Tag Archives: website creation

Small business owners face numerous challenges. In short, you must do it all: manage employees, serve customers, deal with suppliers, pay the bills on time, and you have to do all of that with a smile on your face.

On top of everything you must have a beautiful, fully functioning website. Most small businesses can’t afford to hire an expensive web development company. Some aspects of your website are more important that others. Below is a checklist of areas where you should concentrate your effort in order to have a successful online presence.

Navigation

When a visitor arrives at your website, her or she should meet with seamless process for making their way around and locating what they want. It’s standard for navigation links to run across the top of the screen and for there to be a search box. In naming your links, don’t try to be clever. Use standard terms, such as “About,” “Products,” and “Cart.”

Contact Information

There are two ways that you will establish contact with your customers through your website: a contact form and your contact page. A contact form will allow a visitor to enter his or her name and contact information (don’t ask for personal information, such as birthdates) and submit it to you, which then allows you to get in touch with them via text or email. This is an invaluable marketing tool. Add it to your site and you’ll be glad you did. Also, be sure that your own contact information is easy for visitors to find on your site. Typically, the contact link appears at the top-right of the home page and at the bottom of every page, and the link takes visitors directly to a page that provides this information.

About

Pay special attention to developing a good “About” page. First-time visitors often go there to learn more about a company, and if your “About” page is lacking, you may lose out on a valuable customer. At a minimum, this page should include your background, your credentials, one or more photos, and a few details about what makes your business unique. This is your chance to introduce yourself, so make the most of it.

Reviews

Online shoppers pay a great deal of attention to what other people who have bought a product they’re interested in say about the product. Honest feedback from previous customers is an invaluable resource in your online marketing efforts. Make it easy for your customers to provide feedback and solicit feedback from satisfied customers by sending them an email request with a link to the feedback form.

Of course, you want a website that looks good and functions well, too, but it’s important to at least have the basics covered. By paying attention to these four simple areas, you will help your website to flourish and you’ll ensure that your online presence reflects your business goals. Do you have a website success story? Share it in the comments section.

Thanks!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

The Internet Marketing Academy

http://www.internetmarketingacademy.com

 (Image by FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

With search engine algorithms constantly changing, continually altering the way they index and rank websites, how does one approach the increasingly complex world of SEO? The answer, in fact, is surprisingly simple: create good content.

There are certain key elements that, regardless of what other techniques you use to appeal to search engine spiders, you simply must master. Focusing on these aspects of your site will ensure that you meet the basic SEO requirements and that your site ranks well when Internet users perform a search related to your area of expertise.

 

  1. Your title is the first thing that search engine spiders—and Internet users—will see, so be sure that your crucial keywords are there. Typically, the closer they appear to the beginning of the title, the better it is for your site’s ranking. There are actually two options for adding titles: the one that appears to visitors to your site and the alternate code title in your title tag, which is, in fact, what most search engines actually use. This enables you to create a more catchy and engaging title for visitors and a more search-friendly title for your title tag.
  2. The meta description of your site should be brief at no more than approximately 165 characters so as to be completely visible in search results. You should include keywords in the beginning of the meta description and provide an accurate summary of the page so that searchers can be clear on what they will find if they click on the link.
  3. Your content should be updated frequently. Content that is not refreshed regularly will soon be ranked lower on search engines. This is one of the reasons that blogs have become so popular on many sites. Blogs that are posted frequently are a terrific way to keep your site fresh. Generally, sites with more substantial content—say, more than 300-400 words—will rank higher in search engines than sites with little content. Most importantly for SEO purposes, however, your content must be clearly relevant to your keywords and phrases.
  4. The frequency with which you use keywords and phrases will affect your ranking in search engines. However, you must walk a fine line. If you use your keywords and phrases too much, search engines will think you’re trying to game the system and you will be penalized. The way to gauge your use of keywords and phrases is to look at your overall keyword density as measured against the length of your content. A good guideline is about two to three percent keyword density; anything over five percent is considered stuffing.
  5. Do include relevant links in your content as they will help your search engine ranking. While linking to other sites may seam counterintuitive, doing so shows search engines that you are connected to other content. You can also include links to other pages within your own site and to what is known as anchor text.

Remember, there are many factors that go into SEO, so don’t necessarily expect to have a handle on everything. What I’ve outlined are the basics. They will give you a foundation for establishing a website that will rank well in search engines.

Thanks!

Sean

Internet Marketing Training – Internet Marketing Course – Internet Marketing Blog

(Image by Stuart Miles)