If your business is getting online for the first time, it’s important to get things right. There is little-to-no point in having a web presence ‘just for the sake of it’ and too many businesses make far too many mistakes. But by following these simple tips, you will have a website that works for your business, no matter how experienced you are.
1. Invest well
Surprising as it may seem, many businesses see a website as something they have to have, rather than something they want. They just can’t see the point in investing any money into at all. And this is a very strange attitude for people that want to run a successful company. A website will only work well for you if you are prepared to invest in it properly. That’s going to cost money, time and energy.
2. Use a Developer and a Designer
A good web developer will have your website up and running quickly. But it might not be the best results you can get. Think about hiring a designer to work alongside the developer. Together they will give you a far stronger end product, and help you to funnel customers through to where you want them.
3. Don’t forget SEO
Search is one of the most important factors in your web presence. It helps you get found by people searching for products and services, and is useful for growing your market out of your locale. Good SEO companies use valid techniques to ensure your website adheres to what search engines want to see. This results in a higher page ranking and many more visitors.
4. Don’t game Google
A lot of companies out there offer strategies to help you get to the top of the search engine rankings, but not all of them are legitimate. You may see short-term gains, but in the long run it is likely that the likes of Google will change their algorithm, and you will end up being booted down the rankings. Be wary of companies that use so-called ‘black hat’ methods, because they are just not viable in the long-term.
5. Hire a Copywriter
However, SEO is not the be-all and end-all. It doesn’t matter how much traffic you get to your website if you aren’t getting sales. A professional copywriter can turn those visits into prospects. You might think you can write yourself, but a good copywriter approaches your business the way a customer would. That makes them invaluable in forming enticing and compelling words that make more sales or hit more targets.
6. Your Product is key
With all this to think about it is easy to forget about the most important thing about your business: your product. You may have heard the term ‘content is king‘, but it isn’t. Your product is king. And everything else should be used to make your customers aware of it. You can have the greatest website known to man with the most amazing user experience and enticing words, but if you have a duff product or service, nobody is buying.
If you create the best content on the web and you done have amazing product to back it up, your conversion will be close to zero. That’s how important your product is. Don’t compromise on that. A product that solves problems can sell itself without huge marketing budget.