Getting your business seen online is the first step. SEO (search engine optimisation) is top of the list when it comes to expanding your business presence online. Your website has to be optimised so that it will be at the top or as close to the top of possible for Google and other searches. You might offer the best deals and provide first-class customer service, but are people going to find you if your website appears on page seven of a search?

The second step is more challenging, but can work wonders if you get it right. If you get the first part right and your site is at the top of every search engine list, that still doesn’t guarantee turning clicks into customers.

The most important thing is that visitors like what they see. They have come to you for a reason so your post or ad must grab their attention. It has to give them what they need and is interesting enough that they are willing to spend money with you.

Every business would love to have Facebook’s 2.4 billion following. Figures like that make selling advertising hugely profitable for companies like Facebook and Twitter. But unless you sell advertising space, those numbers alone won’t translate into money.

I have had prospective clients tell me they want to add 100,000 new followers and subscribers each year. Depending on the business, that is a big but not impossible task, but is it worth it? The key question is how do you turn followers into paying customers?

Having turned clicks into clients, you have to be realistic about how many can you actually deal with. Firms such as Amazon cater to millions of customers around the world each day. But if your business is based in Manchester, for example, and I was serving up thousands of potential clients through your website and social media, how many orders could you actually fill? Can you deliver your products around the UK quickly, efficiently and safely? Do you trade overseas? Will you be able to deliver to the new customers I have found you in the Philippines?

If the answer is yes, great, business will be booming. But if it is no, what’s the point of focusing time and money purely boosting your web figures? In fact, you are actually damaging the reputation of your firm by promising something you can’t deliver.

Businesses need to see digital media as advertising space. Just being there isn’t enough. Get yourself noticed with something people want and need. Online customers are just the same as those who walk through the door, but you have to do a bit more to attract them and convince them to spend. Those who have come through the door have signalled their intent, or at least an interest in what you offer.

Making content engaging is key these days, but it doesn’t change the basics of supply and demand. You supply a product that people want, at a price they can afford, and offer good customer service. And that is what your messaging needs to get across to them. Whatever you provide, let them know what makes you stand out from the crowd and why they should buy from you. Are you offering a great deal, is there added value with other products and services thrown in, or is it the aftercare that makes customers return?

Remember, the wider the audience, the fewer people will actually know you and your business. You only have a brief moment for those few words and images to convey your products and services, your standards and everything else you need to turn passers-by into paying customers.