Table of Contents
Starting a new business comes with a long checklist of things that need to be done. Owners typically focus on the items that get the business operational first. As they begin to provide their product or service to customers, owners then tend to leave behind those things that that they believe will take a lot of effort.
But the truth is you don’t need to do everything in the digital world. You just need a few key pieces in place early on so customers can find you and learn about what you offer. Once these essentials are set up, the rest becomes a lot easier.
In this blog, we’ll share what we see as the five digital marketing steps every new business should do first, and explain why they matter and how they support long-term growth.
Table of Contents
- Create a Google Business Profile
- Create Social Media Business Accounts
- Create or Claim Your Directory Listings
- Create an Editorial Calendar
- Build a Website and Make Sure It’s Search-Optimized
- Bonus Tip: Start Collecting Reviews Early
- Final Thoughts
- Related Resources
- Getting Started
1. Create a Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate a small business can own. It is your business’ home on Google. There’s no cost, it’s fast to set up, and it’s the foundational building block of how people find you on Google Search and Google Maps.
Your profile shows your name, address, phone number, hours, photos, reviews, and a link to your website. You can also link your social media accounts to it. It’s often the first thing people see when they search for a business like yours.
A complete GBP helps your business appear in the local map pack (aka the 3-Map Pack, Local Search Map or Google Maps), gives customers confidence, and makes it easier for them to reach you.
If you’re a brand-new business, this is a must-have to be found online. It’s listed as the number 1 task in this blog because it is the most important thing you can do.
2. Create Social Media Business Accounts
Social media plays a simple but important role for new businesses: it shows you’re active, real, and open for business.
Social does a great job of building awareness as you grow your followers there and post consistently.
You don’t need to post every day and you don’t need to be on every platform. You simply need the main platforms your customers use, such as:
- X (formerly Twitter)
- LinkedIn (for B2B or service-based businesses).
Business accounts also give you access to insights, scheduling tools, and the ability to run ads later on. Think of your social profiles as additional touch points that help people learn who you are.
There’s another advantage to social media: Google takes note of what you do on social. If you’re active, it will deem you as credible and reward you with better search performance.
3. Create or Claim Your Directory Listings
Believe it or not, there are dozens of websites across the internet that act as online phone books. In our industry, we call them directories. These websites list businesses, along with their address, phone number, website, photos, hours and services.
Google looks at these directory sites to double-check that your business information is accurate and consistent across the internet. That’s why it’s important to find your listings, claim them, and make sure your information is correct on them. Your business information should match exactly across every platform.
If there are inconsistencies in your listings, or if you are not listed in some directories, Google will deem your business as not credible and, as a result, not recommend you after searches.
This is a challenge for businesses just getting started. They will not have the same built-out directory listings as one would find with a more established business simply because they didn’t exist until recently.
So in terms of being able to compete online, it is a necessity to claim those directory listings and make sure the information is consistent and accurate.
While there are dozens of directory websites that Google indexes, some of the most important ones include:
- Yelp
- Bing Places
- Apple Maps
- BBB
- Industry-specific directories (for example, Houzz, Thumbtack, or Angi).
This step provides long-term benefits, but it can be challenging to work your way through the many directory sites. This is where having a partner like Signal Digital Marketing can really help.
4. Create an Editorial Calendar
When it comes to Google and social media posting, consistency matters more than frequency. The biggest enemy of consistency is not being organized, not knowing what to post on the day you’re supposed to post something. That’s when we see “clump-posting”: Two or three posts on consecutive days, followed by two or three months of silence.
To avoid this, we recommend an Editorial Calendar.
An editorial calendar gives you a plan for what to post and when. It doesn’t need to be complicated. It can be a simple document or spreadsheet with weekly or bi-weekly posting ideas with the date it will be posted.
If you really want to be organized, take an hour each month to plan your upcoming posts. You can even write them out completely in your calendar and then schedule them with a post scheduler. So, in that hour, your posting for the next four weeks is finished!
Those who are very organized can even create umbrella topics with posts underneath. Some ideas for umbrella topics might be:
- Quick tips related to your industry
- Industry news
- Customer reviews
- Information about your products or services
- Information about why your company beats the competition
- Behind-the-scenes photos
- FAQs you often answer
A small amount of structure helps you avoid long gaps of silence and keeps your audience engaged over time. We believe in the power of an Editorial calendar. That’s why it’s listed as one of the top five digital marketing tasks you need to do.
5. Build a Website and Make Sure It’s Search-Optimized
A lot of people might think that the website should be the first digital marketing task you do.
We politely disagree.
Being found in search early in the life of your business is key to having early successes. That’s we suggest tackling the GBP, social media, directory listings and editorial calendar first. Then, you can focus on the longer project of building a website.
A website gives your business a home base online. It doesn’t need to be large or elaborate, but it does need to be clear and search engine friendly (meaning it will show up after relevant searches).
A strong starter website includes:
- A homepage that explains what you do
- A services/products page
- An about page
- A contact page
- Photos
- Clear calls-to-action
- Have basic Search Engine Optimization (titles, descriptions, alt text, and fast load speed).
A search-optimized website helps your business show up for the phrases people type into Google when they’re looking for services or products like yours. Not sure about being able to build a website? Signal can help.
Bonus Tip: Start Collecting Reviews Early
Reviews play a major role in how customers make decisions. They also greatly influence which businesses Google recommends on the Local Search Map results.
You don’t need dozens of reviews right away. Instead, aim for a steady flow over time. When someone has a good experience, a simple reminder to leave a review can go a long way.
Final Thoughts
Building your digital foundation doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Start with these essentials, get them working for your business, and let them grow and evolve with your business. Once these five pieces are in place, every other part of your marketing becomes easier and far more effective.
Related Resources
Why It’s So Important to Keep Your Business Info Consistent Online
Why Google Reviews Matter More Than You Might Think
Local Search Rankings: You Need to Get Some Stars
Optimizing Your Google Business Profile (GBP) Posts for Engagement and Conversions
What are Local Directories In SEO, and How Can They Help Your Local Business?
Getting Started
While we listed just five items to do in this blog, we recognize that business owners might not always have the time to do them. That’s why Signal is here. Let us help you get your digital presence set up and working for you. Our mission is to help small, local businesses here in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ready to make sure your customers can find you easily? Call Signal Digital Marketing at 513-237-5530 for a free consultation. Let’s sit down and build a strategy that helps you reach your goals.
You can also learn more about our Local SEO, Website SEO, Social Media and Content Creation services at our blog.