For businesses to grow, there’s no doubt you need to invest at some point in time. That said, there are ways you can utilise some free online advertising for small businesses right now.

1) Free directory listings

There are a number of different websites on which you can list your business, completely for free. Some of these free directory websites do offer premium options when you register, but it is mostly possible to skip through these and simply opt for the free listing. Not only does this enable you to pick up on traffic from people who still do things the old fashioned way, there’s also a valuable backlink created to your website – valuable for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

2) Content marketing

Content marketing is a term used to describe leveraging content, that is used to connect with your audience, for the purposes of brand awareness, adding credibility, educating your customers and more. Most commonly witnessed is blogging – in fact, we would hazard a guess that you read a blog every single day when Googling answers to problems your business faces – perhaps without even realising. Like now, for example! There are also podcasts and videos too, but blogging is unquestionably at the top when it comes to content.

Marketers often quote the saying ‘content is king in marketing’, and that’s based on the understanding that content is often the difference between converting a website visitor into a customer, or not.

If you don’t have the time to research, write and publish regular blogs, there are a number of agencies and freelancers who provide these services and so there are plenty of options available to you.  

3) Social media

Businesses of all sizes around the world are currently using social media to find and connect with potential and current customers. Whether it’s directly advertising products, promoting your business, discussing industry ‘hot topics’ to show relevance; social media is undoubtedly the tool for connecting with people in the digital world.

If you’re not currently using social media, it’s very simple to get started. Setting up a profile takes minutes, and you can very quickly start to build up a following. If nothing else, regular posts show anyone that looks for your company online that you’re still up and running, and it’s the perfect opportunity to display knowledge in your field.

It’s completely up to you how much you use it, or whether you use it at all. Sometimes, people can focus too heavily on social media, without making as much as a splash – paid advertising can help bridge the shortfall, so it’s worth researching too.

4) SEO

SEO is by far one of the most powerful ‘free online advertising for small businesses’ tools, however, it is arguably one of the most difficult to understand and utilise. In simple terms, SEO is the process of aligning words and products on your website with words and products that are searched for through the major search engines. SEO in itself is a huge industry, with thousands of companies offering improvements in search engine rankings through their work. That said, it is possible to conduct some simple SEO for free. Look out for more on that in future posts!