Creating a successful website is a three-fold process. If you can achieve all three steps you will have created the best possible website for your company. This three-step process involves getting your customers to your website, getting them where they need to be on your website and getting them to hang around a little while.
Driving traffic to your site: How do you get your customers buckled in for the ride? Here are a few simple, easy ways to make sure people see your website:
-Include your website on any business letterheads, envelopes and business cards. Most of the time people will check out your website first before they call your or stop by to see you.
-Make sure your website is included in emails, newspaper advertisements and press releases.
-Make sure customers know about your website by including the information in voice mails or “on-hold” messages. You can also put it on posters around your store and any flyers you hand out.
-Include your website address on any articles your write for other websites and on your Facebook and Twitter pages.
-Add a tell-a-friend or share button on your website to encourage word-of-mouth advertising.
-Register your website with search engines
-SEO content.
Dropping your customers off at the proper destination: You want your customers to get exactly where they want to go when they visit your site. The easiest way to do this is to make sure your website is easy to navigate. If a customer ends up on the home page of your website they should be able to find the content they are looking for easily.
Make sure links work properly. If your customers will be directed to a certain part of your page through a link, make sure the link works. Check it at least twice and have someone else check it from another computer to make sure it takes them where you want them to go. If you have this link attached to emails and posted on Facebook and/or Twitter check each link.
Consider adding a search bar to your website. This is particularly helpful after you have a lot of blogs written. Customers can search for specific content by typing it into the search box.
Get them to stay awhile: Getting your customers to stay on your website will increase your sales. You want your customers to stay on your site as long as possible. You can do this by giving them what they know they want and what they don’t know they want.
For example: Think of an amusement park. There are the rides and then there are the pleasant distractions that line the park (think food stands, games that cost money and gift shops). These little nuggets are lined along the way and draw customers off the path between the rides.
Create distractions that will pull your customer inside to check out more of what you have to offer. Keep in mind that these distractions shouldn’t be thrown in the middle of the path preventing people from moving through to what they want. Simply create links to other content and appealing sidebars that will lure your customers to stop and look at something they weren’t planning on checking out.
Blog posts, deals, pictures and other site content can act as tools to keeping your customers on your website for as long as possible. Make sure you create quality content or your customers won’t come back.
photo by: Travel Aficionado
