Online marketing

Online marketing is the bit of marketing that runs through a screen — search engines, social platforms, paid ads, email. Almost every Irish small business needs some of it; almost none need all of it at once. The skill is sequencing: which channel earns its keep first, which one comes second, which one is a year-three problem.

The honest order for most Irish small businesses

1. A site that converts. Before any paid spend, the destination has to work. Mobile-first, fast, with a clear primary call to action and a working contact form. No amount of advertising rescues a broken site.
2. Google Business Profile. Free, high-leverage, takes an afternoon. Local searches ("plumber Drumcondra," "florist Galway") are won or lost on this one profile.
3. Foundational SEO. Page titles, meta descriptions, internal links, sitemap, no broken pages. Mostly hygiene; pays back over years.
4. Targeted paid search — only when the site converts and the offer is clearly profitable. Google Ads on six well-chosen keywords beats Google Ads on six hundred.
5. Email list-building. Slowest, highest compounding return. Most Irish small businesses underestimate this.
6. Social media — last, and only the platforms that fit. Most small businesses don't need Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn AND Facebook. Pick one or two; show up there well.

What this hub covers

• SEO — search engine optimisation — the seven things that move rankings, the five that don't, and what an honest Irish SEO project looks like.
• Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising — Google Ads for small Irish businesses. How to spend €500 in a way that's measurable, and what to do before you spend €5,000.
• Social media marketing (SMM) — picking the platform that fits, posting cadence, the awkward truth about ROI.

Related editorial

• An SEO tutorial for people who hate SEO tutorials
• How to create a digital marketing strategy for a small Irish business
• The Trading Online Voucher €2,500 web design grant — how it actually works

What to be sceptical of

• Six-month "guaranteed first-page rankings" pitches. No one can guarantee Google rankings; if a vendor claims they can, the question is which spam tactic they're using and how long until Google catches it.
• "Boost your post" Facebook spending. Almost always a bad use of money. Properly-set-up Meta Ads is fine; the boost button is not.
• Agencies that won't share account access. Your Google Ads account, your Google Business Profile, your Search Console — all should be in your name with you as the primary owner. Always.