digital Marketing To Boost Your Home Business
So many of us mums started or grew our side businesses during the pandemic – and now we’ve found a bit of success and sales, we want to take things to the next level. We might have an Instagram page, a Depop if we’re selling clothes, or an Etsy if we’re selling crafts and gifts.
If we want to take our business out of the spare bedroom and into the boardroom (fingers crossed!) we need to use digital marketing.
To help guide you through this, we have prepared a step-by-step guide below. We hope you enjoy it.
1. Set up your website
If you haven’t got a website, you’re at a disadvantage. A website with original content that targets keywords other people are searching for – e.g. whenever you type in “shoes Sydney” into Google – you’ll get original webpages instead of social media pages more often than not (unless you sell something super specific and unique.) “Having a website means you can control the content and market to more people,” Satwik says. “You choose the e-commerce stores and payment processors instead of third parties taking a cut – so you can be truly independent.”
2. Get your data set up
Next, you need to get your data collection tools set up. That means setting up Google Analytics and Google Search Console. “This tells you where your traffic is coming from, demographic information such as sex, age, and interest profiles, and most importantly, where your website shows up in search engine results pages for keyword searches. This helps you with your next step.”
3. Write your content with SEO in mind
Your content – or copy or text – on your site will determine how search engines like Google find your site. If your site has certain keywords and has more useful or relevant information than competitors, it will rank higher on search results. “You should look at your data and see what people are already searching for in terms of keywords and tailor content to that. The more quality content you can create, the better your SEO gets. You also have to think about metadata. That’s data about data, such as what you name photos and videos, where you’re linked elsewhere, and what links you use yourself. It’s something you have to chip away at as part of your marketing.”
4. Set up Google Ads
SEO can take months or even years to see results – especially if you’re new on the web. The fastest way to cut through to customers is to set up Google Ads. You do have to spend a bit of money on ads; but the more money you throw at ads doesn’t necessarily mean more results. “You also need to target the right keywords, run ads at the right time, and in the right locations. You use your data by linking Analytics to Google Ads and refine your ads over time, so you maximise your return on investment.”
5. Get your Google Shopping and Business Profile Up
If you’re selling products, you need to get Google Shopping and Google Business Profile up. This showcases your individual products in searches and shows a snippet of all your business information for browsers. Business Profile also allows you to publish updates such as sales and respond to reviews. “These are great tools to enhance your SEO and presence online,” Satwik says. “They do need a bit of time and attention, but it does show you’re active and care about looking after customers.”
Final Thoughts on Digital Marketing for Home Business
Digital marketing can seem quite daunting when you first apply it to your home business, but when you take it one step at a time, the challenge is not so big. The results also speak for themselves! Digital marketing is an absolute winner for micro and small businesses.
