The internet can be a powerful tool when it comes to growing a new business or giving an established one an extra boost. Your website is a fantastic way to grow your audience, reach new people, communicate with them in real time and generate more sales. In today's world, you really do have to be online to be competitive.

But, it's not as easy as setting up a site and watching the viewers flock. They won't. Generally, people don't just stumble upon websites. They either find them via search engines, having typed in something that they are looking for, or they are directed to them from social media or by people that they know. If you want your website to be seen, and to drive sales to your business, then you need to work hard at promotion and at making sure site is great.

SEO

Social media is a great way to get noticed, but for it to be effective, it takes constant promotion and engagement. If you want long-term traffic, with much less day to day effort on your part, then you need to bring in the search engine hits. To do this, you need to look at your SEO.

SEO or search engine optimization is a complex thing. It's not as simple as using keywords in your content. You also need to use them in alt text on your images, use the right headings and subheadings, making sure you've got h2 and h3 tags where possible. Each post and page should have metadata and tags and be over 500 words. What the search engines are looking for changes all of the time, so try to keep up to date.

Just remember to write for people. Make sure your web design is excellent, and your content is well written and pleasing to the eye. Not crammed full of keywords and nonsensical.

Use Social Media Well

When it comes to social media, it's not enough to simply have accounts and post links to your site. You'll be mostly ignored and end up just annoying your followers. You need to do it right. Yes, share your content, but you also need to be engaging and sharing other relevant content. Think about what your audience wants to see, and what could help them. Make sure you use images and video as much as possible and tag everything with appropriate hashtags.

Guest Post

One of the best ways to get noticed online is guest posting. Look at other websites and blogs in your business niche. Perhaps those that have the same audience but offer a different product so aren't direct competitors. Pitch them an idea of something that you could write on their website or suggest a guest post swap to boost both of your audiences.

Find Your Audience

It's essential that you know where to find your prospective audience. Think about your target market. Where are they? Do they google what they are looking for? Or are they more likely to use Pinterest as a search engine? Do they hang out on Facebook, or are they in forums? Understand them, find them and advertise to them.