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By Preetam Kaushik on 8th August 2012
Every day we see new businesses popping up around us and not all of these have the backing of big corporate names. In fact, most of these start ups are small in terms of starting capital and scope of sales and targets. But, due to their sheer number they collectively generate a lot of revenue for the many people who run these businesses. Some of these entrepreneurs consider selling their stake and cashing the company out by handing them over to the bigger players. On the other hand, there are others who want to run and expand their small businesses in such a way that they end up being the bigger players one day. One of the ways of seeing that dream fulfilled is to adjust your business style to fit in with the changing trends of communication.
There was a time when products used to sell on the basis of how people perceived them. That was the golden era of advertising – on TV, print and billboards. With the rise of the internet in the last two decades, consumers had the option of choice. This is when advertising was compelled to go digital. How good one’s sites was, decided how visible it was. In the internet, visibility was the biggest challenge for any small business. Search Engine Optimization was born around that time. So what has changed now? What’s the new thing that SMEs need to consider?
The answer is simple – make your website compatible with mobile surfing devices like Smartphone, androids and tablets. Even businesses which have had successful websites that were meant for consumers with PCs, are now revamping their sites so that they can attract the mobile savvy crowd. Mobile browsing has risen by 1000% in the last two years. If SMEs are to survive the competition from the bigger players and that amongst themselves, they need to upgrade. This urgency is totally justified as one should know that if your business is not showing up on someone’s mobile search query, then somebody else’s business, which is most likely a rival to you, is showing.
But, here’s the good news – there are tools available on how one can make their site mobile friendly and easily noticeable by the people who are always on the move. There are few techniques by which you can optimize the chances of your business showing up as search query results. To start with, ensure that the ad for your product or service clearly mentions where you are located. Research has shown that most people who access Google through mobile devices do so when they are already out and searching for a certain service, product or merchant. Sites that do not mention the location of the vendors do not show up when people look under local search results.
You should also ensure that your site is technically equipped to detect the browser and handset settings of the consumer so that the result that pops up on his screen can be viewed by him properly. A difficult site can potentially turn away lots of customers. How can you ensure that your site is technically equipped? Well, there are businesses like Telnames.com that cater to SMEs and help make their site pocket-search friendly for very reasonable prices; prices which easily cover themselves up through the amount of business they bring you. If you are running a blog to promote your business, then tools like Buddypress and wptouch help converting your WordPress blog into pages that are easy to load and are more mobile browser friendly than your actual blog.
The important thing is to understand why it is necessary for you to exploit these tools. They make your business visible to people who are actually looking for what you have to offer. These are not casual browsers; they are people who are out and about and want to reach out to people who provide the best services. If you think you are the one they need, make yourself seen.
Source: Business 2 Community
Every day we see new businesses popping up around us and not all of these have the backing of big corporate names. In fact, most of these start ups are small in terms of starting capital and scope of sales and targets. But, due to their sheer number they collectively generate a lot of revenue for the many people who run these businesses. Some of these entrepreneurs consider selling their stake and cashing the company out by handing them over to the bigger players. On the other hand, there are others who want to run and expand their small businesses in such a way that they end up being the bigger players one day. One of the ways of seeing that dream fulfilled is to adjust your business style to fit in with the changing trends of communication.
There was a time when products used to sell on the basis of how people perceived them. That was the golden era of advertising – on TV, print and billboards. With the rise of the internet in the last two decades, consumers had the option of choice. This is when advertising was compelled to go digital. How good one’s sites was, decided how visible it was. In the internet, visibility was the biggest challenge for any small business. Search Engine Optimization was born around that time. So what has changed now? What’s the new thing that SMEs need to consider?
The answer is simple – make your website compatible with mobile surfing devices like Smartphone, androids and tablets. Even businesses which have had successful websites that were meant for consumers with PCs, are now revamping their sites so that they can attract the mobile savvy crowd. Mobile browsing has risen by 1000% in the last two years. If SMEs are to survive the competition from the bigger players and that amongst themselves, they need to upgrade. This urgency is totally justified as one should know that if your business is not showing up on someone’s mobile search query, then somebody else’s business, which is most likely a rival to you, is showing.
But, here’s the good news – there are tools available on how one can make their site mobile friendly and easily noticeable by the people who are always on the move. There are few techniques by which you can optimize the chances of your business showing up as search query results. To start with, ensure that the ad for your product or service clearly mentions where you are located. Research has shown that most people who access Google through mobile devices do so when they are already out and searching for a certain service, product or merchant. Sites that do not mention the location of the vendors do not show up when people look under local search results.
You should also ensure that your site is technically equipped to detect the browser and handset settings of the consumer so that the result that pops up on his screen can be viewed by him properly. A difficult site can potentially turn away lots of customers. How can you ensure that your site is technically equipped? Well, there are businesses like Telnames.com that cater to SMEs and help make their site pocket-search friendly for very reasonable prices; prices which easily cover themselves up through the amount of business they bring you. If you are running a blog to promote your business, then tools like Buddypress and wptouch help converting your WordPress blog into pages that are easy to load and are more mobile browser friendly than your actual blog.
The important thing is to understand why it is necessary for you to exploit these tools. They make your business visible to people who are actually looking for what you have to offer. These are not casual browsers; they are people who are out and about and want to reach out to people who provide the best services. If you think you are the one they need, make yourself seen.
Source: Business 2 Community
