Tips and Ideas for your Design World

Like the movie, many business owners today still believe this statement to be true for their own website. “If we build it, they will come”. There was a time when this may have been true, however, those days are gone. According to a recent Netcraft report that suggests there are approximately 240,000,000 websites and blogs in existence and growing rapidly daily. This means extreme competition for the eyes and minds of the people you want to see your site and buy your product or service.

The most basic goal of any website is to generate targeted and motivated traffic. Doing this requires an ongoing digital marketing plan. So where do I start?

Whether you are just beginning the design and development of a new site, or are wondering why my existing web site is not generating the leads you were hoping for, these 8 tips are sure to provide the ground work that will help increase targeted traffic to your site.

Keyword Research:
Whether you hire an SEO firm or do it in house, be sure to uncover the exact phrases that your potential customers are searching for. This is by no means a guessing game either. There are a variety of keyword research tools that can provide insight into what people are searching for and how competitive it will be to rank for those particular words. Wordtracker and Google Keyword tool are a couple of the more popular options.

Copywriting:
Nobody knows your business better than you. But sometimes it takes a talented writer to take what you know and “buff it up” to really make it shine. Good web copy can be the hardest part of the entire digital marketing equation because compelling web copy is based on a unique set of rules. It must draw readers into your site effortlessly giving them the information they need as they navigate around. It must be clear, concise and benefits-centric; using language readers use. It must also flow well within its layout and design. When writing for the web you need to consider at least two audiences: humans and the search engines’ that visit your web site.

Optimize your site for the Search Engines:
Onpage optimization involves populating your site with the keywords you’ve determined as your most critical. Other then ensuring your keyword phrases appear throughout the body, items such as title tags and meta descriptions are the place to start. It is also very important to make sure your site is visible to the search engines. Things like full flash interfaces and graphics for navigation are impossible to be read and indexed for search.

Inbound Link Creation:
Inbound links are links that point users to your page and content. Search Engines see them as a vote of confidence that another site has given you. When a high page rank site has a link that is pointing to you, particularly one that uses your pre-determined keywords, this is SEO gold. In our case, whenever we comment on a blog or submit our link to a directory, we always use the words “Calgary web design” and link those words directly to our site. Search Engines in turn read that link and see us an authority on “Calgary web design”, or Kelowna, depending on the origin of the link.

Social Media Optimization:
Not only are these easy to get powerful inbound links, but this is an incredible tool to talk directly to an engaged and typically supportive audience. Social Media has created a dialogue back and forth not only with the company but also the people that are brand advocates and fans. Experiment with this. Find your voice and take advantage of a communication tool unlike any before.

Offline Advertising and collateral materials:
Ensure that any offline activities like traditional advertising or Direct Mail are in sync with your online messaging. They should always be working together and not inefficient money wasting silos. All offline communication tools are either driving viewers to the website or to simply pick up the phone.

Public relations & article marketing:
Get the word out through both traditional channels and online news and article sources. Write a press release announcing the new venture and submit to both local media as well as online sources. Online news and article sites are typically free and offer two main benefits: they get your story out to the masses and they also offer those important inbound links back to your site. Are you starting to see a common theme? Everything you do, ties directly into your online marketing strategy, and most of it happens outside of your corporate website alone.

Get out and shake some hands:
I’d be remiss if I suggested that all this will benefit your business without getting out and making some personal connections. Face to face relationships for most small business will never be replaced completely by any amount of internet marketing. Public speaking builds credibility, volunteering builds character and networking builds backbone. J Clients that know and trust you, are that much more likely to buy from you.

This may seem like a lot of extra work, especially if you were one of those who thought, “If I build it, they will come”. But the reality is, if you have a plan, work at it consistently with passion and integrity… they will come.

Your site doesn’t need to be the biggest, or even the best. It just needs to be effective in helping you reach your goals. Start small, stay at it, but most importantly, start with a plan.