If there’s one thing the last year and a bit has taught us (besides the importance of staying home when you’re ill) is how popular online businesses are. The idea that you can shop, order food, conduct meetings, even have appointments virtually without ever coming face-to-face with an individual is quite appealing, especially during a pandemic.

Are you looking for a different opportunity, or want to add a side gig to your resume? Consider starting an online business. There are many ideas that can become an online business quite easily. Once you have an idea ready, the next step is to get it operational.

Ready to take your idea to the online business world? GR-US.com has five tips to help you out.

Create Your Business Plan

Even an online business can benefit from having a business plan. Your business plan is your roadmap to success. It lays out what your business is about, why it’s essential for the consumer, how it will operate, what your growth plan is like, and many other imperative questions. Once you have fine-tuned your business plan, it’s time to move on to the next steps.

Build a Website

Your website is likely the first thing you want to do since it is an online business. Without a website, it makes it challenging to run a company that has no storefront.

Some of the best websites are the simplest ones out there. You want it to be clean, sleek, and straight to the point. Save the storytelling for the about page and blog posts. Keep the navigation consistent across every page and easily accessible. The more user-friendly it is, the better chance you have of keeping your potential customer on your webpage (which can result in sales).

Optimize Your Website

When starting, you likely don’t want to spend too much money on advertising, or any at all. That is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in handy. It’s when you include keywords that your potential customer is searching for naturally. The search engine picks up your page, and the more optimized it is, the higher on the results page it appears.

Create Your Social Media Presence

You’ll need ways to promote your online business and what better way to do so than through social media? Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and even TikTok are excellent platforms to utilize. They are all free to use and can navigate significant traffic to your website.

If you’re a business that sells products online, you can link your Instagram account so that customers can shop from there. For those who are consultant-style businesses, you can add a scheduling system to your Instagram and Facebook accounts for easy booking right there.

Showcase Your Value

You need to stand out amongst the other online businesses, and the way to do that is to show your value and how what you offer is unique from the competition. What are the reasons why someone should come to your online store versus the others they follow? It takes some time to gain traction. Once you can determine the best way to promote yourself, then you’ll start to see growth.

Starting an online business is an excellent way to make some side money that could eventually turn into a full-time job.