You can’t wait any longer. You’ve had the idea for a while. You’ve decided there’s no better time than now to bring something new into this world. Months of planning and preparing have resulted in this most joyous occasion. Your creation is born. Do you leave your child to fend for itself or do you support it along the path to success?

Just like a child, your marketplace needs to be nurtured and looked after in order to grow. You must be willing to take on the responsibility of trying to understand how it works from both a platform perspective, as well as a marketplace perspective. Simply dropping money down for development and hosting is not going to provide a financial windfall unless you actively raise your marketplace to maturity. Here are some things to focus on.

Build SEO with targeted keywords

Search engine optimization is the process of getting traffic to your site from “organic” search results on search engines. Make sure to align your page titles, URLs, headers and content with your targeted keywords. It will help to position your marketplace as a relevant page for your users. Also be sure to utilize inbound links to partner and/or sponsor pages to help people find you.  

New to SEO? Watch this short video that covers the basics! 

 Create a social media strategy

Social media is an integral part of any marketing plan. It gives you the opportunity to engage your current marketplace customers and attract new ones on a very large scale. Each platform is different and the way you interact with followers can vary greatly. You’ll want to make sure you create a strategic and repeatable plan for social interactions.

Insider tip: Be sure to focus on your Twitter strategy, as this is the platform that I have found to be most beneficial for B2B and B2C marketplaces.

Write blogs consistently

Come up with a general plan for your blog content that adds value to your customers. Near Me provides its marketplace owners with an internal blog function. If you don’t have that option, check out Wordpress. Think about topics that might give your audience practical resources they can use to benefit themselves. When the time comes that they might need your product or service, your readers will already have had a positive experience with your marketplace. It also couldn’t hurt for your blog to go viral!

 Check your analytics

If you haven’t already, install Google Analytics within your marketplace header. This will allow you access data that can help you adjust your strategy moving forward. Reviewing these measurements on a weekly basis will optimize your efforts. Analytics will help you track actions, traffic, advertisements, keywords, page indexing and blog performance. Social media platforms also provide performance analytics to help you narrow down content strategy.

 Being a parent is tough, but seeing your child grow and succeed can be one of life’s most rewarding experiences. You have to make sure to give them all the tools they need to navigate the perils of the world. Your marketplace is a living, breathing creation that needs nourishment to thrive. Following these 4 steps will help your marketplace raise above the competition.

Need some more help forming a growth strategy? Drop me a line in the comments section below and I’d be happy to help!