Web Marketing Begins With Your Web Site

Web sites today often feature new, interactive technologies that have become very popular with consumers. Depending on how old your web site is, these newer sites may have been developed using tools and technologies that might not have been available when you first launched your site. But the bottom line is that to effectively market your business on the web, you have to be able to meet the needs and expectations of your existing customers, as well as attract new customers to your web site. If you can accomplish that, you will be well on your way to building a solid web strategy to help your business succeed and grow in any business climate.

Set Some Goals

The first step when thinking about your web site is to set some goals. To establish these goals, ask yourself the following:

• Who is my intended audience(s), and what do they expect?
• What are my competitors offering on their web sites?
• What is the message that I want to convey?
• What is the action that I want my visitors to take?

Then, consider what your visitors are trying to do on your site. Are they researching information? Comparison shopping? Looking to make a purchase now? Looking for something local? Keeping this information in mind will help you focus your web content and provide the right information pathways for users when they visit your site. Ultimately, these pathways should lead your visitors to the actions that you want them to take.

Send the Right Message

Having a good business web site is no longer a luxury, it is an expectation. As technology continues to improve, your customers’ expectations of your web site continue to grow as well. An old, outdated site is a huge red-flag to customers, and can send the message that you either don’t care or that your business may be in trouble. Make sure that your web site sends an accurate message about your business – that you are competent, professional, and completely capable of handling your customers’ needs now and into the future.

In With the New

Today’s users expect a certain level of sophistication in order to take your business seriously, and that means you need to consider adding new features and technology to your site. Visitors have come to expect well-organized, useful content on pages that load quickly, but you’ll score extra points for adding new technologies such as RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, video, and interactive tutorials.

Not sure which web technologies are right for you? Try them out! Go to www.blog-search.com and look at examples of blogs in your industry to get a feel for blogging. Also check out some RSS feeds from authority sites in your industry, and consider adding one or two to your own web site. Think about what would be useful to your customers, like an interactive calendar of events, interesting articles, how-to-guides, or even a site-search feature on your web site. Show your customers that your company is progressive by embracing new technology, and you can gain credibility and additional web site traffic as a result.

Of course, one of the worst strategies you can adopt is to do nothing. At the very least, make sure your web content is up to date, and that your web architecture is search-friendly (no frames, Flash-based, or image-based sites). Use an effective navigation system that clearly guides users to the information they are looking for, and make sure each page on your site has a strong call to action coupled with an easy way for users to take that action. Make sure your site meets or exceeds your customers’ expectations, and it can serve as the cornerstone of a web marketing strategy that will help your business grow well into the future.