Most small businesses in India I talk to make the same mistake: they spend on ads before the basics are in place. Here's the order I'd follow if I were starting from zero today.
1. Business setup and compliance first
- Register your business (proprietorship, LLP or Pvt Ltd, depending on scale)
- Get GST, Udyam/MSME registration and a current bank account
- Buy a domain that matches your brand name, and get a professional email on it
2. A fast, mobile-first website
- More than 70% of Indian traffic is mobile, so design for phones first
- Keep load time under 3 seconds
- Have a clear service page for each offering and a visible WhatsApp or call button
- Add basic SEO: page titles, meta descriptions, a sitemap and Google Search Console
3. Local SEO
- Set up and verify your Google Business Profile
- Use a consistent name, address and phone number everywhere
- Ask every happy customer for a review
- Create location pages if you serve multiple cities
4. Branding that looks trustworthy
- A simple logo, 2 to 3 brand colors and one consistent font
- Matching profile images and bios on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook
- Real photos and customer proof in place of stock images
5. Content and social media
- Pick 1 or 2 platforms and stay consistent
- Mix educational posts, behind-the-scenes and customer results
- Repurpose each blog post into 3 to 5 short posts
6. Only then, paid ads
- Run small tests on Google and Meta first
- Track leads, not just clicks, with a simple monthly report: traffic, leads, cost per lead and sales
Common mistakes
- Buying followers
- Having no tracking or analytics
- Skipping Google Business Profile
- Running ads to a slow website
I work with Karvao India, a digital growth agency that handles websites, marketing, branding and business setup under one roof. Happy to answer questions in the comments, or to give feedback on your site if you drop the link.
What's the biggest challenge you're facing getting customers online right now?
Source: r/indianstartups · by /u/Karvao-india