5 BUILD A WEBSITE
One of the most important ways for a business to advertise in 2018 will be through the Internet. Beyond a doubt, this medium is important. As mentioned previously, people turn to the web on a regular basis. They look for directions online (your website you should include local directions.) They use the Internet to help them to find the best deals that are available. You need to be included in their search or they will not find you.
So, how can you use a website to advertise your business? Consider the following tips and resources listed below.
#19: BUILD A WEBSITE
Most small businesses that are not selling on the web directly still need a website since customers routinely use the web to research businesses before they actually start using them. Those businesses that do have the ability to sell on the web will need a specially designed website to accommodate this need, generally an e-commerce site.
In either case, a website should be included. This way, you can inform your customers of who you are and you can educate them on what you can offer to them. Then, you can use your website to promote your business further.
#20: GET YOUR WEBSITE LISTED IN SEARCH ENGINES
The next step in the process is to get your business listed in the search engines. There are several ways to do this, but the most fundamental is simply submitting your website to these search engines manually. Google and Yahoo are the largest, but others are just as important. There are software tools that will automatically submit your website or you can wait around for the search engine spiders to find your website on their own.
#21: USE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Search engine optimization, or SEO is a type of advertising tool. When you head to a search engine and type in words into the field to find something, you expect the page that pops up to be full with the options you have. Businesses work hard to be listed on that first page of the search engine results. The higher that you rank on those pages, the more likely it is that a customer or client is going to click on your website link and visit.
Search engine optimization includes placing keywords (the words that people enter into a search engine to find your business) into the content on your website. You will need to learn what words people are using to find businesses like yours.
#22: KEYWORD RICH TITLES
When it comes to your website, each title, whether for an article or for the page itself, should have a keyword within it. If you are in the business of pet toys, be sure that you include words like pet toys into these titles.
The page title will also appear hyperlinked in the search engines when people search for those words and find your website. You will need to learn some basic formatting to learn how to make this happen.
#23: WRITE AN EFFECTIVE META TAG
The META Tag is the description placed below your title in the search engine results page. It is critical to provide the best tag possible, describing what the individual will find when they visit your website. Use keywords here, too.
#24: LOCAL.COM
Another of the ways to promote your website is to focus on websites that attract local visitors. Any business locally based wants to get in the hands of their potential customers when they are online. By listing your website at Local.com, for example, individuals will be able to find your local business website faster, and without having to trudge through numerous other sites to find it.
#25: CRAIGSLIST
Check out Craigslist.com. It is not necessarily the best option for all businesses, but it can be a great choice for many of them. This free classification site does attract local visitors as well as national ones. By placing an ad in the appropriate sections of Craigslist for the towns that you service you can and will see a rise in the customers you get. You need only to include your website address to make this work well for you.
#25: GET A BLOG
Using a blog on your website is a combination of benefits for online advertising. First, a blog will help with search engine optimization because it allows you to add more information and pages to your site. This fresh content is something that the search engines are looking for. In addition, a blog allows your customers to sign up for it and they can then receive regular communications from you through your blog. This is called an RSS feed and it is something that all website owners should have in place as it costs very little or sometimes nothing.
#26: SET UP A NEWSLETTER
Yet another tool that will help you to build your website traffic and help you to get customers coming back repeatedly is a simple newsletter. When a client purchases something from your website or even just stops by, they can sign up for your newsletter. Several times a year, or even more frequently, you can send them a well designed newsletter to their email box that contains information on the company, tips and tricks they want to have and even provides them with incentives like sales to bring them back to the company’s website. You are simply reminding them that your website is there.
#27: REGULAR EMAIL CAMPAIGNS
Some businesses will benefit from more than just one newsletter sent out every few months. If you need your clients to come back time and time again, consider a regular email campaign. This system is set up to be automatic. Once your client’s sign up to receive it (by simply adding their name to your website sign up form) they will receive regular communications from you regarding the business, sales or even providing them with information that they need. Always included is a link back to the website.
#28: ALERT EVERYONE THROUGH A PRESS RELEASE
Yet another of the ways that you can promote your website is by simply letting others know that it is up and ready to go. A press release is something we have mentioned before, but after you have set up your website, it is a good idea to send out a large press release blast to let others know what your website or business is offering that is unique. Be sure to include information on the business’s benefit to the customer.
#29: RUN A CONTEST
Have you seen the numerous contests that website owners are running? Do you think it would be fun to offer one but you are worried about the costs? Offering a small gift certificate or even free service from your business is often enough incentive to get people to sign up. However, what you get in return is well worth it. For example, a popular option is to have people to sign up to receive communications through an RSS Feed or through email. Once they do, they enter into a contest to receive a gift card. You are getting all of those email addresses, which in turn will help you to advertise your business to those new prospects.
#30: GET IT PRINTED
One of the mistakes that many people make when it comes to advertising their business is to keep the online and the offline worlds of advertising separate. This is a problem and it can hold back your sales. Start by including your website in your printed literature and on your business card. This will alert people that they can find out more about your business services by simply turning to the website. Be sure your website is on any of your printed invoices, receipts and other documentation you may hand over to your clients. You want them to come back.
Later in this book, we mention several other methods for promoting your business website, including more helpful tools for search engine optimization.