Here is how to start an Online Business and succeed

According to research, 90 Percent of online businesses will fail in their first four months of operation.

These are grim statistics for anyone starting an online business. But there is a silver lining, 10 percent of businesses survive and enjoy enormous success.

So if you have an online business, or are thinking of starting one, it’s imperative to do everything and become part of the 10 percent that survive. And here is what you should do:

1.    Equip yourself with online business knowledge

Succeeding as an Entrepreneur takes guts and knowledge. Selling online successfully requires certain skills, different from brick and mortar. Not everyone is cut to succeed, but everyone can learn and that’s the beauty of the online space. It teaches you how to set up a successful e commerce store.

You need to be familiar with how the internet works. Acquire basic knowledge of how to set up a functional website, shopping carts, and checkout payouts. Having basic HTML knowledge is an added advantage. It will help you to build a seamless website.

Consider taking an online business course. Having knowledge of how to run your business, how to market, how to communicate and how to promote your business will speed up growth.  

Alternatively bring an experienced partner on board, somebody who’s got experience running an online business.

Define your business identity

Give your customers a succinct, and clear identity of your business, let them connect to purpose and what your business stands for from the start.

By defining your identity, your customers will know your offering, your target customers, your long-term goals, your product benefits, and how you will reach out to them.

Create a themed identity in their minds, distinguish yourself from other websites with a unique theme, color and purpose.

A clear well defined purpose will help you publish an SEO optimized, keyword focused website.

2.    Optimize your website using SEO

SEO is a key component of modern websites. SEO refers to several ways of optimizing a website to rank higher in Google search.

An optimized SEO strategy will help your business rank in search engines for terms linked to the business.

If you are new to selling online, SEO may be intricate and challenging, learn or hire a content strategist.  

A professional will make proposals that will boost your rankings, like link building back links and guest blogging.

3.    Make good use of social media

Social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. are extremely important when getting word to your audience and attracting new customers.

They are precisely what you need to jumpstart your business, - more customers, market buzz, and interest in your business that leads to purchases.

Promote your business on relevant websites and social media channels, to attract new customers.

Actively promote yourself to attract customers through organic search and word of mouth.

Facebook and Twitter also have targeted advertising options that allow you to spend as little or as much as you want on ads or Promoted Tweets.

Word of caution, - don’t make social media your sole marketing plan. Work aggressively on SEO too to attract organic customers.

4.    Create original content

“Content is king,” And he who can create quality attractive content reigns. That’s definitely true for every online business.

Your customers are more interested in content not the products you are selling. Therefore, you should focus on acting as a source of original content that is helpful and interesting to them.

Focus on being original, avoid scraping content from other sites and copying from your competitors. Outsmart them instead, by focusing on overlooked niches. Start a blog or write educative and informative articles.

In conclusion, considering the fact that Internet trends and technologies are constantly changing, your website will need regular maintenance to keep your business ahead of competition.