How small businesses can beat online monopolies
Whilst consumers are flocking from the high street to purchase products and services online, the basic principles of their behaviour remain the same. That is, they need something and are prepared to spend money where they feel they’ll get the best value for said money.
The goal of every business, naturally, is to at first attract the attention of such consumers, then convince them they’re the best provider of whatever it is they’re looking for.
In the days of the high street, it was fairly straightforward for businesses to do this. Indeed, they simply designed impressive shopfronts, hired the most helpful staff, and presented their products in a flattering way. By doing this, it was possible to stop passers-by, get them in for a browse, and deliver the best service with hopes they would purchase a product.
How online competition works:
When it comes to doing business online, things are slightly different to the world of bricks and mortar. Instead of shops, it is websites which are responsible for generating leads and sales.
Frustratingly, it’s not enough for websites to be attractive, functional, and customer-friendly in the way that shops have to be.
No, websites have to be all of these things and be visible in Google.
Indeed, a well-made website without any search engine optimisation (SEO) to support it is a bit like a beautiful and competitively priced boutique being built it in the Australian Outback.
Sure, a chance traveller will love the place, but it’s not going to reach anywhere near its full potential.
This means that businesses need to invest in digital marketing campaigns that help to cement their online reputation and improve their standing in Google.
So far, so good.
The fly in the ointment, of course, is that bigger businesses have greater resources than smaller businesses. When it comes to the web, larger organisations are able to spend a greater amount of time securing valuable links through content marketing.
They can also stump up any costs involved in acquiring relevant traffic.
Add these things together and big businesses have themselves websites which perform extremely well.
The flipside of this is that smaller businesses need to get creative if they want to attract new customers online.
Indeed, with online monopolies continuing to grow, there’s never been a better time to understand how it’s possible to beat them.
How online monopolies are created through Google:
To demonstrate how online monopolies are created through the search rankings, I carried out a couple of searches from my desktop computer in Norwich.
Bear in mind that Google is aware of my location and is serving up results to reflect this. My first search was for ‘estate agents in Norwich’. Sat in pole position for this enquiry was property giant Right Move.
Despite not having a physical presence in the city, their site came first because it features a portal that lists all of the homes for sale and properties to let in the area.
From a user’s perspective, there’s no doubt this is great. However, my search terms suggest I’m looking for an estate agent based in the city.
Thankfully, a little further down the page was our client Pymm & Co, a Norwich estate agent who do have a physical presence in the city.
Having acquired relevant and local links, their business competes when searches are completed nearby. This is a nice win, obviously.
My second search was for ‘luxury office furniture’. This time it was flatpack kings IKEA who occupied the top spot.
Thanks to their ‘home office’ page, they’re considered by Google to be the most relevant business for anyone looking to spruce up their workplace.
As you might expect of a such a large business, their website presents products in a clean and friendly way, making it easy to complete a purchase.
However, nowhere did I suggest in my search terms that I was looking to furnish a home office. Instead, it would have been more useful to find myself on the site of our client, Office Furniture Scene.
Indeed, as local experts in both luxury and commercial office furniture, it was with some satisfaction that I saw them appearing below.
What this shows is that, when armed with seemingly endless marketing budgets, big businesses are able to conquer the top spots on Google for various search terms, even when they’re not specialists in them.
This begs the question- what are smaller businesses to do about this?
How to beat online monopolies:
When it comes to competing with the giants of the web, there can be no doubt that an effective local SEO strategy will be the key to driving new business.
Indeed, securing local and relevant links will ensure that Google considers a small business to be the most useful one for nearby searchers.
It’s also hugely important for small businesses to optimize and post from their Google My Business account, either by themselves or via an agency like ourselves.
By doing this, it’s possible to provide searchers with all the information they need to get in touch and view products.
Known as ‘the 3 pack’, this feature (which sits right at the top of Google) allows local businesses to appear before even the biggest of big businesses. The benefits of this for a small business fighting a monopoly war cannot be overstated.
At Nu Image, we take great pride in helping our clients compete with the goliaths of their respective industries.
Getting to know their business and their competitors, we create carefully thought-out campaigns and employ effective local SEO strategies to attract searchers who are looking for their services.
Once we’ve got them on the site, we’re also confident that our user-friendly web design and clear calls to action will direct them towards making a purchase, placing a booking, or contacting the business for further information.
In this way, we’re able to effectively combat monopolies which have migrated from the high street to the web, giving smaller businesses a competitive edge.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how we can help your business compete online, give us a call on 01603 859007 or send an email over to [email protected].