{"id":9998,"date":"2023-10-03T03:53:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T03:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ownrblog-preprod.go-vip.net\/?p=9998"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:04:24","slug":"how-to-advertise-your-small-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ownr.co\/blog\/how-to-advertise-your-small-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Advertise Your Small Business and Boost Your Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting your business off the ground isn\u2019t without its challenges. Whether you\u2019ve recently registered your first company or are a more seasoned business owner, knowing how to advertise your small business online is often essential to reach your customers. But with so many options out there, it can feel daunting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this guide, we\u2019ll cover some of the most effective digital marketing methods \u2013 from Google ads and social media campaigns to online directories and email marketing<\/a> \u2013 to build brand awareness, connect with your desired audience and ultimately meet your business goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why you should advertise your small business online<\/b><\/h2>\n

Online advertising is a marketing method that uses the Internet as a medium to reach customers and promote your product, service, or brand. This can take on the form of paid advertisements on social media platforms like Facebook, or on search engines like Google. You can also leverage unpaid advertising opportunities such as email marketing and blog posts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Advertising your business online offers a variety of benefits. For starters, it can be more cost-effective than traditional marketing avenues (think magazine ads and printed catalogues). You\u2019re also working with more data and analytics tools to track campaign results and reach the right customers. Another advantage is the opportunity to connect with a much wider and more engaged audience thanks to the Internet\u2019s massive global reach. <\/span>Read on for some of the most popular ways to promote your new business online.<\/span><\/p>\n

Identifying your marketing channels is also a key part of any business plan. Any lenders or investors will want to know how you plan to get your products and services in front of your audience. As part of Blueprint, Ownr\u2019s free business plan generator<\/a>, you can select which channels you plan to use, and they\u2019ll be included in your fully designed business plan, which you can share, print and download.<\/span><\/p>\n

Advertise your small business on Google<\/b><\/h2>\n

It goes without saying that Google is a major player in the digital advertising space. Promoting your business on the search engine can take different forms. First, let\u2019s establish the basics: understanding the difference between SEO and SEM.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Search Engine Optimization<\/h3>\n

SEO<\/b> is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization. It refers to any organic search strategy (meaning any unpaid method for improving search performance) that improves Google\u2019s ability to deem your website or social media accounts as a trustworthy source of information. This encourages Google (and other search engines) to recommend your sites and accounts to relevant users. There are a number of fundamental SEO techniques to boost organic traffic and improve your website\u2019s search ranking. <\/span>See here for our complete SEO guide for entrepreneurs<\/span><\/a>, which includes everything from how to conduct a keyword analysis to earning authoritative backlinks.<\/span><\/p>\n

While you can implement SEO to improve traffic to your sites all on your own, it\u2019s not always easy to do \u2013 especially if you hope to land Google\u2019s first search page! Many companies hire SEO specialists to improve page optimization and improve the overall experience to increase the likelihood that customers will stay on your site and buy from you. This may include services such as analyzing your search competition, investigating website speed, and mobile-friendliness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Search Engine Marketing<\/h3>\n

SEM<\/b> refers to Search Engine Marketing. While SEO is an organic method for reaching your target audience, SEM refers to paid search marketing. In other words, you can increase your website\u2019s visibility via paid ads that appear on Google\u2019s search engine results page (SERPs). You\u2019ve likely noticed these search ads any time you type a query into Google. The paid ads are always listed at the top or bottom of the results page. <\/span><\/p>\n

This model is also known as pay-per-click (PPC) marketing which means, as an advertiser, you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. In broad terms, setting up a Google Ads campaign involves bidding on keywords, and whichever marketer \u201cwins\u201d (depending on everything from how much you\u2019re willing to pay per click to the quality of your ad) gets the coveted top spot. While it\u2019s possible to set up an SEM campaign yourself, the process can be complicated and time-consuming, so depending on your level of expertise, you may want to hire a specialist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Think of SEO as a long-term investment in boosting website traffic and SEM as a more immediate marketing strategy for converting clicks into customers. This is because it typically takes weeks for Google\u2019s algorithm to recognize site changes and improve your search ranking, which means traffic slowly builds over time. Google ads, on the other hand, can be launched in a matter of hours and can help support your SEO efforts. <\/span><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s important to ensure your site is SEO optimized, you don\u2019t actually <\/span>need <\/span><\/i>a website to practice SEO (though it is the most effective method). You can use SEO to attract customers to social media channels, instead. To get started, <\/span>create a Google My Business (GMB) listing<\/span><\/a> and host content on your social media accounts or video sites like YouTube \u2013 all of which can be ranked and optimized on the search engine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Advertise your small business via social media\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Social media is a great marketing tool for engaging with a broad audience and increasing brand recognition. It\u2019s key to prioritize the social networks that best align with your business goals. Here\u2019s a brief advertising overview of the top social platforms:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook<\/b><\/h3>\n

This behemoth social media site (now called Meta) has a broad audience and a wealth of data that enables businesses to target their customers. The most obvious starting point is setting up a Facebook Business Page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the hub from which users can follow your page to connect with your brand, and from which you can <\/span>run Facebook Ads to grow your business<\/span><\/a> (there are no shortage of ad formats, either, from Facebook in-stream videos to instant articles). Launching ads is a relatively simple process thanks to Meta\u2019s Ads Manager tool, which has a user-friendly interface that offers step-by-step guidance.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your Facebook Business Page is also a critical SEO tool that acts as an online citation for building a business directory (more on this below). Additional features include:<\/span>
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