1. Organizing Your Website
You would be surprised how many companies come in and tell us that they don’t know how to organize their products or services. They just sell them and have never really thought about creating groupings of products. Then we create their website, and it does wonder not only for their website visitors but their in-house production and marketing as well.
Organizing your product line gives everyone a clear understanding of how your business and products are structured. A website visitor is going to either know the exact product they want or they are going to know what general “category” it falls into. For example, if you are selling springs the person might not know the exact spring they need but might know it falls under the extension spring category.
It all comes back to planning your site before you start building it. Make sure you know what areas of the site are going to be dedicated to what products and/or services. Don’t mix and match the areas either. Make as clear a line as you possibly can and stick by it. If it doesn’t work out then perhaps organizing them differently then you thought is the solution.
Don’t rush into your website design and creation just because you are eager to get something on the web. It is almost better to have nothing than to have something that is going to confuse and aggravate your potential customers. Work with your website design team or company and let them know your thoughts, but also be open-minded enough to hear what they suggest so the best possible solution can be obtained.
After all, it is your website, your image, and your company that is being presented. You should do everything you can to make it the best possible site it can be, given the budget you are working within.
2. The Complete Marketing Package
A website is an amazing tool. It has gone from being a nice add-on to your marketing kit to the most important thing in the kit. But does that mean you should get rid of everything in your marketing budget? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
A website has become an online business structure, but to get people to go to that business, you need to inform the masses. Print brochures, business cards, sell sheets, flyers, and postcards to name a few are all great ways to reinforce the need for people to visit your website.
Many people think that print is going to die and everyone is going to be completely internet based. Well, let’s think back to when the computers really started to hit the masses. I believe the buzz phrase that was going around was “the paperless office”! I don’t know about your business, but I know paperless isn’t what I would call this one. In fact, it could be argued that more paper then ever is being used.
The point is a full marketing kit will always have some form of print media in it. Yes, there are still people who read magazines, who pickup newspapers, and trade journals. Just walk into your local bookstore, and you can see the stacks and stacks of trade journals and magazines.
Don’t sell your company short by not having some form of print media to advertise your company and promote the website.
The Do’s and Don’ts of SEO
Have you ever wondered if your SEO firm is doing what they should be? Well, there are some basic guidelines (not rules) that for the most part any good SEO firm will suggest, or agree to…
Do’s:
- Create a site that is user-friendly.
- Structure your site to funnel visitors to the contact form.
- Enhance the content.
- Make updates and additions on a regular basis.
- Create an easily readable copy.
Don’ts:
- Pack your site full of keywords.
- Buy links for ranking higher.
- Write copy just for the search engines.
- Put hidden text, tables, etc. on your site.
This isn’t the end-all-be-all of SEO, but it should at least give you an understanding of what your SEO firm should and shouldn’t be doing for you. Don’t let them sell you a bag of goods with nothing inside because it can really hurt your business in the end.
Understand, get involved, and be a part of your website and the optimization. In the end, it is your website and your business that is on the line, and playing ignorant won’t cut it or help you.