A common misconception about the world wide web and business is that if you build a website, customers will come.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The internet is saturated with websites and businesses fighting for prime online real estate on page 1 of the search results and simply building a new website will not mean visitors. For a start how will anyone know your new website even exists?
It is often recommended that the cost of your new website should equal a third of your total online marketing budget for a year. We can help you divide your budget and advise you on which marketing avenues will help you get the most bang for your buck. We also have plenty of tips for free options available.
1) Install Analytics & regularly check the data
Ask your website developer to install Google Analytics or an alternative website tracking tool on your website. It will help you work out how people are finding your website and how they use your website. Keep a close check on the Acquisition > Overview report as this will show you how different visitors are reaching your website. Also check the Behaviour > Site Content > Top Landing Pages report which shows you the top pages that visitors use to enter your website. Prioritise improvements to the websites at the top of the list with a poor bounce rate or low conversion rate to strengthen your website’s most important and weakest pages.
2) Use Google webmaster tools to see how visitors are interacting with your website
You can see where your visitors come from. For example, did they type in your website directly? If so, they already knew your business, either through flyers and business cards, word of mouth or other advertising channels. You can also see how much traffic you get from your social media sites and even those visitors that find you through a search engine.
3) Regularly update your page content
Add information about services and products and use relevant keywords to capitalise on what people are searching for. Give your visitors plenty to look at with photos, icons and illustrations. Enriching your site with testimonials, galleries, reviews and tips is a great way to get people to stay longer on your pages, increasing the chances of a conversion.
4) If you have a blog on your website use it!
Make a point to update your blog frequently, this is something you have already invested in so it makes sense to use it. Most blogs will have an option for scheduling a post in the future so you can line a few up and schedule them to go out weekly – that way you don’t have to take too much time out of your day to day tasks, simply write a few blog posts and schedule them to post automatically over the next few days or weeks.
A blog doesn’t have to be mundane day-to-day news, it should also be “evergreen content” such as articles on how to do things, or your reviews of recent papers or research that has been published within your industry or marketplace. By publishing regular, informative content on your website customers will be much more inclined to buy from you and Google will be far more likely to send you increasing organic visitors from searches.
5) Tell everyone about your new website
Have you told your existing customers you have a new website – send them a link and a few short questions about the new website to get some feedback. They may have some valuable insight into ways you can improve. If they like something on one page, is it on all the pages? Use this valuable feedback loop from your own customers to help you learn, apply strategies, and gain new customers with a similar profile.
6) Use your printed marketing to advertise your website
Next time you print flyers or business cards, be sure to add your website. People will often visit a website before making a call so it is important that they know you have a ‘shop front’ to visit. Consider your website address on all business vehicles, signage and stationery to help generate more awareness of your online presence.
7) Add your website link to all your social media profiles
If you have a business page set up for Facebook or Twitter, add these to your website so people can click straight through to these profiles. Ask us about our time saving auto-posting scripts that post your website updates and blog articles straight to your social media channels whenever you click publish on a page on your website, saving you time copying links and writing introductions on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Linkedin and more.
8) Register your business address on Google+ Business
This will add your map listing to local searches, increase reach, authority and improve visibility on search engines. Complete the application process and you will be sent a verification code by postcard to the business address you choose, which usually takes a couple of weeks to reach UK business owners.
Summary
Launching your new website is an exciting time for your business, you have invested time and money on the design and content so keep the momentum going by using the tips above. If you would like more advice on how you can make the most of your new site, call us today, don’t let your investment in a great website go to waste by not promoting it!
