Okay, so you've designed a slick new website. The graphics are cutting-edge and appealing, the content is carefully crafted and informative, but the only people who have seen it are your friends and neighbors. Your awesome new website hasn't brought in any new business because no one can find it amongst the millions of other sites on the World Wide Web. What's next?
Search Engine Optimization (aka SEO)
You've probably heard this term before -- it's one of the hot new phrases of the millenium. But few people really know or understand its meaning.
When most people look for information on the web, they go to a search engine, such as Google (which currently accounts for 80% of the Internet's daily searches). In fact, one out of every three Americans uses a search engine to find a website. According to IMT Strategies, search engines create more visibility for web sites than all advertising combined.
Typically, the sites that display on the first page of a search engine's results are the sites that the user will visit. If you're not on that first page for a relevant search term, chances are that you won't get many visitors from the search engines.
Search engine optimization is the act of making a website come up higher in the search results of major search engines. It's achieved through good, relevant content, search engine submissions, choosing correct keywords, and myriad other methods.
SEO has spurred an entire new industry, with webmasters charging thousands of dollars to optimize your site. Beware of companies who promise you a #Number One Ranking in Google or other search engines. The search engines can't be controlled, so no-one can guarantee a top spot.
Search engine optimization doesn't happen overnight. It does take time -- sometimes a long time -- for search engines to index your site, move it up in the rankings, and start delivering targeted traffic. In the meantime, while you're waiting for the results, try some of the other suggestions below.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
What to do when you don't have time to wait for the results of search engine optimization. This can be a very effective, and often very expensive, method of getting visitors to your site.
In a search engine, when someone enters a keyword that you have chosen for your site, then your site will be prominently displayed as a sponsored link on the search results page. You pay for the visit when a user clicks through to your site.
The Value of Referrals -- getting links from other sites
One of the best ways to get traffic to your site is through a link from another site. This has a dual benefit:
Having a link on another's site is like a referral. After all, if other sites are linking to your site, it must be a good one. People link to good sites, not bad ones.
Link popularity helps you climb faster in the search engines. Besides giving your site more weight as a valuable resource (important to most search engines), the search engine robots will find your website through the links.
To find out how many sites currently link to yours, check out Marketleap.com.
Make It Easy on the customer
Be sure that your site itself doesn't drive the customer away.
Is it easy to navigate? Can visitors quickly find the information they need?
Do you make it easy to order your product online? Sign up for a merchant account so that you can offer the convenience and immediacy of credit card payments.
Your site will also gain credibility with brand-name credit cards like Visa and Mastercard. Sure Paypal is easy and cheap to set up, but it doesn't give the impression that you're a "real" company. You may be operating out of your home's basement office, but do you really want your customer to know that?
Will the customer feel safe about ordering a product from your website? Make sure you use a secure server to process your payments, whether on your own server or through a payment gateway. No-one wants their credit card information floating through cyber-space for any hacker to grab.
Blow Away Your Competitors
When doing business on the Internet, you have to be very aware of your competition. Unlike traditional brick and mortar businesses, it is much easier for a customer to surf to another site. He doesn't have to drive down the street to compare prices or services -- your competition is only a click away!
To be successful on the Internet, you have to know what your competition is doing. Are they ranking higher in the search engines? Are they offering enhanced services on their website? Do they have a better design, better content, better security? Find out what they're doing, and do them one better.
Does this sound like a lot of work? Don't worry, Globalquest is happy to do it for you! Please call us at 716-601-3524 to discuss your options.
