Create a web site that stands out.
During the course of an average day, I talk to dozens of web site owners that are looking for advice about how to improve their web sites visibility on the search engines. Invariably they will ask the dreaded question What do you think of my web site? Sometimes this can be a tough question to answer without hurting somebody's feelings. Its really hard to tell somebody that you've seen better web sites created by ten year old girls displaying their Barbie doll collection. This is not the response that they are typically looking for. To prevent others from making the same mistakes I see every day, I created the Top Ten Tips on Building a Great Web Site. Many of these Tips are very easy and inexpensive to implement and will pay huge dividends down the road.
Buy Your Own Domain name and Avoid Virtual Domains
Buying a domain name for your business is probably the best investment you can ever make in your company's future. Once purchased, this domain will always be the property of your company and can become a very valuable asset over time. Domains can be obtained through 123-reg.co.uk at a cost of only £6.90 for two years.
On the surface, virtual domains might seem like a good idea because they are usually much cheaper or sometimes even free when you sign up your company for web hosting but their downsides are considerable. Many search engines have trouble adding virtual domains to their databases. This fact alone makes virtual domains a very bad deal. Also, since virtual domains are not internationally registered, your company does not really own a virtual domain.
This goes back to the age-old saying, You get what you pay for. Free web hosting is fine for displaying photos of little Bobby's 2nd birthday party but if you are really serious about your company'sfuture on the internet, you will need to secure your own domain name and you will need a reputable company to host this domain. Besides who really wants a company URL like http://www.xyzcom.abc/member/123566/shtml/index.html anyway? It doesnt fit on business cards too well.
Web hosting prices vary widely but can usually be found in the £5.00 to £19.95 per month range for the average business. Do a little research when choosing your web hosting service. In general I always recommend nationally known companies that specialize in web hosting and that have excellent customer service. Before you sign up, try reaching their technical support personnel during the day. If all you can get is voice mail, then you can be sure that they will not be available when you really need them.
Build a Web Site Rich in Content!
The most important thing to remember about first rate web sites is that
they are always rich in content. For example, if your site
sells Widgets, then include as much relevant information as possible about
your widgets on the site. Make it easy to navigate around your site, tell
them everything anybody would possibly want to know about why your widgets
are best and finally make it easy for somebody to buy your widgets online
with a minimum of effort.
The first page of your web site is without question the most important page
of the web site. It should contain enough information so that someone can tell
immediately what you do. Make sure that you have a brief paragraph or two that
explains your company and products on this crucial page and not just pretty
graphics. Your first page should be a concise introduction about your company
and products. The details will come in the later pages.
After you have a great site out there, tell the world about it! Make sure that your URL is on all your company business cards, letter heads, brochures, phone systems, etc. Also start building relationships with other web sites out there that fit nicely with what you do. For instance if your site sells the best car wax in the world then locate web sites that sell other non-competing car care products and then link to each other sites. This will build traffic for both sides.
Another way to promote your site is to create an affiliate program for
your product. An affiliate program is simply a way of paying a commission to
a web site owner that sends you a customer that ends up buying your product.
Affiliate programs work very well for products and services that can be bought
online with credit cards.
Banner advertising has always been very big on the
Internet. When somebody clicks on a banner, they are taken to a web
site that tells them more about the product displayed on the banner.
Search Engines are still the best and least expensive way to promote a web
site. Most web site owners are completely unaware of how their site is being
ranked for the relevant keywords. Your site must be in the crucial Top 50 positions
on the major Search Engines for your specific keywords to
generate meaningful traffic.
Many early web sites used counters on their web sites that showed how many people had visited the site since a certain date. It was a bad idea then, but I'm still surprised at how many sites still use them! Why in the world would you want to advertise that your site is so poorly marketed that you've only had 362 visitors in the last year!
If your site is doing 1,000,000 hits a day and you really need to advertise this fact then you should do so. For the rest of you, keep your competition guessing how big you are. Instead of using a web counter, just have your web hosting company provide you with a web statistics page. Web statistics are available from any decent web hosting company and will tell you far more information than you ever wanted to know about the traffic going to your web site.
Don't Use Personal Email Addresses on your Web Site!If you have gone to the trouble of buying your own company domain, why not use this domain in your email? I see so many sites out there that use something like unclebuck@aol.com for a contact email address instead of for example a more proper sales@abc.com address. This just screams I'm an Internet amateur! If you want all the email for a domain to be forwarded to another email address then simply get your hosting company to forward it. Any good web hosting company will be able to do this and its usually free!
Don't use FrontPage sample web pages for your site!This causes me to smile every time I see one, because nothing screams Cheesy! more than a web page designed using the samples from FrontPage. You can spot one of these babies faster than a hooker at an Amish family reunion. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with designing or maintaining your web site with FrontPage; just don't use the samples that come with it. Spend the time to learn how to either create your own original looking site or hire a web site designer to design the site using your guidance.
Use a reliable web site designer or do it yourself!I'm surprised at how many times I talk with customers that tell me it will be a while before they can make some changes to their web sites. Most of the time, its because their niece had originally done their site over a spring break weekend and she's in the middle of finals right now or some other nonsense. Your web site is very important to your business and should not be created by somebody who will not be immediately available for updates and changes. Make sure that your web site designer will be there for the long haul.
Have Good Navigation throughout your site!Good navigation means using easy to understand menus and never putting the user into a dead end page. Search engines can send a customer to any page of your site. This is why it is extremely important to make it easy to get back to your home page from any other page on the site.
Tell Your Customers How To Reach You!Great web sites have multiple means for their customers to give them feedback. I remember a phone call I got recently from a distressed web site owner that couldn't understand why he hadn't gotten a single phone call over the last month. After a quick check of his web site I discovered something amazing! He didn't have a contact phone number listed on the site and when I clicked on the email link there was a script error. Apparently he had recently changed his web hosting and never bothered to check his email script. He had a great web site but no way to make sales or to take customer feedback!
Make sure that your web site has some type of Contact Us link that lists your company name; email address, mailing address, phone number, and fax number. People like to be able to talk to somebody on the phone when they have questions. If they cant reach you on the phone, they will move on to a company they can reach.
Always remember that building a successful web site takes
time and sustained effort. It is a task that is never quite done because
it can always be improved. Following these Ten Tips is but
a first step to making your site stand out from the millions of other web
sites.
Ed Foster, Information Director
Roanoke Technology Corp.
Website Timeline for a
Small Business
Dont follow the same mistakes as many thousands of new Business owners
each month around the globe.
On the right side
of the law
An article about keeping promotion
efforts within ethical boundaries by James Welch used
in publications such as PlugIn magazine.
Robots.txt - Whats it
all about?
Information about robots.txt files that are used
to inform robots of pages they can and cannot read.
Understanding Meta Keywords
An article to show how easy it is to use keywords
and head tags in a web page.
Market Your Website
Creating a web presence for your website and brand.
Build a Great Website
Top tips on creating a great website.
