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Website marketing is very different to web design, because it relates to how you are going to promote your website once it has been designed and uploaded to the internet. You now need to channel your efforts into how people are going to find you.
Below are 14 helpful suggestions to market your website, generate more hits from a targeted audience, gain valuable business leads and promote your business to a much larger audience.
1. WEBSITE DESIGN:
The graphic content of your site must be in line with your company image and project the same, consistent visual identity in line with your branding. With websites, clean uncluttered pages that are easy to read and navigate work best. Overly clever websites you need to download programs for, or that take minutes to upload are annoying. Fonts that are hard to read or images that are too large to load are also very irritating to the average visitor.
If you haven't got the design, layout and navigation of your site right first, it doesn't matter how you promote it, business will not flow from it.
'Clever' flash-built websites were very popular 5 years ago, now however Flash is really only used sparingly to enhance a website layout. Because using any graphics on a website can substantially slow it down, the relationship between information content and visual content has to be balanced out, so if it takes too long to download the images from the net, the viewer will just impatiently click away to another site that is easier to use.
Search engines also struggle with 'reading' a flash built site as they read words, not images, so proceed with great caution if you still want a flash website, because it will not be ranked as well with search engines, and cannot be viewed on IPads or smartphones.
2. BE CREDIBLE:
Nobody in their right mind would buy anything from your site if they felt you weren’t a legitimate business. You need to provide information that puts the viewer at ease, including ACN and ABN information, street address and land lines (not just a PO Box or a mobile number). Also including client testimonials or case studies from satisfied customers or well known clients will add to your credibility. Some websites even use photographs of their premises to alleviate any customer fears that they are not giving their credit card details to dubious fly-by-nighter operations!
3. WEBSITE CONTENT:
Good web design can make your site look attractive, but it is still the content that gets the real message across. For this you may need to invest in an experienced website copy writer to construct your information if you are having difficulties. How many times have you visited a website and not had a clue what is was about, let alone consider doing business with them. It is critical that planning, research and content are all up to a high standard to have a successful website.
4. HAVE A BLOG AND VISITING OTHER BLOGS:
A lot of sites these days encourage discussion with their visitors, and do this via a blog or forum on their site. By responding to questions relating to your industry not only demonstrates your knowledge, it is also another marketing opportunity to include your name, business and website details on another site's blog.
By adding this functionality to your site, you may generate more visitors to your site and potential business for little effort. Because content is organically growing each day on your website, this is viewed very favourabley by search engines and you will rise quickly in search engine rankings. It also gives a reason for people to keep coming back to your website, and reinforces the impression that you are a reputable business that is willing to assist their clients by giving away information and advice for free.
5. ADVERTISE ON-LINE VS OTHER MEDIA:
Popular and well trafficked sites offer banner advertising, column ads, small click on ads, shopping malls, directories... the list is endless. Advertising on-line may seem like the most logical way to promote your site, but do your homework first.
Research is essential, so speak to others who advertise on that site before you buy advertising and see if they are happy. Just because you are paying for the advertising space don't assume it's going to work, always track your results and try the free advertising options, you may be pleasantly surprised.
One area of promotion that is sometimes overlooked is your personal promotional material. It should scream out your website address! Your business cards, letterheads, brochures, packaging, it must all clearly show you website. And don’t forget to include your website address at the end of your standard contact details of every email you send out. A hyper link that leads directly to your website really does generate more hits.
6. PAY-PER-CLICK ADVERTISING
Pay-per-click ads are usually located on the right hand side of a search results page or shaded at the top. The advertisements are displayed based on users bidding on industry related keywords and you pay for each click through you receive to your website.
Google AdWords are the best known and most popular of all pay-per-click search engines. Many companies have great success with Ad-words as they bid each day for a nominated fee to appear on the first page of the search, and over time it grows your organic search engine rankings. The ads are able to be regularly edited, including modifying the daily spend until the desired results are achieved. As with all marketing ventures, you should test and measure the keywords you use and what is attracting the most hits to determine what is your most successful campaign.
7. SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AND EBAY:
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linked In... the list goes on and on, but which social networking site is right for you? The answer would be to look at your product and services and determine which site, if any would be best for you to market your services on. These are all growing areas of how companies are building relationships with their current and potential clients. It is not the place to do the hard sell, but creates the framework which to build confidence in your services or product, and is a small piece of the pie that is your brand. If the area of Social Networking completely confuses you, contact us for an obligation free chat and we can try and lead you in the right direction.
If you are selling a product you cannot ignore the potential of selling on Ebay, the worldwide on-line auction service. Place a listing and you are instantly showcasing your product to dozens, if not hundreds and maybe even thousands of potential new customers. Utilise this extremely cheap service and redirect traffic back to you website. The exposure is potentially limitless, and many profitable full time businesses have been marketed solely on Ebay. For more information, go to www.ebay.com.au.
8. PROMOTE YOUR WEBSITE WITH SEARCH ENGINES:
Surprisingly the easiest and cheapest method of gaining real traffic to a website is by submitting the relevant information to the popular search engines. A search engine will direct a user to websites that are relevant to the key words that you have submitted. By registering your site properly and gaining a high ranking, a user will find your site when commencing a search with one of the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN or Sensis.
But be warned, there are distinct methods to registering your site and if you do it incorrectly or before your site is search engine compliant, it can actually harm your chances of being ranked! So for more specific information, read our expert tips on Search Engine Optimisation.
9. MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER:
Just as a published newsletter can do the job, an e-newsletter can also be an effective and even cheaper way to promote your products and services to existing and prospective clients. To generate a subscription, promote your e-newsletter on your site on every page, inviting viewers to insert their email addresses to receive their copy.
Points to consider are:
• make it a valuable resource, not just one long ad
• keep it exciting with discount offers, competitions and giveaways
• make clear reference to the privacy of their contact details
• don’t abuse the relationship with constant advertising, once a month is acceptable.
Remember, you always need the recipient’s permission to send an e-newsletter, otherwise it is just another form of unwanted spam.
10. FREE INFORMATION, OFFERS AND COMPETITIONS:
As discussed in our article Websites that Work, providing free specialised information to a niche market is an invaluable draw card to your site. Promote it as a free service, and not only does it gain you a higher ranking with search engines, it gives your business credibility. Keep updating your information and your potential customers will return for more.
You can offer a free trial period of a product, a free bonus gift with every sale, or an on-line competition for offering two customer leads. Your special offers are only limited by your budget and imagination!
11. CREATE WEBSITE LINKS:
Linking your website to other topic related sites is a valuable cross-promotional relationship on-line. It can also greatly enhance your ranking in search engines if you link back and forth to reputable and well promoted sites. – Just make sure there is a mutual benefit to both parties when cross linking. The pitfalls of this however are if someone can come into your site from a link with another, then they can just as easily exit your site and forget to come back!
12. KEEP IT FRESH AND UP-TO-DATE:
You may have a fabulous looking website, well promoted and getting lots of traffic. So don’t ignore it, it needs constant monitoring. Frequently check it is in good working order, with links going to the right destinations, pictures loading quickly, and outdated information and competitions promptly removed when completed.
If a visitor sends you an email, respond to it within 24 hours. If you receive an order, dispatch it in the set delivery time. And as frequently as you can manage, update the information content. Add new customer testimonials, recent case studies or staff appointments, and announce competition winners with a picture if possible. Basically, a good website has to look like the lights are on and someone is home!
13. PRESS RELEASE:
Is your website particularly interesting and useful to a certain demographic or industry? Send out press releases to relevant newspapers, magazines and trade journals promoting your website as a service. Highlight its unique features and benefits. You really have to be convincing that this is something new and different, because thousands of websites go on-line every day.
If you need help putting together your press release, look at our feature article Your Press Release Kit, it gives some excellent tips on how to stand out.
14. ON-LINE FEEDBACK:
Ever wondered what people think of your site? Well ask them! Short viewer polls or a feedback section with the enticement of a competition will get those emails rolling in!
15. WHAT'S IN A NAME:
And last but not least, your website needs a good name. One that is relevant, easy to remember and relates back to your business name. However if this makes it too difficult to remember or spell (for instance some difficult surnames that Accounting or Legal Firms like to use), it should then relate to the industry.
Marketing your business through a website is still a relatively new business and while these articles give you some great ideas, it is always better handled by experienced professionals if your budget permits.
Melissa Scott-Gawinek
Director, Divine Creative Design
We welcome you to use this article on your own website, however we ask that you credit us clearly with an obvious link back to our website.
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