How to market your business for free online
If you've got a new online business or you are looking to get more visitors coming to your website, we've listed below several ways to do this without spending any money online.
Let's have a look at the free options.
The first and probably one of the best ways to get your business noticed is to get your listing on Google business.
Google business is free to use, allowing you to list your location and the type of products or services you provide.
Adding your listing is done in 4 easy steps.
You can add your listing on their Google business page.
This includes information such as
The most common way to verify your profile is to receive a postcard to your business address with a verification code.
The postcard can take up to two weeks to arrive and will have a 5-digit verification code for you to input on the Google website or through the app.
Some businesses may be able to verify their profile over the phone, by email or through the Google Search Console.
If one of these options is available for your business, the system will detect it automatically and let you know during the verification process.
Make sure you enter your address correctly so you can verify your listing.
After verification you'll be able to edit and make changes to your listing as required including any offers, discounts and promotions to help increase visitors.
Buyers are more likely to choose a company that has reviews from their customers.
Get your customers to leave you a review by sending them your link, this has a positive impact on your profile and shows potential buyers you are trusted.
We all like a good looking profile, rather than a dull looking listing.
Add high quality images of your products and services you offer.
There is also a section where you can list all of your services and products with prices, so a potential customer has good understanding of what you sell.
Regularly update your profile with new products and offers to keep visitors coming back.
When it comes to social media there are plenty of options to choose from, to help you get the word out there and communicate with potential customers.
Over time with a bit of hard work you'll build a customer base that loves your products and services.
Lets work down from the most popular options, these are.
You've obviously heard of Facebook and as a guess you probably use it quite often to talk to friends, family and other groups online.
Millions of people use Facebook daily for social use to adding their products on the marketplace.
Facebook also offers the option of adding a Facebook business listing.
With Facebook you can add regular posts, product offers, discounts, promotions and customise your profile to make it stand out more.
To add your Facebook listing head on over to their Facebook business page.
On the page you'll be able to create your own business page from the drop down menu.
You'll need to provide the following information to get your page up and running.
Once you've completed setting up your page you'll then be able to go on to add your logo and page banner, if you have one.
Don't worry if you don't have a logo and page banner as this can be added anytime.
Instagram is another very popular platform with millions of views per day.
Instagram is generally aimed at those wanting to post images, rather than just content.
Great for showcasing your products and services.
Head on over to the Instagram page then go to sign up.
After you've completed filling in your details you'll need to convert your account to business.
You can do this by changing the following on your account.
If you'd like, you can link your business account to a Facebook page associated with your business.
This step is optional, and will make it easier to use all of the features available for businesses across the Facebook family of apps.
At this time, only one Facebook Page can be connected to your business account.
To finish, tap "X" in the top-right corner to return to your profile.
With a business account, you'll be able to access insights that can help you understand who is engaging with your business on Instagram.
You'll have access to the professional dashboard, where you can track your performance, access and discover professional tools and explore educational information curated by Instagram.
You also have the option to display or hide your business category and contact information on your profile.
After setting up, go to your profile and select "edit profile".
Go to "profile display" under "public business" information to choose whether you want to hide or display your category label and contact info.
After you've chosen your preferred option you can finish by pressing "done".
Twitter is our third social media platform choice that is also free to use.
Twitter allows you to "tweet" regular updates about you or your business for others to see on their timeline.
On Twitter, adding a “#” to the beginning of an unbroken word or phrase creates a hashtag.
When you use a hashtag in a tweet, it becomes linked to all of the other tweets that include it.
Including a hashtag gives your tweet context and allows people to easily follow topics that they're interested in.
To register your account go to theTwitter website, you'll have 4 options to choose when signing up.
Once completed you'll be able to change your account to professional.
To change your account to professional go to.
You are now ready to start tweeting and linking with other businesses.
Finally on our social media list is Pinterest.
Pinterest is quite similar to Instagram where you can add your own images and a description next to it.
One advantage of using Pinterest is that you can group images and create topics to share.
Pinterest allows you to register in any of the following ways
To sign up as a standard user go to thePinterest website and select "sign up".
The sign up process will give you 3 different ways to register.
If you want to register as a business go to Pinterest for business.
Signing up to Pinterest as a business only gives you one option to register using your email address.
Once you've completed the sign up process, make your profile stand out by adding your logo and first post.
Video marekting is an effective way to get your products out there.
Wacthing a video has a higher turnover and is a much easier way to market your business.
You can setup a free account with YouTube, which is great to start getting your videos out there.
To sign up, go to the YouTube website.
Once you've signed up and created your first video you'll be able to upload your video.
Many businesses use LinkedIn for network building and is used as a way to outsource, connecting with other businesses.
You may also want to get in touch with other businesses if you feel you'd be able to offer a product or service to them that they'd want to buy.
LinkedIn also has the option of creating a free account or a business account.
A standard account can be created on their LinkedIn homepage.
Same with LinkedIn, add your logo and banner.
You can now start posting content and adding connections.
There are plenty of forums out there within your niche that you can advertise for free.
Forums are a great way to interact with others and get your name out there.
Forums are generally used to provide more information and direction, but can also help sales when done correctly.
Content creation plays a big part in getting yourself out there, especially with well explained topics that are useful to others.
You can talk about products and also include a link to one of your own.
You can share in depth reviews and which you would recommend is best for the reader.
Keep your content to the point and interesting, add a comparison of prices which can help the customer choose which is best for their budget.
People are always looking for a business for their needs.
Adding your business to a load of directories increases you chance of getting more visitors to your site.
Check out our online directory list to add your business for free.
Post regular content on social media forums to keep your readers up to date on new products and services.
Use hashtags where you can to increase your reach to new audiences.
Link with other companies on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Keep your listings up to date with new offers and promotions, this will keep visitors coming back.