If you’re just about to get a new website, or your first website, you need to start right. The reason I want you to start right is because I know how busy you are. If you rush it, chances are you’ll just leave it looking very average for who knows HOW long, and you’ll just get used to it… you’ll justify why it doesn’t look it’s best, or you’ll forget about it completely. This is a major mistake!
Customers are gold and a sub-standard website creates a bad impression every time you receive a precious web visitor.
And if you lose them with a bad looking site, or a bad-reading site, you’ve lost them forever and that’s one less paying customer you could have had. Don’t do it!
Want some practical steps for getting the best out of your new website. Ready?
- Before you start anything, do some basic keyword research.
Find out what people are searching for around the product and/or services you offer.
Here’s a tip, use Google instant, a fairly new feature that predicts the most common search terms before you’ve even finished typing into the search bar.
Have you noticed how Google does that already? Great, so use it to power your online business results, right now.
For example, if you sell ‘pet supplies’, type it in and see what longer phrases Google is suggesting. I know it’s a very general and wide ranging term, but it’s a start and it’ll probably be something you can use for your homepage.
Then look at all your specific products like ‘dog collars’. Type it into Google and you’ll see one of the suggestions that pops up is ‘dog collars with names’. That tells me a lot of people are searching for that phrase/product (around 494,000 searchers in Australia to be exact), so write that phrase down and if you sell that type of product, use it. I’d recommend you create a page just for that type of product alone and use the keyword in your URL (eg www.pet-supplies.com/dog-collars) and use it in your copy too.
Now, to drill down further to get a few more keyword variations for this page, when I type in the phrase ‘dog collars with names’, guess what else pops up as a popular search term? ‘dog collars with name plates’ and ‘dog collars with name tags’ and ‘dog collars with name embroidered’. So I’d make sure I weaved that into my webpage copy as well because it’s going to attract more interest from Google searchers. See how simple basic keyword research can be?
- Give yourself time to do your web copy properly.
If you’re writing the web copy yourself, you must allow enough time to research the right keywords to attract search engine traffic. You also need time to write and upload Title Tags & Meta Descriptions that help you get seen as well. Basically you want to make sure you put your best foot forward when you launch your new site.
So before you write, make sure you know what you want to say, and what you want them to do. Write snappy sentences, use those keywords but don’t overuse them. Write for people, not Google. Oh and make sure you don’t repeat yourself, no one likes a waffler!
And, of course, make sure you ask them to do something at the end of the page too (this is what we term a ‘call to action’).
- Speaking of Calls to Action (CTA), you should be creating effective buttons and graphics on each page that guide the user through your site and CONVERTS them to a goal page.
A goal page could be as simple as a ‘contact us’ form, or your shopping cart.
- And when getting your banners designed, don’t just make them pretty pictures with no purpose. Images on your website should always have a purpose. It should instruct people to “Sign up NOW”, or even give them important information like “Buy 1 get 1 free, this week only”.
Make those graphics sing for their supper, make them pay! And they should always be clickable to help guide the user to the next step in their journey or convert the visitor into a lead or a sale… which is why you have a website in the first place!
So please, start off right and you’ll thank me later. If you’ve already got a website that needs a lot of work, don’t despair. Nothing is irretrievable… unless you’ve got an overly complicated website that doesn’t allow you to make changes yourself. Chances are your developer will be charging through the nose for every little change.
If that’s the case, your only option might be starting fresh from scratch with a website that’s more user friendly, but again, don’t worry.
With the right web developer by your side, a new website is a lot easier than you might think! Til next time! Bianca
