We all are aware that the world is quickly moving from traditional to digital way of functioning. Most of the people now use internet to search for any products or services and for making any purchase decision. As the world continues to evolve, it is essential that we quickly start to build online presence for our business. According to a recent report by eMarketer, the total number of Internet users globally will surpass 3 billion to reach 42.4% of the entire world’s population. India will continue to remain the fastest growing country in terms of internet user growth.
In 2019, the average internet user has at least 5 social media accounts on different platforms. More than 2 billion peoples are using social networking sites. Be it email marketing or social media you can always offer solutions to customers for their problems and make them relate to your services. Creating an online presence for your business is now easier as compared to old industrial age which include following steps:

1. Create a Website:

Website is the most professional and convenient source of information about our products & services. Website creation is not a difficult task now as it used to be 5-6 years ago. And contrary to popular belief, creating a website is relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain. With the help of content management system like WordPress, we can easily build a website within 15 minutes. There are lots of free themes and plugins available there to reduce our work.
You can even learn it through lots of website and tutorials available on Google/YouTube. Even if you want an extremely customized website, you can do it through WordPress. You can hire a web design company or freelancer to work on your website but if you have limited budget, you can do it on your own without having so much technical skills.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

The second step you should take after creating your website is to make it discoverable. Optimize your website according to the algorithms of search engines like Google, Yahoo & Bing. This process of optimizing our website so that it perform well in organic search and gain traffic is called SEO. Main advantage of doing SEO is that we’ll get high quality leads that can be easily converted into sales. Search results now account for about 64% of website traffic across the internet that should be considered to build online presence. Anyone can learn this process with the help of online resources and through a well-recognized digital marketing institute by devoting few hours on weekly basis.

3. Social Media Optimization:

You might be already using YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram for the purpose of fun & entertainment. But these platforms are not only limited to these purpose, it can be used to build online presence by spreading awareness about your brand. Setting up your company pages on LinkedIn & Facebook is easy and free as well.
We can create a post in the form of content, image and video to promote our business and drive traffic towards our website. We can engage people and maintain our online reputation through social media page. LinkedIn is a very good platform to grow our network, build relationship, and to connect with professionals. Quora is another great question-answer platform where users help each other on various topics. You can even provide live chat access and address grievance of your customer through social media.

4. Build Online Presence Using Mobile App:

With the increasing use of smartphones, mobile apps are also a very good option to build online presence. Many people access the internet using a mobile device as compare to PC/Desktop. We can easily offer our products and services by using these android/iPhone apps and expand our business. Mobile apps provide a medium to target location-specific users with the help of geo-location technology. A mobile app designed specifically for the needs of your customers is more reliable and effective than a responsive web page. It also helps in building loyalty with your customers by creating higher visibility and recognition for a brand.

By now, you must have realized the importance to build online presence for your business. When done right, it can help you establish a credible brand image, spread awareness about the products/services you are selling and get you more leads and customers. Whether you are a normal person or entrepreneur, your online presence has become the actual identity of your profile and lifestyle.
Digital marketing plays a very vital role to boost online presence of any business. Your website and social media page can easily be converted into a place where the customers can ask queries, give feedback and hence associate with your business in a positive manner. The process is time consuming and it might take a while for results to show up. Have patience and keep improving.