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GETTING YOUR OWN WEBSITE - MAKING IT WORK FOR YOU
Q: Many companies say they will set me up on their site. I have seen a few of these but you usually have to enter a long web site address. Then I can't remember how to get there again later! It is
all so confusing. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this option?
A: We recently were referred to a client with the same challenge. They paid $375 for three web pages on another company's website. The address didn't even reflect the name of their business! Their biggest complaint
was they are getting no response from it. Here are some of the issues we discovered with this that are common to this kind of arrangement:
- Only the body of the page was related to their company. All the navigation and advertising elements on the page were that of the "hosting" company making their pages easy to navigate away from.
- The "hosting" company is a completely unrelated business.
- Metatags and keywords are placed in the code "behind" each web page and are a key to search engines finding your web site. These elements were that of the "hosting" company and not their
company.
- They are selling products. The website offered a list of these products along with a quick form for the user to send only their personal information along with their credit card number. This form didn't even
offer the user a chance to order how many of which product directly. YIKES! Any time you request this kind of information from your visitor you need to be on a secure server that will encrypt the information
entered and sent. If you intend on selling your products online, offer a secure order form or shopping cart solution so that the buyer is comfortable making their purchase right then!
- "Pictures speak a thousand words," a wise person once said. They had one picture of the product in the package, yet had many varieties. Take the time to make the investment to have professional
pictures taken of each and every one of your products in and out of their packaging. Make sure to include exact information for each product with ingredients, measurements, function, etc. The more information
you give to your visitor, the better chance they will feel comfortable making a purchase online knowing they are seeing what they will get.
- Get your own URL and plan on paying for web hosting services. It is significantly more powerful for someone to be able to get to you directly. How efficient would it be to dial someone else's telephone number
then have to dial another telephone number to get to you? Same idea. Most web site designer/developers will offer to obtain a URL and web hosting services for you. It's just part of being professional so obtain
these services directly rather than indirectly.
- Be smart about your budget. If $375 is all you have to spend on a website, you are not being realistic, especially in this case where an e-commerce solution would best serve this client. Spend that same $375 on
a professional Development Plan so you have a "map" to go by. Save your money, create a more realistic advertising budget in alignment with the Development Plan, and put your web site project in phases
you can more easily afford.
- If you are not ready to have your own website built and would still like exposure on the internet, and if you are already advertising in a publication which offers you exposure on their website, consider
purchasing a single or few pages on their website and potentially increase your visibility in this way. Tip: Home & Hearth magazine offers this kind of exposure on their website and it may be the perfect
intermediate answer until you create the budget for building your own web site.
Q: Once I have my site, what do I do with it? Will I really see business just pouring in or do I need to hire someone to manage the web site to get the traffic I'm anticipating? How do Search
Engines play into this?
A: Advertise it on and in everything else you do including business cards, brochures, newspaper and magazine ads, your yellow pages listing, your motorcycle helmet, invoices, business checks, letterhead, at the
bottom of every email you send out, company vehicles, newsletters, product packaging, your race car, etc.
Make affiliations with other companies you associate with to link from their web site to yours. Offer the same to them. A sophisticated version of this is available where you and your affiliates get paid for referred
traffic and/or sales.
Business pouring in will be directly affected by the effort you put out notifying the public you now offer a web site for their convenience of learning more about your business and an additional way for them to
obtain your services and/or products. Start with a mailer and/or an email notice to your current customer list. There are several dynamic options your webmaster can discuss with you which will offer powerful ways to
communicate with your web site visitors. A simple example of this would be a join our mailing list option and a way to send a notice to those who have joined your mailing list.
Getting the kind of traffic you would like is directly related to all your other marketing materials. There are several excellent web site traffic analysis options so you know exactly what your web site is and isn't
doing. From these analysis reports you, your webmaster and/or your marketing director can base decisions about changes and revisions that will potentially make your web site more effective. Offering day-to-day
information and giveaways is a fantastic way to get visitors to come back to your site time and time again.
The best way to think of Search Engines and Search Directories is like a giant yellow pages directory that holds millions of web site addresses. A competent webmaster will know how to make sure that at minimum, when
you type in your company name, it will come up. There are several options for submitting your web site to these Search Engines and Directories from do-it-yourself to paying for this service to be done for you. There
are also pay-for-position options and unless you have a Fortune 500 company, this may not necessarily be a wise use of your advertising funds. Register often is the golden rule here-a minimum of four times per year.
Your webmaster will most likely offer several options.
Do you have questions about web site design, development and production? You can call Zee at 702-795-7300 or email them. Zee Marie is a partner of Zee Designs established in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1988. Zee Designs
specializes in project design, development and production for websites and print and offers a team of top-talented professionals under one virtual roof.
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