Digital marketing for small business: where to start

Digital marketing has a way of turning into a list of fifty things you "should" be doing. Most small businesses don't need fifty things. They need the right five, in the right order. Here's where we'd start.

What is digital marketing for a small business?

It's everything you do online to get found and chosen: your Google listing, your website, your reviews, search, ads, social media and email. The Australian Government's business.gov.au puts it simply: A digital strategy is a plan to use digital technologies in your business.

The trap is trying to do all of it at once, badly. A local business with a half-finished Google profile doesn't need a TikTok strategy yet. It needs the basics that bring in customers, done properly.

The mistakes we see most often are the same few:

• Starting with the shiny thing. A new logo or a social campaign, while the Google listing still has last year's hours.
• Spreading thin. A little bit of everything, none of it finished.
• No way to measure it. Money goes out, and nobody can say what came back.
• Set and forget. A website built once and never touched again.

The steps below avoid all four.

Step 1: Know who you're selling to and what you want

Before you spend a dollar, get clear on two things. business.gov.au says you need to understand who you're selling to, and to Set measurable targets for each of your digital goals.

For most local businesses, the goal is simple: more calls, more enquiries, more bookings. Write down how many you get now. That number is how you'll judge everything that follows, and how you'll spot marketing that's busy rather than useful.

Step 2: Get your Google Business Profile right

Your Google Business Profile is the listing that appears in Google Maps and the map results. For a business that serves a local area, it's usually the quickest place to win.

• Verify it. Google says Customers can only find your business profile on Google after you complete verification.
• Complete every field. Google says Businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results.
• Keep it current. Hours, holiday hours, phone number, services. business.gov.au suggests planning how you'll keep profiles like this up to date.
• Add real photos. Your premises, your team, your work.

It's not glamorous. In our experience, it's often where people decide who to call before they ever see a website.

Step 3: A website that works on a phone

business.gov.au says A user-friendly website is the best way to provide an online presence for customers. The key word is user-friendly, and for most people that means on a phone.

Google agrees. It uses the mobile version of a site's content, crawled with the smartphone agent, for indexing and ranking, according to its mobile-first indexing guide. If your site is awkward on a phone, that's the version Google is judging you on.

A small business website doesn't need to be huge. It needs to load fast, say clearly what you do and where, have a page for each main service, and make it easy to call or enquire. Ours come with a dashboard so you can update your hours or run a special yourself. See our websites.

Step 4: Make reviews part of every sale

People read reviews before they call, and Google says More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking. So reviews help you get found and get chosen.

Ask every customer, every time, and make it easy with a direct link or a QR code. Reply to every review, including the bad ones. And keep it honest: the ACCC says it's against the law to create fake reviews or arrange for others to.

Step 5: SEO and local SEO

Google's own SEO Starter Guide says SEO is about helping search engines understand your content. In practice, that means a technically sound website, pages written around what your customers search for, links from other websites, and reviews.

For a local business, the map matters most. Google says Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity. You can't change where you are, so local SEO works on the other two: how well you match the search and how well known you are.

Be patient with it. Google says some changes might take effect in a few hours, others could take several months, and nobody can guarantee you first place. Our SEO services page explains how we approach it.

Step 6: Google Ads when you need customers faster

SEO builds over time. Google Ads can put you at the top of the search results as soon as your campaigns go live. Google says There's no minimum spending commitment, and you set and control your own budget.

With cost-per-click bidding, you pay when someone clicks your ad. That's great when the clicks come from people ready to buy, and an expensive hobby when they don't. Tight keywords, location targeting and call tracking are what separate the two. Our Google Ads management is built around exactly that.

Where do social media and email fit?

They have a place, usually after the steps above. Social media is good for showing your work and staying top of mind. business.gov.au's advice is to Choose the social media platforms where your audience is most active. One platform done well beats five done occasionally.

Email is useful for keeping past customers coming back: reminders, offers and news. Just know the rules. business.gov.au notes You need to follow anti-spam rules for email marketing.

Neither replaces being found on Google. When someone needs a dentist, an accountant or an electrician, they search. They don't scroll Instagram hoping one turns up.

Step 7: Measure what matters

business.gov.au says Before you start tracking anything, you need to know what you're trying to achieve with your online platforms. That's why the goal came first. It also notes that free tools like Google Analytics can monitor website traffic.

Track the things that pay the bills: calls, enquiries, bookings and sales, and where each one came from. Likes, impressions and "reach" are nice. They don't pay rent.

Then use what you learn. Do more of what brings in customers and stop what doesn't. That loop, run every month, is most of what good digital marketing is.

It's also how we work at Loud Yak: SEO, ads, websites and reviews run as one system, with a plain-English report showing the calls and enquiries it brought in.

FAQ

What should a small business do first in digital marketing?

Set a measurable goal, then get your Google Business Profile verified and complete. After that, make sure your website works well on a phone and start asking every customer for a review.

Does a small business need a website if it has a Google Business Profile?

In our view, yes. Your profile gets you found in the map, and your website is where you explain every service in detail and give people a reason to pick you.

Is social media enough for a small business?

Usually not on its own, in our view. When people need a local business they tend to search Google, so your Google Business Profile, website and reviews come first.

How do I know if my digital marketing is working?

Set a measurable target before you start, then track calls, enquiries and sales and where each one came from. If a number doesn't connect to customers, don't let it drive decisions.

Sources

1. business.gov.au: Develop your digital strategy
2. business.gov.au: Set up a business website
3. business.gov.au: Measure your digital performance
4. Google Business Profile Help: Sign up for Business Profile
5. Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
6. Google Search Central: Mobile site and mobile-first indexing best practices
7. Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide
8. Google Ads Help: Google Ads definition
9. Google Ads Help: Cost-per-click (CPC) definition
10. Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more Google reviews
11. ACCC: Online reviews for products and services