Introduction

When there are other big players in your industry, it can be difficult to attract attention as a small business. Of course, you may lack the resources and funds to promote your business as aggressively as they do, but there are plenty of free options available on the internet for you to improve your marketing game.

You may not have a lot of money to spend on marketing, but that doesn't mean you can't get your brand noticed. Prior to the Internet, small businesses had few inexpensive options for marketing their products, such as printing fliers or sponsoring small local events. There are now a plethora of free opportunities available on the Internet—you just need to know where to look.

Here are free ways you can advertise your business online, all of which you can start implementing today to help your small business build brand awareness and a loyal following.

Free Ways to Advertise your Business Online

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1. Improve your SEO

You might not want to pay for Google ads or have enough money to spend on them. However, this does not preclude you from attempting to rank higher in search results, and SEO is the best way to do so. The higher your ranking, the easier it will be for others to find you. While there are numerous ways to perform SEO online, we'll concentrate on two key SEO tactics to help you market your business more effectively today.

• Local SEO: Improving your local SEO strategy is a simple way to increase your visibility in local search results. This can be accomplished by claiming and listing your company on platforms such as Google My Business, Bing Places for Business, and Apple Maps Connect. These are free tools designed to assist businesses in managing their online presence across search engines and maps.
• Traditional SEO: While local SEO focuses on a specific geographic area, traditional SEO is for any company that wants to expand its digital reach and rank higher in organic search results. This is becoming increasingly important as e-commerce gains traction in a variety of industries around the world. This type of SEO focuses on improving the discoverability of your website, product listings, and general content. Some SEO best practices that can help boost your content marketing efforts include using effective title tags and meta descriptions, conducting keyword research, writing ALT text for images, and including a clickable phone number on your contact page.

Google Trends, Ahrefs, and SEMRush are tools you can use to improve your organic search visibility and keyword planning.

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2. Start email marketing

Email marketing outperforms almost all other marketing techniques in terms of ROI. An email is a versatile tool that every small business should use, from sending newsletters, seasonal offers, and promotions to providing customer support. The best part is that it is highly customisable and reasonably priced. For a fraction of the cost of other marketing channels, you can target and deliver relevant emails that provide value to specific customers.

Mailchimp is a useful email marketing tool that equips your business with all it needs to start its email marketing endeavours like sending campaigns and promotions.

Need help managing your business social media presence? - Reach out to us at hello@starboxtech.com

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3. Create a business blog

Business blogs are a powerful tool for increasing brand authority and credibility. While they may take longer to produce results than other marketing methods, they are an undeniably good investment for your company. When you share your expertise by writing optimised blogs about your industry, search engines have more reasons to display you on results pages. This also aids in the development of domain authority and the generation of traffic to your website by reaching a larger audience. Simply put, the higher your search engine rankings, the more people will find you and the more likely they will become customers.

While building a website is advisable, it might not be in your budget range. Medium, WordPress.com and Blogger are blogging platforms that allow you to create a blog for free.

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4. Make use of social media

Many small businesses overlook social media, which has enormous potential for growth. Social media is an instant connection to the rest of the world—a visual powerhouse that people are constantly engaging with and sharing. You can build a social media presence without spending money on paid ads or hiring an influencer to market your company. We encourage you to create a free business profile on any platform where your target audience is active and to begin posting relevant, helpful content in your niche. When people find your posts to be useful and engaging rather than just blatant advertising, you will gain organic followers who may eventually become customers.

Social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are a worth looking into depending on your business needs and goals.

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5. Participate in online forums and communities

Online forums are places where people can exchange ideas and interact with one another about a specific topic. Choose an appropriate forum where you can meet potential customers, participate in discussions, and actively contribute your tips and opinions on business-related topics. However, ensure that you are following the rules by only promoting your company in appropriate contexts. This is a great way to network with potential customers, build relationships, and introduce them to your services when they are needed.

Quora, Reddit, LinkedIn and Facebook are some platforms where you can find small business-specific groups or channels.

Closing

Word of mouth is one of the most credible ways to attract loyal customers. When people start talking positively about your company to their friends, brand awareness grows exponentially. These marketing strategies adhere to that simple principle while adapting it to today's digital world in which people check their email, social media apps, and Google multiple times per day. There is so much you can do to market your business for free on the internet. Some of these methods will take time to produce results, but when they do, you can be confident that the leads they generate are genuine prospects looking to make a purchase.

Need help managing your business social media presence - Reach out to us at hello@starboxtech.com