Your Small Business Web Site

Your Small Business Web Site

 

Because it can expand your target market to include everyone with access to a computer and the internet, a website is an essential component of your marketing plan. In 2003, around 60% of Canadians had access to the internet at home, and about 8 million people regularly used the internet from a location such as their home, place of employment, or place of education.

And that only applies to Canada. Canada's e-commerce sales were $7.2 billion, although we barely accounted for 4% of the global market. How then can you connect with some of those internet users and take advantage of the $7.2 billion in e-commerce spending?

You build it first.

The creation of your website is the initial stage. It is advisable to build your website around your company's existing business cards and stationery. Branding is aided by a website and corporate identity that are consistent.

I prefer websites with a straightforward look and simple navigation. My top priority when creating a small business website is a clean, basic layout with good images, a balanced look, and good color combinations. Internet users are impatient, so utilize images wisely and make sure your website is optimized for them. They will depart if your page loads too slowly.

It should be simple to use, quick to discover, and consistent from page to page. I've frustratedly left several websites because I couldn't find their navigation.

Websites for small businesses aren't static. They change. You have to start somewhere, and the simplest place to do it is usually with an introduction website. Five pages are basically all you need to get started. Later, you may always add more pages. The most crucial step is to simply start doing it—to take the risk and put it out there.

An index, or home page, about us, services, contact, and a sitemap could be included in your list of five pages. Your landing page is the index page. Its design is typically a little more intricate than the others, but that isn't necessary.

In contrast to using only HTML (hypertext markup language), CSS (cascading style sheets) makes it more simpler to create and update the layout of a website. All the pages on your site are altered simultaneously by a change to a CSS sheet.

The king of content

Once your site is designed, you should begin considering the content. Although design is crucial, a beautiful website with low-quality content is of little use.

Your small business website gives a brief overview of your organization, including who you are and what you do. Typically, the about us page is utilized to provide more information about who you are than the main page, and your services page provides more information about what you do. Since your site only has five pages, you might be wondering why you'd "waste" a page on a sitemap, however sitemaps aid search engines in locating all the pages on your website.

Up to a point, more is better in terms of content. While being educational and content-rich, your pages must also be pertinent to your small business. If a visitor to your website can't determine what it's about in a matter of seconds, they might click away.

The internet was initially solely for informational purposes, and it still is today. People have attempted experiments utilizing copywriting that resembles direct mail sales letters numerous times, but they have all ended in failure. People appear to use the internet more for information than for any other purpose. You can write pages that readers will want to read by being aware of this.

bringing in the crowds

You could just start writing on the spur of the moment, but hold off. You need to conduct study first, else your website won't rank high enough in searches to be found. Search engines identify your sites based on keywords, among other factors; nevertheless, search engine optimization is far too broad a topic to address in this short post.

Therefore, imagine for a moment that you are sitting across from the desk. What keywords or phrases would you use to search for your goods or services if you were a consumer of your own company? Find out how your friends, family, and neighbors would look for your goods or services.

Check out your ideas on a keyword suggestion tool once you have a few. That program can also recommend words and phrases that are similar to your own. then ascertain how many outcomes would come up if you searched for that phrase. The next step is to reduce your options to those words or phrases that receive the most searches but the fewest results.

For any search term, keep in mind that most people just browse the first three pages, so if your company isn't included there, it's unlikely to be seen at all. You might just need to make your phrase more particular if there are millions of results for it.

Consider the case of your small business consulting firm, which focuses on communication for small businesses. Since "communication" returns roughly 2 billion hits, using it as a search keyword is almost useless. But when you search for "small business communication," there are just 974 results.

Better, but how frequently is that looked for? Ten times a day, according to WordTracker, people search for it. Not bad, but I believe we can improve. "Small business consultancy," perhaps? There are 373,000 results for it, and there are 261 searches every day. That might be the most effective tagline for a small business communication consulting firm.

Write your content around such terms and phrases if that is what you want to accomplish. Three or four are all you really require or want.

Getting them to return repeatedly

It's not too difficult to entice users to return to your website again. Make sure your material is informative, dynamic, and engaging, and update it frequently.

I wish you would determine that your small business need a website. It's the most cost-effective technique I've found to reach a larger target audience.Write your content around such terms and phrases if that is what you want to accomplish. Three or four are all you really require or want.

Getting them to return repeatedly

It's not too difficult to entice users to return to your website again. Make sure your material is informative, dynamic, and engaging, and update it frequently.

I wish you would determine that your small business need a website. It's the most cost-effective technique I've found to reach a larger target audience.