It is no longer a secret, the internet is a huge place filled with endless opportunities. If you are growing a business, it would be prudent of you to monopolize on this.
Online business websites enable you to reach a broader customer base, create a platform for your audience to reference and foster a virtual community home.
The struggle now is standing out and being noticed by the four billion users that live online.
I have found success in these 3 tried and true tools to build and maintain a successful website that gets noticed.
1. Create a unique website that fits your brand.
There are roughly two billion websites living on the internet. This means you need your website to stand out. But how do you do this?
Website builders like Wix or Squarespace make building a site something even the least experienced tech users can do. They provide free templates with drag and drop features and easy setup support. This means many businesses have identical websites.
Do some research, check out your top competitors and see how their sites look. If they are all the same, consider why this may be and what the benefits are to do something different.
You can expand on the simple plans and get creative with the setup options. Use color templates, fonts, and visuals that tie directly to your brand and service. Avoid using stock images, your website should be full of pictures of your actual services and team.
If you want your website to really shine, but don’t want to invest the time, consider hiring a web developer from a freelance site such as UpWork. The small details they can add will make your page shine through all the identical sites.
Don’t forget consumers turn to their laptop, phone or tablet for different reasons. When you design your website, be sure the device most likely to be used is considered. In general, mobile holds the vast majority of users time online. But, do research to understand what your target audience uses and what your business modality is likely to be viewed through. Be sure your design the site with this device layout as the priority.
2. Generate content that drives leads to your site.
Now that you have built this creative and engaging website, you need to get your ideal clients to visit it! What good is a beautifully built website if no one ever comes across it?
Begin to create content on and off your site that will be able to drive leads to your web page. Use a blogging platform where your target audience lives or guest blog on various sites. If this thought is overwhelming, like building a website, you can consider hiring a content services agency or ghostwriting business. I own a publishing house (CAKE Publishing) and know you are not alone in avoiding the business of content creation.
Tie all of your off-site content back to your web page. If you have a blog, appear in a public relations press release or guest on a different platform (podcast, guest blog, interview) be sure to loop it back to your webpage. Any content that lives off-site should take into consideration what your ideal client will be google searching.
Create an ecosystem will all of your social media platforms. Be sure media such as your Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter pages links to your website. And vice-versa. When you post an article on LinkedIn or a post on your Instagram feed, be sure there is a link to your website embedded in the content. The more you can loop them together, the larger the audience reach.
3. Build strong backend support.
In the digital world, search engines have become shop windows. If you want your website to be at eye level, you must have optimized content.
Set your website up using the keywords you know your leads will search. Improve your website through SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The key here is to do this while the content is being created, not only after the fact. While building content, consider what questions your target audience may be asking online, and build in the keywords they would be searching with.
It is estimated that customer service will beat out price or product as the key brand differentiator by 2020, and your website service is a great place to exemplify your brand’s values. Be sure to include easy access for leads to contact you, and actively seek out customer feedback over time.
Don’t rely solely on automation because real people get real results. Block off time each day or week to check in on whether there are any customer complaints and personally reach out to handle them. When you create a personal connection through your customer service, you have the opportunity to drive positive social proof and in turn, generate larger audience awareness and reach.
Online business is not a one and done. You have created this powerful website and you need to stay engaged online to keep customers coming back or to pull new leads into your virtual storefront.
Don’t stop, the excitement of online growth is just beginning!