Every business owner understands that in order to succeed in today’s crowded marketplace, they must have a website. After all, if someone is looking for your business, or a product or service that you offer, the first place he or she will turn is online.
While getting your website up and running is a great accomplishment, it is only the first step in making sure that your website is doing all that it can for your business. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t even know what they want to get out of their website. Is it lead generation? Brand awareness?
Whatever you want your website to achieve, it is important to remember that what you put into it is going to have a direct effect on what you get out if it. To ensure that your website is doing all that it can to advance your overall business strategy, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
- Is it easy to find? You can have the most impressive website in the world, but if no one can find it, it won’t matter. If you want your website to be noticed by all the major search engines – Google, Yahoo, Bing – and appear as high as possible in the organic search results of those search engines it must be optimized for search, including mobile search results. This is accomplished through fresh, relevant content that is updated regularly. Such content encourages engagement by compelling people to leave feedback and share it with others.
- Is it easy to update? One of the biggest reasons why businesses don’t update their website more frequently is that it is too difficult. This is common when businesses maintain their websites in-house without a dedicated staff that really understands the ins and outs of website maintenance. It also occurs when a business farms out their website maintenance to a huge company – sometimes overseas – that is impossible to reach and has very little interest in customer service once a contract has been signed.
- Is it easy to look at? Does your homepage reflect the personality and culture of your business? Is your contact information front and center? Is there a good mix of white space, text and visuals? We’ve all visited websites that are so far from user-friendly we simply move on. A quality website is easy to navigate because it is organized in a logical, user-friendly manner.
Like every other aspect of your business, your website must constantly evolve to meet the needs of your business. Unfortunately, many business owners mistakenly believe that if they build a website, people will find it. The truth is, websites must be built, maintained and kept fresh and up-to-date. Only then will customers and prospects visit your site, and keep coming back for more.
New Year’s Resolutions Help Small Businesses Get off on the Right Foot
UncategorizedIf you are like most people, you probably will make a few New Year’s resolutions to get healthier or happier in 2016. But what about making a few resolutions for your business?
Lisa Stevens believes that the New Year is the ideal time for a small business to review its goals and create new ones. In her article, 4 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Owners, Stevens encourages small business owners to choose resolutions that will help their businesses thrive in the New Year.
We all know that the first step toward realizing our goals is to set them, the New Year offers the perfect opportunity to review your organization’s goals and create new ones.
Stevens suggests the following resolutions for small businesses:
Stevens expands on each of these resolutions and breaks them down into manageable steps. For example, by planning ahead business owners are able to “prioritize how to spend their time and money and set measurable goals.”
Of course, not all business owners will have the same resolutions. Every business will have a unique set of improvements it needs to look at in the coming months.
Whether it’s to decrease costs, grow market share, improve cash flow or get more organized, a new year provides the opportunity to begin with a clean slate.
How to Increase Brand Awareness and Generate Leads with Twitter
UncategorizedIf you are a small business that is using Twitter to market your product, service or brand, congratulations! Twitter is an outstanding way to increase brand awareness and generate sales leads.
However, as is the case with all types of social media, if you are not moving forward, you are moving backward. That is why it is so important to continue to use the best Twitter practices to promote your product or service. What follows are some of the latest and greatest ways to use Twitter as part of your overall marketing strategy:
Twitter is one of the most important and effective ways to market your business. Make sure you are taking full advantage of it by keeping up on all of the latest trends!
Want to Get More Out of Your Website? Put More into It!
UncategorizedEvery business owner understands that in order to succeed in today’s crowded marketplace, they must have a website. After all, if someone is looking for your business, or a product or service that you offer, the first place he or she will turn is online.
While getting your website up and running is a great accomplishment, it is only the first step in making sure that your website is doing all that it can for your business. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t even know what they want to get out of their website. Is it lead generation? Brand awareness?
Whatever you want your website to achieve, it is important to remember that what you put into it is going to have a direct effect on what you get out if it. To ensure that your website is doing all that it can to advance your overall business strategy, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
Like every other aspect of your business, your website must constantly evolve to meet the needs of your business. Unfortunately, many business owners mistakenly believe that if they build a website, people will find it. The truth is, websites must be built, maintained and kept fresh and up-to-date. Only then will customers and prospects visit your site, and keep coming back for more.
How to Keep the Workplace Merry and Bright this Holiday Season
UncategorizedEvery year, you begin the holiday season believing that it truly is “the most wonderful time of the year.” It doesn’t take long, however, to realize that sometimes work is anything but wonderful thanks to an office full of co-workers and a job to do.
Fortunately, there are ways to make the season bright while still getting your job done. What follows are some tried and true tips to help you do just that:
When Thanking Clients, Think Outside of the Box
UncategorizedOne of the best way to connect with your customers is to thank them for their business. While there are tried and true methods – a handwritten note or a box of candy, for example – it is important to mix things up.
If you are struggling to come up with unique ways to thank your clients, we’ve compiled a list of ideas that will help to set you apart from the competition.
Customer loyalty goes a long way. Competitors are always going to try to steal your clients. When your customers know how much you value them, it will make them much harder to lure away.