By Shan Pesaru / Sharp Hue / Springdale
While giant corporations can easily finance elaborate online presences, small businesses and entrepreneurs are pressed to develop their own Web sites. With a little help and insight, business owners can strengthen the digital side of their enterprises. Here are 10 ways to maximize your business web site performance and achieve online success for small business owners.
1. Use professional Web hosting. Your visitors expect speed and continual availability. A professional Web hosting company might charge more than GoDaddy, but prospective customers will have a good experience at your site and become regular customers.
2. Use a professional Web design company. Internet technology changes quickly. It takes an experienced Web designer to keep up with the latest development and design standards so your site looks good on every computer and device. A professionally designed site ties together your online and off-line marketing, branding and identity.
3. Have a visually appealing home page. When people first access your site, they should land on a home page that represents you well. They should know immediately what you have to offer. They also should say, “Wow,” and want to click deeper into the site to learn more. A home page that accomplishes this will be a valuable member of your sales force.
4. Make navigation easy. Don’t frustrate your visitors. Present your navigation in a clear and intuitive manner. Have no more than five to seven main navigation buttons and then create sub-pages below them with relevant information.
5. Optimize for search engines. Your site competes with millions of others for traffic, so your content must be written to attract both search engines and people. Search engines give preference to well-designed, well written sites.
6. Create a call to action. Make sure you drive visitors all the way through the sales pipeline by creating text and buttons that make their next steps clear. Invitations like “Buy Now,” “Sign up” and “Schedule an appointment” keep your visitors’ experience easy.
7. Understand your traffic. The numbers tell the story: Which products interest your visitors? How long do they stay? On what pages do they exit? Install Google Analytics into your site to get the data you need to make informed business decisions.
8. Maintain a blog. A blog can be a great way to communicate with customers on a more personal level.Your blog can educate visitors about your industry or provide fresh perspective on your company. Interesting content keeps visitors coming back for more.
9. Engage your visitors. Use social media such as Twitter or Facebook to keep your customers in the loop and also to let them help you promote your products and services.
10. Keep your site fresh. It is important to add new content to your site so customers and search engines visit your site frequently. If you don’t have the time to do it yourself, engage a professional to keep your site up-to-date.
