"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one."
-- Mark Twain
10 Steps to a Better Website
by Clay Campbell
From my own research, experience as a business owner for 20 years, and my experimenting with ten of my own websites; I am offering some ideas and tips on having a better more effective website. You'll really need this info if you need to build a new site, remodel an older one or want your site to rank better in the search engines.
In today's marketplace, a website is often the first point of contact for new customers.
While poor design can possibly drive prospects away, a professionally designed and well-managed site is an advertisement telling visitors that your company is well run and successful. That will give people the confidence and trust to do business with you. Your website is a key component of your overall marketing and it should advance your overall business strategy.
Your website needs to communicate to your visitor with words, graphics, and information about your company. Information that you feel that gives visitors your vision, your purpose, pertinent information on products, and/or service. Why not make it easy for customers to get the information they need or buy the products or service they want?
I hope these10 Steps to a Better Website will be helpful for you as they have for 100's of others. These 10 steps were first published on AmericanSmallBusiness.com. Later they were edited and added to a bit; and then made into blog posts; later made into a book, and now are going out through a newsletter to our subscribers.
1. Choose a domain name carefully
A domain name is your unique Internet address for your website such as
www.claycampbell.biz. Choose an easy-to pronounce, easy-to-spell name. Some say choose a name that reflects your business. However ebay does not reflect an online bidding site. Neither does the name google convey that it is a powerful search engine. I had a name problem with one of my sites. I had what I thought was a great name until I was running a radio campaign to promote it. It was going to take the whole commercial to explain how to type in the address. So I had to buy two new names, and use a redirect on those, to make the radio ads work. You can have several web addresses all going to the same website. It's not a good idea to have several web addresses going to websites with the same content. Google, Yahoo and other search engines will give search results for just one index page. (Home page) They will not give search results for the others. Trying to have multiple sites, with the exact same content, and other bad ideas like filling up your home page with keywords, could very well get your site banned. Do not try to manipulate the search results with tricks; you will lose if you get caught.
You can register your name in your state before you even put it on line. If your company is already established, you should register that name asap however; you'll find many common words and terms and great names are already taken.
I always suggest if you can, choose a domain name that has key words in it that will appear on your home page. This will help potential customers find your site when they search for those words in search engines. To find out if a domain name is currently registered, go to
http://www.internic.net/whois.html. Or I usually go to
www.godaddy.com or
www.dotser.com and just type in the search bar a name I am interested in. If it's available I buy it right then. The cost is usually in the $5-$10 range. If the name you want is taken, be creative or find a creative person to help you. (Any of the Wizard Partners could help you; their names and websites are listed down the column to your right.) Bounce your ideas off an associate. Keep trying until you have a name that "works" and...is available.
To be continued...
Perhaps now would be a good time to have a
complimentary meeting with a Wizard of Ads Partner. Links to their websites and blogs are listed down the right side of
The Wizard Times. Hundreds of their articles with free insightful advice can been seen at
www.americansmallbusiness.com 2009 would be a great year to attend a class at the
Wizard Academy 21st Century Business School in Austin Texas.
What is the Wizard Academy?
See you next week.
Clay Campbell
Wizard of Ads
PS.
Need help to attract more customers and grow your business?
