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How to
Improve Your Business Website
If you've found this page, you probably already have a website
for your business. So what you're trying to figure out
now is how you can get more leads and customers.
There are four important
factors in getting a website to produce more leads for you.
Factor #1: Website
Optimization
To optimize a website means
to make it as effective as possible. Web designers use
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, to optimize your
website for search sites such as Yahoo, Google and Bing.
This first involves
researching what the best keywords are for your website.
If your website is about construction in Los Angeles, your
target keywords may include "Los Angeles construction
company." Or even more specific keywords such as
"roofing contractor in Los Angeles." Your keywords don't
have to involve a specific area, although you will get better
results if you focus on cities, towns and states.
One the best keywords are
researched, a professional web designer will make sure that
your website has been optimized for them. This includes
changes to the coding of the page (which you can't see), or
simply adding keyword-rich text to different pages of your
website. Optimizing a website for search engines will
help Google figure out what your website and its different
pages are about.
Factor #2: Getting Links
If you were to Google the
"New York Yankees", the first result is the official website
of that baseball team. But it's not the first result
because that's their official website. After all, how
can Google's computers know for a fact that it's official?
Their official website is
the first result because it has so many links pointing to it
from other websites, blogs, and message boards on the web.
Over 1.3 million links to be exact. So why do all those
links make a difference to Google, anyway?
It's a lot like high school
popularity. In high school, when a popular student is
seen hanging out with a new student, the new kid becomes a bit
more popular just by association. So when another
website has a link pointing to your site, Google notices it.
If plenty of other websites
start linking to yours, Google really starts to pay attention.
If it already knows what your website is about, and that other
people are linking to it, that your website must somehow be
very relevant. That's when Google decides to rank your
website better in its results.
There are different ways to
get links from other websites. Some business owners
simply ask for links from other website owners. Some
people add interesting content to their website, like videos
or useful articles. But the more links you get from
other websites, especially if they are somehow related to what
you do, the better you can rank on Google.
Factor #3: Content
I just mentioned how adding
interesting content to your website can encourage other people
to link to you. When people find something funny,
educational, or interesting on another website, they're likely
to share a link to that page with others. And just like
I explained: more links can mean better ranking on Google.
Ranking better means more visitors to your site, and more
business.
But adding content to your
website is a good thing to do, even if you don't pick up a lot
of links from other websites in the process. And just
what is content, anyway?
Content can be an article
that you wrote, something that visitors to your website may
find helpful. Maybe it's educational, funny, or a little
bit of both. It can be an article sharing free advice,
offering a review of a product you recently bought, or tips on
hiring someone in your industry. If your article page
has been optimized for Google, it can bring in new potential
customers that were doing a search for the topic that you
wrote about.
Articles are also great for
explaining things to potential customers. It can fill in
the blanks about your products or services. And if you
add a new article to your website every week, you give people
a reason to want to visit your website again. They may
not be a customer now, but after coming back once or twice,
you may earn their business.
Content can also be videos.
A business owner can buy an inexpensive digital video camera
for only $100-$200. You can use that camera to film what
goes on at your business, or product reviews. If you own
a lawn care business, you can shoot a 1-3 minute video of
yourself offering a quick gardening or grass care tip.
How-to videos are a great way to educate people, and keep them
coming back to your website.
Factor #4: Good Copy
Copy is the text on a
website that encourages visitors to pay for your product or
service. If you have good copy that is broken up into
sections, and easy to read, you can definitely get more
business. But the key to writing good copy for your
website is to talk about the benefits of your product or
service. You have to tell your website visitors what's
in it for them if they decide to give you their money.
So how do you do that?
Think of the features of
your product. If you sell a particular brand of car, the
features may include a strong frame, quality brakes, and an
aerodynamic design. Now that you know the features of
your product, start thinking about the benefits of each and
every feature. What does that feature really mean to
someone interested in buying a car?
The benefit of a strong
frame is that the car will protect someone in an accident.
The benefit of good brakes is that you can stop faster, which
keeps everyone in the car safe. An aerodynamic design
means there is less drag on the car when you drive fast, and
that saves you gas money.
See the difference?
We're now appealing to people's emotional needs. As
people, we have the need to be safe, to be loved, to save
money, to feel good, to avoid bad situations, to be found
attractive. The next time you watch commercials, notice
how many of them focus on emotions, and how their product will
help you.
Tire companies don't really
sell tires. They sell the peace of mind you will get
from knowing that you're driving safe. Body wash
commercials sell men on being more desirable to women if they
smell good. Cereal commercials sell people on how they
will feel after losing weight from a healthy diet.
Restaurants sell us on how fun our experience is going to be
("toss all your worries in the air, go to Outback tonight!")
They all sell the benefits of their products, not just the
features. That's because people tend to buy things for
emotional reasons.
So look at the text on your
website. Ask yourself if you're giving visitors to your
site the benefits of your product or service. Make it
very clear what's in it for them if they decide to spend money
with you.
Still Have
Questions About Improving Your Business Website?
Give Delta Creations a call
today. We have developed over 300 websites since 2001,
and can provide you with free answers to your website redesign
questions. Our company designs websites for clients
across the United States. Call 866-928-1300
or email us if you have
questions about how to improve your existing website.
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