Digital marketing basics for small business

Digital marketing is just reaching customers online — and you don't need to do all of it. For most small businesses, a few core channels done well beat a scattergun approach across everything.

The core channels

• •Your website — the hub everything points to.
• •SEO — being found when people search.
• •Local (Google Business Profile) — for nearby customers.
• •Email — staying in touch with people who opted in.
• •Social — awareness and personality.
• •Ads — paid traffic when you need it faster.

Start focused

Pick the one or two channels where your customers actually are, do them well, and expand from there. A strong website plus local SEO is a powerful foundation for most local businesses.