Tips for your Small Business Website

What does your website says about your Small Business?

First impressions can only be made once, and these days you don’t have much time to make an impression, in fact a little under 10 seconds. Follow these small business website success tips and create the small business website you need to attract and convert site visitors and grow your business.

If your business website has not been updated in a while, you may be loosing business as result.

When a user stumbles upon your site it only takes a few seconds for them to decide if it is worth digging into your material or not. If your site isn’t making a powerful first impression then you can probably rest assured that you’re losing potential readers and subscribers every day.

There are two ways to increase the number of visits to your site each day. First is to get out and attract as many people as you can through advertising, dropping links and telling your friends about your site. The second is to have such a great site that a large percentage of your visitors decide to return day after day.

If you only focus on attracting users and not on keeping them, then you are wasting a lot of energy. What’s the purpose of getting people to view your website if they immediately click away because they aren’t interested in your presentation? The answer is simple. There is no purpose to that.

If you are experiencing a downturn with your business online, consider going for a new webpage design that parrallels the aspirations of today’s customers. Trends in web site design change very frequently and staying updated with trends puts you one step closer to staying current with today’s consumer.

The best way to tell if your website needs to be updated is by looking at your competitors. (You know them right?) – if you have not been keeping an eye out, go ahead and take a look at their site, then ask yourself why consumers would buy from you instead. This will give you an idea of where your site stands and possibly give you insight into ideas/features your site could also benefit from.

The essential website planning steps include:

• “The” Idea: Think of a good one!
• Brainstorming Web Site Ideas
• Defining Your Site Niche
• Type of Website that Fits the Idea

Objective: Clearly define your goals for your Website Business Plan

Competitive analysis: Understand your competition. Conduct a comprehensive small business internet marketing analysis

Structure: Create a blueprint to organize your site theme and topics

Mobile Responsive Friendly: In 2016, OuterBox reported that more than 62 percent of shoppers made purchases using their cell phones, and the 2016 stats show that over 90 percent of shoppers use their smartphones even while in retail stores for comparing prices and looking at product reviews. Further, 40 percent of consumers will go to a competitor if they have a bad experience with a mobile website. “If you plan on running a successful eCommerce website, or any website, you absolutely must cater to mobile users,” wrote Justin Smith, CEO of OuterBox, in his company blog.

Make it easy to find:  SEO is not just in each page, it is in the domain name! You need to have a domain name that describes your business or is your company name. You can even have multiple domains that point to the website. To learn more about what makes an effective domain name, read our article on choosing the best domain names.

Fast loading Website: Make sure your website runs smoothly by keeping the software updated, optimizing videos and images for quicker downloads, and using a website host that can handle your bandwidth demands.

Visitors: Understand what your visitors want and plan out how you will deliver

Keywords: Start a list of the best keywords possible in order to drive traffic (visitors) to your site and earn you money at the same time. (You’ll want to fill up your shopping cart with these!) The Google Keyword Search Tool for ideas or use Search It to find great keywords.

Name: Research a valuable, keyword rich domain name for your website. Factors to consider when choosing the best web domain names.

Branding: Consider your branding strategy as you plan your website. Corporate internet branding is a web marketing strategy that reinforces recognition and your small business promotion efforts.

Website Host: Select your site building program and website hosting service. (Get the most bang for your buck. The more features the hosting service offers in the monthly fee the better!) We Recommend Hostgator, for me this is the best hosting out there!

Monetizing Ideas: Start making a list of the viable and profitable options that relate to your site’s theme as possible revenue generating resources. (Go for the top of the line products and services!) Here’s a quick overview on “How to Make Money on Your Website”.

In Conclusion

First impressions are more important on the web than in person.  When you meet someone in person, I’m sure they don’t take a quick look at you, smile, and then turn around to meet the next person without even speaking to you.  That would be rude!  But online, it’s more than a common practice, it’s how people use the Internet.  Someone visits your web site and, before they even read the contents of your homepage, they hit the back button and go off to another website.  You know what your company offers.  You know that you are a solid business with an outstanding track record.  But, does your homepage communicate this to the rest of the world?  Take a few seconds and evaluate your own website.

Your plan will keep you focused on building success! Contact us to help your business Website be on top of the engines. Became the best version you can be!