mastering-your-online-presenceStarting a small business and having it break through to become a success is a very difficult thing to do. It is especially hard in the very competitive world of online business. There are new online businesses springing up every day, so setting yourself apart from the competition is a monumental task. However, this is not impossible and with the right steps, it can be done. One of the biggest keys to becoming an online success involves search engine optimization, otherwise known as SEO. This is a marketing technique used by bluehatmarketing.com and many other online marketing companies. It involves using special keywords that are targeted by algorithms used by the Google search engine. The ultimate goal is to get your website to appear as high on the Google search ranking as possible. The importance of marketing your small business is enormous. Here are the best ways you can go about doing that.

Social media

Social media is a truly incredible tool, if you know how to use it properly. There has never been a tool that has allowed you to reach as many people in such a short period of time. We are currently living in the age of social media. Businesses that fail to embrace this form of marketing and communication will eventually get left behind. Therefore, it is imperative for all business owners to learn all of the ins and outs regarding how to market their businesses on social media. If a person is not very tech savvy, he or she can choose to hire a social media consultant to help with their marketing. It is common for college students to offer their services as social media consultants. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are completely free, making them ideal promotional platforms for new businesses with limited cash.

Search engine optimization

If your website is not ranked at or near the top of the Google search rankings, it could be finished before it ever begins. When people search for something on Google, they rarely look at the very low ranked searches. They stick to the top 10 or 20. This is why it is imperative to get your site to appear in that grouping. If your site falls lower than that in the rankings, the general public will not even know that you exist. Needless to say, it is hard to make sales if nobody knows about you.