As an internet marketer, I can sometimes forget that not website owner understands the basic things they need to have a successful business online.
I have created a MUST HAVE list of 6 basic things all business websites need to be successful online (in no particular order):
1) Quality Content and Calls to Action
Content can take many forms: written information, images, infographics, videos, games, widgets, etc. When creating your content you should think about your users first. Who are they? Why are they here? Give them something to relate to, something that sparks their interest and a reason to act now.
Content is also important for search engine value. Google and the other search engines want to serve up the most relevant information being searched for. If your content is “thin”, outdated or not optimized properly for the keywords you want to rank for – you really need to invest into some updated content – NOW!
2) A Blog – Updated Often
Of course a blog is more content, but the beauty in having a blog ON your business website is it is generally an easy way for you (or your marketer) to keep your content fresh and up to date. In order to see the true value of a blog, it must be on your company website (www.yourwebsite.com/blog) and it must be updated at least a few times a month. If you aren’t keeping it up to date it really adds no value. The key is to write about interesting information relevant to your audience and keep it current.
A blog is also a great way to link to important areas of your website, giving the users a reason to click through to the landing pages that you use to push your products (*note, this is also good for SEO value). We also always suggest you install social sharing icons on your blog to make it super easy for your readers to share your content.
3) Social Media
Social indicators actually enhance your website visibility, so even from just an SEO standpoint, social is important. Also, many sites, like Pinterest for example, have high domain authority and when you create profile your verified website profile link creates a nice authority link to your website.
Of course there are several other key benefits to having business social profiles. For example: brand visibility, new and current client engagement, direct clicks to your website, social shares that contain your website, brand or products and even brand reputation management.
Just like your website blog, your social profiles should be kept up to date if you want them to really benefit your website and business. You should be sharing often, posting interesting content, images, videos and links to important information on your site. You should also link to your important profiles from your website, making it easier for your clients to find you on their favorite social platforms.
4) Website Marketing
In order to drive targeted traffic to your website, you are going to have to do some form of website promotion and marketing. Internet marketing can mean a number of things from Google Pay Per Click Campaigns to High Profile Banner Ads.
Here at Eminent SEO we believe in a custom marketing solution for each client. This generally starts with a website audit, competitive analysis and a market research project to help us better understand your needs specifically. A new marketing campaign is always a test, but if you analyze and strategize on the front end, you are at least giving your marketing dollars a better chance of converting into sales.
Because the web is such a competitive space, we really recommend you hire a professional marketer to handle your website marketing. This is key to the success of your online business and is a MUST have for anyone trying to make money online. It takes money to make money. Marketing isn’t an expense though, it’s an investment!
5) Website SEO
Your website needs to be structurally sound, technically optimized and include your marketing keyword strategy if you expect any of the above to result in increased search engine traffic. SEO is really an umbrella term that covers a wide range of on and off page variables that impact the way the search engines view and rank your website.
Just like any good marketing strategy starts with research and analysis, so does SEO. We really need to fully audit your website from a technical aspect in order to assess your website SEO needs specifically. Many website owners don’t realize they have major issues with their website that are preventing them from becoming an authority on the web.
Proper SEO will ensure your website can be crawled properly as well as help tell the search engines what your website is an authority for. When the search engines can easily tell what you are all about, you have a much better chance of getting visibility in the search engine results for the keywords you are targeting. Better SEO = better website traffic.
6) Conversion Tracking
Okay, so you have a beautiful website with optimized content, proper calls to action and a solid marketing strategy in place – good for you! But, how do you know if you are getting traffic and how do you know if it’s converting?
Most websites use some form of analytics, such as Google Analytics, to track their website traffic. Knowing where your traffic is coming from is important, but if you can’t tie your traffic sources to conversions, how do you know if you are spending your marketing dollars properly?
If you are a call centric business, you should have some form of call tracking metrics built into your site. This allows you to tie your calls into traffic source so you have a real idea of where your calls are coming from. You can also rate your calls and input conversions – so each month you can see exactly where your conversions are coming from. This is powerful information that you can take back to your marketing team so they can focus on marketing to the areas that convert!
Need Help?
Many of the things I listed above seem may seem basic or simple to some, but you’d be surprised how many website owners I talk to who are not leveraging all of these techniques. If you need help with your website and marketing, just call us at 1.800.871.4130. We can come up with a custom solution that works for your specific website needs.
Until working with an SEO company, I really never understood what ‘It’ was or the need but now I see how everything comes together and is cohesive. All great bullet-ed points for someone structuring their website needs.
Thanks Star. Obviously when you get in to the nitty gritty a successful website needs a lot more than what is on this list – but I think i covers the basics that EVERY site owner should be doing, regardless of industry. If you don’t have these basics in place, you are missing something crucial to your success.