Your website - your silent sales force
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Your website is a shop window for your company. Are you making the most of it as a business tool, or is it working against you?
Decide what your site is for
Ask yourself how your website fits into your other marketing activity and what you want it to do. Who is it targeted at? Do customers buy from you online? Is the site primarily a sales brochure? How do you measure its success?
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WEBSITE TOP TIPS: |
| 1. | Include a Site Map helpful for visitors and the search engines will love it |
| 2. | Check your stats and remember it's 'visitors' that count, not 'hits' |
| 3. | Beware 'splash' pages and long animated introductions they can frustrate visitors
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| 4. | Make it accessible it's good business as well as legal sense |
| 5. | Stay compliant - new legislation means you must include your company and VAT registration details on your website |
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Deliver your message
What makes you different? Can you capture what your business is about in a punchy headline or a well-chosen picture? It only takes a few seconds for most people to decide whether or not its worth exploring a site.
Make it easy
Visitors are all well and good, but you still need to convert them into customers.
Keep the navigation simple. On every page, make it clear what they should do next click through to more information? Call for a quote? Book a demonstration? Visit your shop?
If you want them to phone, make the number prominent on every page.
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Give a good impression
It's time to ditch the broken links, clocks and counters, pages under construction or 'last updated 2004'. What does that say about your business, or your brand image? Aim for clean design and crisp, up to date copy to give a business-like impression.
Keep them coming back for more
Getting a new customer is much harder than keeping an existing one. Use your website to increase repeat business. Update it regularly, and why not get them to sign up for an email newsletter or exclusive offers? There's nothing as effective as a timely reminder by email, since your website is just a click away.
Your website should be seen as an investment, not a cost. Do it right and even a small business can outshine the corporates.
Best wishes
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ASK THE EYE:
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How do we convert more visitors?
How often should a site be updated?
How do I get my site to appear in the search engines?
If you've got a question about websites why not Ask the eye? It's free!
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