Website Design and Marketing
Most traditional brick-and-mortar businesses understand that first impressions directly affect their bottom line. Sadly, though, all too many forget to apply this same principle to their websites. When it comes to marketing, the online face of your business is just as important, if not more so, than the rest of your marketing strategy simply because it’s accessible to a much larger audience. Here are four no-nonsense tips to get you headed in the right direction.
Tip 1 – Plan Ahead
Planning may seem tedious, but figuring out where you want your business website to be in the coming months and years can make a huge difference, and it can save you valuable time and money over the long haul. Plus, knowing what you want for the future of your website makes it much easier to expand on it when you decide to take your marketing efforts to the next level.
Tip 2 – Understand the Role that Proper Website Design Plays in Your Marketing Efforts
It can’t be overstated that the look and feel of your site really matters. Oftentimes, users will judge the credibility of your business and the quality of your products based on how their experience with your website is. The quality of the user experience you offer can bring customers in — or it can send them packing.
Tip 3 – Follow the Principles of Responsive Web Design
Responsive websites are so important nowadays that they’re almost a requirement for creating an excellent user experience. More people are browsing the Internet from their mobile devices than ever before, so businesses need to adapt accordingly.
Some responsive web design advantages include:
* reaching a larger audience of potential customers
* creating a more satisfying user experience
* saving money – build one site that works on all device sizes
* ranking higher in search results
Tip 4 – Search Engine Optimization Technique
Search engine optimization is another crucial aspect to properly marketing your business online. You could have the best product in the world, and you could have the most beautiful website ever designed, but if your target customers can’t find you, what good is it?
With that said, here are some SEO basics to keep in mind:
Do your homework. Find out what your target customers are searching for, and tailor your site’s keywords to meet this need. Additionally, consider signing up for a Google AdWords Campaign to help advertise your business in Google’s search results page.
Mind your page titles. Page titles are the titles you see in your browser tab, but they do much more than that. Add accurate page titles to help search engine spiders determine what each page on your site is all about.
Include meta description tags on your pages. Not only will this further assist search engine spiders, but it also helps invite readers to actually click on your link in the search results. If done correctly, the meta descriptions you enter are used as snippets in the search results.
Include an XML sitemap for your site. A sitemap is essentially an outline, or map, of your entire site. This helps web crawlers to successfully navigate your site, and having one will help improve your page ranking.
Make your site accessible. This mean adding ARIA role attributes for sections within your HTML, adding alt and title attributes to your images and so on. Together, these little accessibility improvements make it easier for users with disabilities to access your site, which in turn is another great way to improve your exposure in Google!
