Imagine your website is a shop in the world’s biggest shopping centre and everyday thousands of people breeze straight past it without coming in because you’ve gone and left a ‘closed’ sign in the window. Now imagine that you don’t know that the ‘closed’ sign is there. Would you be surprised that no one came in?
Not understanding the importance of a well designed, well optimized website in this consumer ‘click’ era is as excusable as being the son of a British fascist leader who enjoys dressing up in German military uniform and wonders what all the fuss is about.
Whether your website is a provider of information, goods, entertainment or services, there are a number of online marketing tactics you can employ to greatly increase your traffic. Hiring an expert is an option but with the investment of your own time, you can literally save thousands of pounds in applying something that is no longer becoming a choice but an unavoidable prerequisite of successful online trading.
Here is a basic list of SEO (search engine optimisation), usability and online marketing P&A’s (problems and answers) that can be applied to any online website, whatever its intended purpose.
A lot of time, effort and investment went into your website but your traffic hasn’t improved?
You might be surprised to know this but many web companies have little more marketing prowess than you do. Don’t mistake a company who want to redesign your website for a company who can grow your business. Just because they have ‘marketing’ on the label, many will have little to no real experience of gaining actual results. Doing it yourself however is just as hazardous, as much as you think you may know what your target audience likes it inevitably gets caught up with your own desires, likes, dislikes, budget limitations and schedule.
The answer is to research the capabilities of the design agency you choose. Who have they worked for, what can they offer and what are their success stories? Will they conduct market research before the build and design of your website? Will they develop a strategy for the future of the website? Are they aware and capable of implementing successfully technologies that could expand your business such as video streaming and mobile download versions of your site? A great web design company can do all of this and more.
What do I look for when finding the right web design company and how do I know if what they suggest is right?
In recent years, web design companies have become ten a penny and finding the right one can be an adventure in itself. The right web company has the power to literally transform and dictate the fortunes of your website but the wrong company can do the same.
Has your company got a distinguished brand- would people remember your logo for example? Does it stand apart from your competitors with a USP (unique selling point)? Are your values reflected in the design and tone of your website? Are you aware of calendar events that could influence the build and launch of any campaigns? Is there a feature you could include to attract new traffic or a technology you can implement to attract revenue? A good web company can not only build you a pretty website, it can build you the right website for your audience based on thorough market research and analysis. When making the decision, look for a web company that you can happily work with, who will listen to your needs and who are able to create you an online presence that works perfectly and defines you in the eyes of the masses.
I haven’t got an online marketing budget, what can I do?
- If you can’t afford to employ a company who will develop your brand strategy, take the simple step of creating a survey to at least push you in the right direction. Use your survey to find out what people feel about your website- are they aware of its capabilities and make use of them? You may even discover that your text is too small or that people don’t like your registration page. Even things that seem futile such as the titles of your navigation can have a huge impact on how quickly people can find the exact information they need- one of the joys of the internet is convenience and if a user doesn’t find the information they need first time round, there is a good chance they won’t be coming back.A recent survey by the RSPCA focused solely on asking for the best name to describe each page on their site. For example they asked where you would expect to find information on animals that need re-homing, would it be on a page called ‘Give a pet a home,’ ‘Adopt a Pet’ or ‘Re-homing Animals?’ The results can create a website that you know has good usability. SurveyMonkey is tried and tested by the RSPCA and GTTR to name but a few and it is free to use. All you have to do is choice the format of the Q&A’s and type in what you would like them to read.
Once you’ve created a survey that you are happy with, add it to your current website and email it out to your mailing list. You can see an example here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=L2NWOabxEZX2OP0_2fNdDmHg_3d_3d
- An excellent way of generating traffic is through submitting articles, contributing blogs and sending out press releases. Word of mouth is arguably the most powerful marketing tool out there and much of the basis behind why the internet works- everyone can have a voice and be heard if they know how to be…Write topical, relevant informative articles about anything from an innovative product you have released to a recent legislation affecting your industry. There are some excellent websites that will then publish your submitted articles such as Glass Temple and ezine Articles. Send your press releases to websites such as the business community at AJP Online, their editorial team will generate news worthy features about you and submit them to Google News- providing you with an instantly larger accessible audience. If you are nervous about writing, just keep it simple and to the point. Always, always get someone to proof read your work, checking for grammatical and spelling areas. It is surprising how many press releases are sent out which haven’t been checked properly and nothing will discredit you faster.
- If location is relevant to searches for your website for example if you are a web design company based in Maidstone, a likely search term to find you may be ‘web design company Maidstone,’ then make sure you submit all your contact information to Google maps. Much to the annoyance of many sponsored links and well optimised websites, Google map results feature at the top of Google results- above the organic search results and right below the paid results- and is accompanied by an extremely eye catching map. Google maps is free to register and will deliver results.
- Next, consider joining a good business directory. Directories have the potential to achieve excellent results for your keywords due to their sheer size and scope for keyword repetition. Many directories specialise in select industries so search for the business directory that produces the best results and see what your competitors are doing. If you search for the name of your competitor in a search engine and discover they are listed in a number of directories then it is a good idea to follow suite. Directories shouldn’t be relied upon alone but their sheer capacity for repeating keywords mean that they can regularly produce better results in search engine results than your own website.Directories such as Business Magnet and AJP Online go so far as to offer you a tracking service so you can see exactly how many people are finding you through your directory listing. There are a vast number of directories, most of whom will offer you a free listing. It is worth submitting your details to increase your web presence and where appropriate, paying for the additional benefits many now offer such as tracking, get a quote and press release submission. If a directory submits its news to other sources, it will provide you with links (your web address) back to your site which can prove invaluable. Do your research based on what your competitors are doing and how that directory performs under keywords relevant to you.
How do I monitor the number of people visiting my website and discover how they are finding it?
Make sure you have a stats package that measures the traffic to your website. Google Analytics is free and lives up to Google’s reputation for reliability and ease of use. Create a Google account, sign up for analytics and ask your design company to include the tracking code on each page. You can access ‘who, what, where and when’ results easily and also learn the keywords that are driving traffic to your site. The ‘Site Overlay’ tool is also extremely handy for finding out where people click on your website- the results may be surprising and invaluable when it comes to a site redesign.
Next, identify what your keywords are and be aware that there are three types of searchers;
There are people who know exactly what they want and intend on acting upon it. They search for exact searches such as ‘organic baby socks’.
Then you have what could be described as the ‘middle lane drivers’ they have something they need but they aren’t too worried about how get it. They might search for something more vague such as ‘baby socks.’
Then you have the ‘Sunday surfers.’ Their searches are similar to window shopping- there is no real intend or purpose but are valuable traffic just the same. This type of searcher would search for ‘socks’… or if they’re from the generation text, unfortunately it may be ‘sox.’
With this knowledge in mind, use a keyword tool such as Google Adword Keyword Tool and discover keywords that could potentially deliver a large amount of targeted additional traffic.
How do I find out if everything is working as it should be behind the scenes?
- Google Webmaster Tools will help you identify any problems the Google Bots (imagine alien tentacles coming into your site and having a look at everything) are having with crawling (reading) your site, this is extremely important as any issues listed may prevent Google from finding pages on your site. A good way of testing for problems is by copying and pasting a section of a page into the Google search and seeing if your website comes up in the results. If it doesn’t Google may be having problems seeing it which you will need to get a web developer to rectify. The chances are that your meta tags or title tags are duplicated or too long for Google to read. Each page of your website has a meta tag and page title that helps Google find each one. If a page has the same meta tag description or page title as another page, Google may think they are both the same page. Remember that if you don’t know the significance of something, you can use the internet to gain a deeper insight just by searching for the issue in-question.
- If you are regularly adding new pages to your site or have poor rankings then you need to submit your sitemap to Google, Yahoo and MSN. In 2006 these search engines joined forces to make it easy for you to submit your sitemap to each of them in one go. Your web design and developers may have created a sitemap for you (it is standard) so check with them before you make your own but if you have to create a new one then go to http://www.sitemapspal.com/ and enter your site URL into the generator box. Copy-and-paste the resulting sitemap into notepad, then save-and-upload to your site with the file name: sitemap.xml. Submitting your sitemap is literally providing search engines with a map to your site through which they can find you.
Is it worth creating a blog?
Blogs are about as popular as Senator Obama and for good reason; they provide you with a platform from which you can shout your expertise, gain valuable insight into the mood of your audience and provide you with an opportunity to optimise key words. Not to mention that blogs in themselves can win a number of accolades if done well- providing you with valuable accreditation and another avenue from which to gain more traffic. Be imaginative, relevant and original. Lead your blogs with introductions to topics that encourage debate, discussion and opinion. If you don’t feel ready to invest in a blog designed to match your website, use a free blog programme that will be independent of your site and give you an opportunity to try it out before you commit yourself.
