Each day I am asked how can I get people to find my business and ultimately turn into a sale? We are blessed to live in the age we do because getting your name and business out there is so easy to do. It just takes consistency, patience and at times a little bit of luck.
Most businesses sell themselves short by not using one of their greatest assets–their website! Many people I talk to always say, ?Oh yeah I got a website because I knew I needed one and I knew my competition had one.? When I hear this I know exactly what to expect when it comes to their SEO, online sales and user interaction.
Don?t worry? I have some ideas for you. In this article I?m going to give you?re a few easy steps to drive people to your website and turn them into paying customers.
You can find a wide spectrum of websites out there. Some are archaic and others are updated and maintained, but the biggest question of all websites is how are your people interacting with your site?
If you have read anything else I have written you will know how keen I am to creating an experience for someone. I don?t care how elegant of a design you have or how simple it is if the end user is not getting what they want then your site is not working for you like it should.
I hope people understand that with the advancement of technology there are affordable solutions for getting your website updated and working as a tool rather than an internet paperweight.
I sell websites all the time where we tailor a good fit depending on business size and needs, but no matter what the budget size we make sure the website creates an experience for people.
There are so many solutions out there to get traffic to your website and I know there is a good solution for everyone online. Between SEO, PPC and social media businesses can find the right channel to drive traffic to their site.
When consulting people on their websites I always use an analogy that compares your website to a billboard. No matter how amazing that billboard looks it doesn?t matter if it is sitting in the middle of a cornfield where no one sees it.
The most important thing you can do for your website is get it on the internet highway where everyone driving past can see what you have to offer.
What channel is best for you depends on your business model and your customer base. Overall I think there is a place for SEO, PPC and social media in everyone?s strategy; it just comes down to how much or how little of each channel you use.
Growing up in Idaho you can only make the assumption that I grew up on a farm. That statement holds partially true. I may not have grown up on our farm, but my dad grew a few thousand acres of potatoes, grain and barley. One of the key principles my dad taught me growing up was it is ok to spend money to buy nice things. But, he also taught that in return you needed to take care of those things so you would see a return on your investment.
Many people buy websites, software and other pieces of the internet marketing puzzle to help run their business, but in the end never end up using them long enough reap the rewards. Worse yet, they just let them deteriorate over time with neglect.
Your website is no different! If you let it sit unattended over time it will become outdated and will not be up to standard. In this industry I?ve learned businesses either need to hire someone to maintain and update their site OR they better commit to learn how to do it themself. But too often it remains on the ?to do? list ? always getting bumped to the bottom.
Trust me, you will not regret the time and money spent to do a few changes every now and again to keep your site up to date, rather than spending a large lump sum every few years to completely update it. It is no different than taking care of a car. If you change the oil and do routine maintenance then you can expect to get a couple hundred thousand miles out of it, but if you don?t then you are lucky to get to the first hundred thousand. Which do you prefer?
Whether you tried and failed at having an online presence or you have yet to try getting online there is a great opportunity to take your business to the next level. Most people don?t realize that having an online store is much cheaper than having a brick and mortar store. If you need help, ask! Don?t let those fears of not knowing what to do stop you. You can even feel free to send me a message and ask for some bits of advice. Ultimately you just need to take the first step and keep moving.