How to Grow Your Business with Online Marketing

The average small business spends around 8.7% of its gross revenue on advertising.1 In 2023, online marketing accounted for approximately 62% of small business spending.2 With effective execution, online marketing cost-effectively increases brand visibility and engagement among prospects.

What is digital marketing for small businesses?

Digital marketing uses “digital” channels, platforms and technologies to promote products or services to potential customers. These channels include your website, email, social media, search engines and mobile devices. Online marketing is a subset of digital marketing that excludes mobile devices. However, mobile advertising is another option to reach consumers on the go.

Online marketing for small businesses provides an accessible and measurable way to build relationships, increase brand awareness and drive growth in a competitive landscape. Successful online marketing strategies apply various techniques and technologies to reach consumers in a targeted manner.

Search engine optimization (SEO) increases visibility.

Search engines crawl billions of web pages, indexing their content, and then ranking them based on relevance and quality in response to user queries. When someone enters a search, complex algorithms evaluate hundreds of factors — such as keywords, site authority, and user experience — to deliver the most pertinent results. This process ensures users find accurate and useful information quickly, making search engines an essential tool for digital discovery.

Search engine optimization (SEO) makes your website more visible on Google and other search engines. Higher placement on a search engine results page (SERP) increases your chances of attracting and converting buyers. 

SEO techniques range from on-the-page methods like keyword insertion to behind-the-scenes techniques like gaining inbound links or refining your website's code. Understanding common search methods is fundamental to SEO.

How does SEO and content work together?

Content is information, media or creative material produced and distributed to communicate with an audience. In the context of digital marketing for small businesses, content can include articles, blog posts, newsletters, social media updates, videos, infographics, podcasts and more.

The purpose of content is to inform, entertain, persuade or engage potential customers along their journey, from initial awareness to final purchase. Effective content addresses your target audience’s needs, interests and questions at every stage of the sales process.

Relevant, high-quality content is key to attracting organic traffic, building brand awareness and nurturing customer relationships. It is the foundation for search engine optimization (SEO). Specifically, optimizing blog articles and videos for specific keywords helps your website rank higher on search engines, so it’s easier for potential customers to discover your business.

Personalized and well-researched content can highlight unique selling points and prompt users to take desired actions, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.

Social media marketing reaches customers on their favorite sites.

Social media targets 253 million users in the U.S. who, on average, spend more than two hours per day on sites.3,4 Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and other social media sites feature business advertising tools that help companies create ads and analyze their performance. You can also sponsor content from influential social media users to expand your reach to their audiences.

Social media is an effective way for small businesses to share timely updates, respond to customer inquiries, and showcase products or success stories in a dynamic, interactive environment. It fosters customer engagement and builds brand loyalty.

Pay-per-click advertising directly ties advertising spend to web traffic.

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is an online marketing tool in which businesses pay a fee each time someone clicks on their advertisement. PPC ads typically appear on search engines and feature keywords for which potential customers are searching. Prominent placement — often at the top of the search results page — increases visibility and drives targeted traffic directly to your website. PPC advertising can also use display ads on websites, mobile apps or short video ads that play before video content. 

Advertisers can choose between two PPC payment models. In a flat-rate model, the cost per click remains the same for every user interaction. In a bid-based model, a competitive auction in which businesses bid for top spots determines ad placement.