It is not enough to simply cobble together a couple of pages about your company and leave them out there in the hopes that customers or potential clients will visit them – you website needs to be working for you and bringing leads and business to your enterprise.
The Importance of Website Design
The first thing you will need to look at when examining your internet strategy is the design of your website. If you are not proficient in web design you may wish to call in a team of professionals to overhaul your online presence and ensure that you are making the most of your site – while this is an extra expense remember that you wouldn’t hesitate to call in a freelancer payroll company if you didn’t feel confident dealing with finances – so why take a risk with the frontline consumer contact that is your website?
The most important page of your website is the landing or home page – where customers will get their first impression of who you are and what you do. Go for strong, simple and clean designs using inoffensive colours and easy to read fonts – you don’t want potential clients “bouncing” or clicking immediately out of the page because they are put off by a confusing design. Site should also be easily navigable – with simple menus and minimal clicks for visitors to reach the pages they may need.
Promoting your Website
Even if you have the best looking website in the world it is no use to you if no one ever visits. You will need a good online marketing strategy to bring potential clients to your pages in the first place. Elements to consider include:
- Search Engine Optimization: SEO is an important part of website marketing and consists of a range of elements from careful keywording to building valuable and relevant backlinks. An good SEO strategy is a long term SEO strategy – so don’t expect results overnight even if you do pay a professional to do the work for you. Steer clear of companies that promise first page results in an unfeasibly short time as the use of “blackhat” (sneaky) SEO methods can lead to your sight being penalised by search engines such as Google in the future.
- Social Media: If you don’t have a social media presence now is the time to get one. While a standalone website may bring in some clients or keep existing ones happy – the key to making it work for you is using social media platforms to help direct people towards your product or service. A good social media presence is not all about promotion – it is about engagement. Create a Facebook page and Twitter profile and use these to engage with people in your target demographic. Join conversations, comment on issues that affect your business and clients but don’t just push your product. If people perceive you to be a genuine community member, eventually they will seek out your services.
