SmallBizNews
Featured Article
The Secrets to a Great Website
by David Williams - November 2007
All too often - even business savvy
individuals believe they can build a
website, buy some online ads and sit
back and wait for the money to roll in.
You might be surprised to learn that
only about 5% of new websites actually
survive and deliver a return on
investment (ROI) for the businesses and
organizations they represent.
Those website owners who have been
successful in their online marketing
efforts have several things in common ~
and those 'things' might well be
considered to be the
secrets to a great
website. Part of my primary
function is to help you identify
potential problems by partnering with
you and empowering you to make informed
decisions that will; increase leads,
drive your sales and increase the ROI
(Return on Investment) for your online
business.
Things to do before you build a website
Location, location, location is as
relevant in search engine marketing and
placement as it is to building a brick &
mortar business. How do you know what
domain name to buy, what type of site to
build and how? Research, research and
when you think you've done your
homework... research some more.
Knowing your target market audience, current
search trends and the scope and strength
of your competitors are all vital
research elements before you even
consider purchasing a domain name or
begin writing copy for your website.
The 4 P's of marketing;
These old adages in marketing are still
very relevant to our online marketing
endeavors. They are;
- product (the goods and/or
services you wish to sell),
- price (the retail price you
hope to earn for those
goods/services),
- placement (your target
market location and/or niche)
- and promotion (your means
of delivering the message
While the first two "Ps" haven't changed
much ~ the world wide web offers a broad
range of new horizons to explore when it
comes to placement and promotion.
Only a short time ago it wouldn't have
been practical or cost effective
to try to market & sell your goods and
services beyond the geographic
boundaries of the time. Today, you can
market and sell your widgets the world
over to anyone with internet access and
the ability to pay.
Do's and Don'ts for website owners
Do - The Market Research, keyword
research and competitive research.
Do - Know your target audience and speak
their language.
Do - Seek the help of an ethical,
established Designer/Developer/SEO
Do - Seek to learn the value of your
online offering (goods/services).
Do - Use the information you've gathered
to establish your niche in the market.
Do - Choose your domain name wisely.
Do - Research to establish the colors
and layout that best suits your target
market.
Do - Use consistent visual elements
throughout the site.
Do - Make an informed decision as to the
platform and coding you will use for
your website.
Do - Use keyword research and current
search trends to write effective copy
for visitors.
Do - Optimize your copy, images and web
pages.
Do - Optimize via Organic Search Engine
Optimization - Organic (natural) SEO.
Do - Use clean 'web safe' fonts to
improve readability.
Do - Make it easy for visitors to
navigate and use.
Do - Deploy a 'web metrics' tool to
measure the success of your pages.
Do - Test drive your web pages using
objective friends and other
professionals.
Do - Build relevant and reputable
'non-paid' inbound links.
Do - Keep your website updated.
Don't - Fall into the hazardous mindset
of 'just build it.'
Don't - Write copy for search engines
ahead of your visitors - always visitor
centered.
Don't - Deploy pages/code that seeks to
deceive the search engines.
Don't - Use heavy Flash or Java that
search engines can't read.
Don't - Use large graphic files that
slow load times.
Don't - Fall for 'link farm' scams.
Don't - Use a plethora of fonts that
will impair readability.
Don't - Make the pages 'busy'.
Don't - Get carried away with animated
graphics.
Don't - Use Pop-Ups.
Don't - Skimp on content ~ Help visitors
find the info they desire.
Don't - Use frames.
Don't - Design wide pages that require
horizontal scrolling.
Don't - Use a 'splash page'.
Don't - Let your website become
stagnant.
The secrets of a great website -
shouldn't be a secret at all.
Be sure to check out
previous issues of
SmallBizNews for other Internet
Marketing ideas as well. We invite your
ideas, comments and suggestions. |
