If you build it, they will come…

Luckily for us – people have been given some crazy advice over the years when it comes to what a website will do for their businesses

And whilst it is true to say that a website is a must have commodity for any business, it is definatley not a case of “if you build one – people will come”!

Owning a website is just the beginning. A website alone will not cause your telephone to ring off the hook! In fact, owning a website isnt even the correct first step in setting up your online marketing campaign.

Making a decision on where and how your business will appear online is no different to choosing where and how you might market yourself in the town or city you live in. In other words, you wouldnt dream of having a billboard advert printed (one that doesnt reflect your brand image) and put up in part of your town where none of your prospective customers were ever likely to see it – would you? It would be a terrible waste of money and frankly, a bit of an embarrasing move…

More likely, you would stop to consider exactly what your billboard ad would look like, the key message it was going to deliver, and where best to place it so that it reaches the maximum amount of potential buyers or targeted prospects.

How do we do this with our websites?

Consider your target market. How do they search online for your products or services? What are the potentially profitable search terms that your website should appear for? There are tools available online, provided by Google and others to allow you to see exactly how often different search terms that relate to your product or service are entered into a search website such as Google. Wow – imagine that! An instant method to test market interest in your business venture.

Use them – they’re invaluable, and once you have decided which key phrases are the most lucrative for your business venture, you can then think about taking the next step…

The next step…

So now that you have a good idea about popular key phrases relating to your business, it’s time to think about your website address. You can find out more about choosing a company reflective URL or a SEO friendly URL here…

You might be getting the impression by now that entering into your internet marketing strategy is not just a case of saying “yes” to the incredibly persuasive sales person that called you today, and that a great internet marketing experience takes just a little more foresight? – good…

Now then, so we should now know when we want to appear to our prospects (against popular search volumes), which website address is the best choice (SEO friendly or otherwise), it’s time to consider the best possible website content and how good design might motivate our website visitors to get in touch…and if all is carried out well – they will…

For more information feel free to give us a bell at the office…