What Every Small Business Needs to Get Online — Fast
Getting your business online is one of the fastest ways to build trust, get found, and win more work, but it’s also one of those things that can spiral into confusion quickly. What platform do I use? What accounts do I need? Why is my business not showing up in Google?
If that’s where you’re at, don’t worry, most startups and small businesses feel the same. The good news? You don’t need everything. Just the right things, set up the right way. Here's the checklist every business needs to launch online — clearly, confidently, and without wasting time or money.
1. A Website That Actually Does the Job
Let’s start with the non-negotiable: your website. It’s the online version of your shopfront, your sales pitch, and your handshake, all rolled into one. Whether you're a solo tradie, a hair salon, or a mobile dog groomer, your website needs to tell people who you are, what you do, and how they can book or buy.
It doesn’t need to be fancy. But it does need to:
Look professional on mobile and desktop
Load quickly (slow sites lose customers)
Include your location and services
Link properly to your socials and Google listing
At Get You Set, we create clean, professional websites designed to work hard for small businesses — not just look pretty. Our builds come ready with the essentials, and we make sure they’re hooked up to Google tools (like Google Analytics and Google Search Console) to help track performance and get found online.
Check out: Get You a Website & Google.
2. Social Media That’s Set Up to Build Trust
Being on social media isn’t about going viral, it’s about being discoverable, relatable and available. Most customers check Instagram or Facebook before they ever visit your site, especially for service businesses. So if your socials are empty, mismatched or missing, you’re leaving money on the table.
The key platforms for small businesses? Usually:
Instagram (visual businesses, services, lifestyle)
Facebook (community connection, local reach)
LinkedIn (B2B, consultants, professionals)
TikTok (yes, even for tradies and cafés)
We handle social media setup that goes beyond “just making a page.” We make sure your bios are clear, branding is consistent, links work, and profiles are ready to go, so your business looks legit from the first click.
Check out: Get You Social Media & Setup.
3. A Google Business Profile That’s Fully Optimised
Want to show up when someone Googles “electrician near me” or “best local café”? Then your Google Business Profile needs to be set up, and filled out properly. It’s powerful and often the first thing people see when searching for your business.
Here’s what it can do:
Show your hours, location, services and reviews
Get you on Google Maps
Help you appear in local search results
Collect and display customer reviews
We can get your Google Business setup and optimised, because it’s one of the easiest wins for local businesses, yet often overlooked or underdone. And yes, it’s a big deal for your search visibility too.
Check out: Get You a Website & Google.
4. An Email List (and a Plan for Using It)
Social media is great, but you don’t own those platforms. Email, on the other hand, is yours. It’s direct, personal and delivers the highest return on investment of any marketing tool. That’s why smart small businesses start collecting emails from day one, even if they’re not sending anything yet.
You can use your list to:
Send out offers, updates and event invites
Re-engage past customers
Automate reminders or booking confirmations
Launch new products or services
We help set up your mailing list and newsletter tools (like Mailchimp or Klaviyo) and integrate them with your website, so you’re ready to grow, even if you don’t press “send” right away. We also help design templates that look professional and on-brand, saving you hours down the line.
Check out: Get You a Newsletter & Mailing List
5. Basic SEO That Brings in the Right People
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can sound technical, but at its heart, it’s about helping people find your business when they’re looking for what you offer. You don’t need to rank #1 for everything, you just need to show up when it matters.
A basic SEO setup includes:
The right keywords on your website
Clear page titles and descriptions
Image alt tags and metadata
Location info for local searches
We make sure your SEO foundations are solid from the get-go, so your site has a fighting chance of being found. Over time, that turns into free traffic and warm leads — no ad spend required.
Check out: Get You SEO & Search
6. A Clear Plan for Ads and Digital Marketing
If you’ve ever tried running Facebook or Google ads and thought, “Where did my money go?”, you’re not alone. Paid ads can be powerful, but only if they’re targeted, tracked and connected to the right landing page.
That’s why we help small businesses get their ads set up right, from day one. We make sure your Meta Business Manager and Google Ads accounts are structured properly, your pixels and tags are installed, and your campaigns point to pages that actually convert.
Even if you’re not running ads yet, having the setup done early means you’re ready when you need it. No scrambling, no guessing, just smart, scalable marketing ready to go.
Check out: Get You Ads & Marketing
Getting online fast doesn’t mean cutting corners, it means doing the essentials well. A functional website. Active socials. A smart Google presence. A way to collect emails. Solid SEO. And a digital marketing plan that doesn’t waste your time or money.
That’s exactly what our Get You Set - The Full Digital Package is built for — the full toolkit to get you up and running online, without you having to figure it all out solo.
You run your business. We’ll get you set.
If you don’t know where to start, why not use our Get You Set Digital Checklist and we can tell you your gaps.
