Website or Website Marketing Strategy?
It’s a given that every company needs a website. It still surprises me how many don’t, instead opting to exist only in directory listings. While I highly recommend directories, and am even launching my own local business directory in a few days, I wonder about the reasons a business would choose that option in lieu of an actual website instead of in addition to a website. Taking that thought further, I wonder how often companies understand the actual value of a great website. Chances are it’s not ignorance, it’s money.
It isn’t expensive to have a website. In fact for about $5.00 a month, you can create your own cookie-cutter site that may do some handy things for you when it comes to making ‘an appearance’. But those who know will tell you, the difference is as extreme as the price. I may have just lost those of you who believe, “All I really need is …”
Your website acts as your online presence, yes, but a website marketing strategy requires so much more. Without a proper understanding of what a website should be able to do, any and all money invested into its creation is a waste. Just existing is simply not enough.
- Your website needs to be found by the people who will buy your services or products.
To do so takes strategy with your words and link system, but also requires that you have a certain amount of control. What you say to your viewers, how you decide to lay out your pages, and a system designed to continually update your website with new information, are as important as the design itself.
- Once they find you, your website needs to answer their questions.
Answer their questions. Yes, you need to let them know about you, but the best way to do that for today’s customer is to put a priority on his/her needs and address them with the wonderful things you can do to satisfy them. Although your website should tell viewers about your company, it should only be part of your advertisement platform and not the end-all of it.
- Your website needs to advocate for your company – speak for you – in the absence of you.
When your website is a resource for your viewers, you encourage their return. In so doing, you appeal to their need to understand who you are and what you’re about before they decide to make a purchase. Does your site connect with other like businesses and share that helpful information with your viewers?
It’s more than “I’m better than everyone else, you should do business with me”. Are you making the experience of going to your website enjoyable with easy-to-understand navigation and helpful information? Are you giving anything away? A great website makes those transactions very easy.
- Your website needs to keep viewer attention long enough to convince them to contact you.
Believe it or not, some of the strategies promoted these days do the exact opposite. When your link ratios are too heavy and exist ‘above the fold’ of your copy, you risk losing viewer attention to another location.
Contact forms should be easy to use, and include all of your contact information, including your business address, phone, fax, email, and social media connections.
Your website should be also be attractive and current. Readers are much more likely to interact with a company that has taken the time and expense to have an appealing quality over an ‘existence’. If you want to stand out, this is huge.
- Your website should be able to interact with your viewers and customers – encouraging their reviews and opinions.
When you encourage your current customers to leave comments and reviews on your website, they become your best advertisement to your new viewers. Addressing consumer complaints through your blog shows good faith effort to rectify problems, endearing consumers with your blatant integrity.
- Your website should be easy to format.
Many cookie-cutter sites available today just fail here. Adding pictures can be way too time-consuming, and formatting text in a manner that engages readers can be a grueling chore. A fully-functional, well-built CMS website can be completely designed to reflect your company, while allowing continuous updating and interactivity that make your website a pleasant task instead of a ‘duty’.
- A website should be able to easily grow in page depth.
The deeper your site, the more credible - according to Google. If you get locked into a cheap site that limits your page depth potential, it will be difficult to address building onto your site in the future. Page depth refers to sub-navigation. As your site ages your website should increase in relevance as you continue to update it with more information.
All in all, a great website that accomplishes all of those tasks effectively, and for that matter – awesomely, is well worth the initial up-front cost it requires.
For more information about great website design, contact my associate, Shari Voigt, at Zero To Sixty Marketing LLC.
Have you been considering a new website? Did this post help? Leave me your comments and questions below, I’m happy to respond!
Clunky navigation looks like a mess.
