You don’t need to be a cyber-genius to go online and get results. But unless you have a clear business objective and message, you could waste a lot of time and money without accomplishing much. Here are seven steps to guide you in developing your website. Use this system as a clear roadmap, so you don’t find yourself wandering in circles.
Wouldn't it be great if once
we finished all the work of creating a website, people flocked there of their
own accord? I wish it worked that way, but alas, we have to get them to visit.
Here are some quick tips on increasing your traffic:
Make sure your web URL is on every, and I
mean EVERY source of information you send out. (Your URL is the address
people type to get to your website, like www.cocacola.com.) That includes
your business card, email signature, letterhead, footer of your invoices,
direct mail materials, brochures, etc. Gather up all the materials you
mail, email and send out in other ways and check to see you haven't missed
anything.
When
posting comments online, write your website like this: http://www.yourwebsite.com,
not just www.yourwebsite.com. When you include the http stuff it makes
your URL a link so people can easily just click and visit you, rather than
having to retype or cut and paste.
Don't have a flash website, have an .html
one. You can ask your web programmers to see what kind you have. Flash
sites have lots of cool graphics and movement but they are notoriously
hard for search engines to find. If you have a flash, start thinking about
changing it over to .html in future so that people who are searching for
your type of product or service can more easily find you.
Use Google Analytics. It's a fantastic FREE
service Google offers that lets you track and measure your site traffic in
amazing detail. I would be lost without it. You can get it at http://www.google.com/analytics/.
Once you start driving more traffic
to your site you'll want to see how you're doing. Google Analytics will
tell you.
Consider authoring articles and posting them
to online article aggregators like http://www.amazines.com and http://www.ezinearticles.com.
You can draft a piece of around 450 words about your area of expertise and
provide a little bio of you and link to your site. It creates more avenues for people to
find you.
Give people a reason to go to your website.
Offer something free for them to claim and then put that offer on your
business card and email signature. I created a 5 part e-course on how to
make reporters sit up, say "Wow!" and cover your story. What can
you offer that makes use of your expertise?
Implement these tips and watch your web traffic climb
upwards.
Barbara Wayman, president of BlueTree Media, LLC, publishes The Stand Out Newsletter, an
award-winning ezine for people who want
to know how to leverage the power of marketing and public relations. Get your
free subscription today at www.bluetreemedia.com/ezine.html
This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author
bio are included.
It's
official: British singing phenom Susan Boyle's video clip is the most
downloaded in a single week in the history of the Internet. She's
made fans of Oprah, Jay Leno, Elaine Paige, Simon Cowell, Demi Moore and millions
of people who have watched her sing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables.
With a three minute performance, Susan Boyle rocketed from the depths of
obscurity to the heights of fame in a matter of days.What can Susan’s experience teach business
owners?
Article marketing isn’t as simple as throwing together a few thoughts and sticking your so-called article on your website. No, there’s much more to it than that. Before you start to panic, take a deep breath - I’m going to tell you the basics to help you get started. In fact, by the time you’re done with this article, you’ll have everything you need to start driving more traffic to your website today.
Those of you who would
welcome media coverage of your company but are not sure how to get started, let
me give you a great tip: editorial calendars.
An editorial calendar is simply a written plan of topics a media outlet
will be covering in a given year. Many of the publications you read most often
have editorial calendars they work from, as it gives them a structure to plan
their content.
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