Things You Need For Your Web Site

June 21st, 2008

 

Things You Need For Your Web Site:

* Essential pages

* Service and Product based businesses

* Adding credibility

* Additional Information Pages

  

 

Essential pages - Includes Web Page template with open source management system, all added content, and uploading to make it a live site! (Domain name, domain transfer, and hosting cost are extra).

 

* Home Page

* About Us

* Our Services

* Contact Us

 

 

Service based businesses pages - If your company performs services for others, your business is a service-based business, and your site should include these pages:

 

* Clients — your clients can be presented in terms of specific client names or a more general industry listing.

* Testimonials — these can be on their own page, listed on the client page, or distributed throughout the site.

* Request a Quote or How to get started with your service

* References — these are more formal and longer than standard testimonials.

* Portfolio — this is appropriate for artists, designers, writers, and other creative professions.

* Sound Clips and videos —this is appropriate for entertainers, bands, DJs, and speakers.

* Samples of our work — these are for other professions, as appropriate.

* Resume(s).

 

 

 

Product based businesses page - If your company sells products, your business is a product-based business.

* You will need a merchant account to be able to sell products online.

To provide your customers with quick and easy access to your products, your site should include:

 

* Product Description(s) — Include photos, details, pricing, and “Add to Cart” capabilities.

* View your Shopping Cart

* Check Out

 

 

Adding credibility - Once you have these basic pages, the next step is to add credibility and information to your site. PR, news, and information pages can do this for you, providing visitors an incentive to return time and time again.

 

* News — Include current as well as past articles on your company. (Included in basic package!)

* Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), or Ask the Expert (included in basic package!)

* Pressroom — this is for press releases produced by your company.

* Newsletters and/or Articles— these are written by your firm or principals and help provide you with “expert” status, as opposed to articles written by outside sources.

* Media or Press Kit — this area would contain a company backgrounder, logos, photos, and tools that others may use when writing articles about your company.  

* Calendar of Events

* Audio clips— these would be sound clips of you talking about your business makes your Website more personable. You could also provide audio testimonials for more punch.

* Video Clips— According to Web trend forecasters, a video testimonial is quickly becoming the next hot item for building credibility.

* Additional business pages may also be appropriate, depending upon the type and size of your business:

* Company Mission

* Company Vision

* History

* Case Studies

* Why Choose Us?

* Bios of your Team Members

* Jobs or Opportunities

* Map and/or Directions

 

* Events/Classes/Workshops — this page would include details about, as well as the schedule of and sign-up for various company events open to the public.

* Downloads - these are PDFs, brochures, presentations, and software demos or programs.

* Statistics Research or Studies — either conducted by your firm, or related to your firm, clients or industry

* Pricing — if you sell products, your pricing should be listed in your shopping cart. For service-based businesses, whether or not you list your pricing depends upon the standards in your industry; you don’t want to price your services on your site if you don’t have to.

 

 

Additional Information Pages - these are good for networking with others and getting traffic to your site. It also makes you a resource for people to come to your page!

 

* Recommended Books, bands, people, etc - Linking these to a reseller account through Amazon.com can generate extra revenue for your business.

* Resources - Other services that are compatible with yours, or links to places online where you can learn more.

* Links - Exchanging quality links with other sites can be a good way to increase your search engine rankings.

We hope that this list is helpful in your website planning process!

 

 

Constant Backing and General Upkeep - You should update your website:

* Every time you acquire new skills or have something new to offer.* After you have completed a successful project. * When you get updated feedback and testimonials. * Every time you write articles. (Search engines love content rich sites and visitors love to see new information.). * If you have a new press release. * When there is a change in the business that you want to report to the public.

Some other things to check on:

* Copyright statements should be updated yearly. * Make sure your links still work. * Keep your bio and time references up to date. * Keep pricing up to date.

Marketing Your Business Online.

June 19th, 2008

Your potential customers are increasingly turning to the web to research companies, compare product features and prices, and to purchase items online. You company is going to want to take advantage of the internet market to maintain and gain valuable customers! The bottom line in 2008 is that it is essential to market your products and services online. In this article we talk about important steps you need to take to successfully market your business online.

 

Let’s start off by saying that there’s good news! It has never been easier or more cost-effective to market online. There are lots of web sites, consultants, software packages, and other tools to help you implement a successful online presence. Here are some key steps to successfully market your business online.

 

To start the process of getting your business scene online, you will first need to obtain a good domain name that is easy to remember. Next you need to build a professional looking web site. Remember your web site is a reflection of your business. People will be impressed or turned off by the level of professionalism of your site.  It’s best to make your web site easy to navigate. Your product should be simply and clearly displayed, and purchase should be easy.

 

You are going to want to optimize your site for search engines. This is because hundreds of millions of searches a day are performed on the Web through Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. The search engines “spider” billions of Web pages. There is a fast-growing tool called “search engine optimization” that refers to efforts to raise your web site’s ranking in search results. Buy keyword Ads on search engines. Many businesses find that key word advertising on search engines is quite beneficial.

 

Besides having a great web site, you will also want to build up Your e-mail list and then send out newsletters. Email marketing is one of the best and cheapest ways to sell online. Newsletters improve awareness with your target market and help build your relationship with those who read it. It gives you a competitive advantage, which makes it more likely that your readers will buy from you. When you make your newsletter, make it interesting and valuable enough that your prospects and customers read all of it. Readers have a short attention span. The information should be presented in a very positive light and humorous fashion. Stick to the purpose of your newsletter, which is to get prospects and customers to buy from you.

 

Link Building is important as well. This means to get involved on related websites. Touting other businesses that you believe in will build up good will between your and either your competitors or local or online merchants. This will lead to more client opportunities and will show that you are a business that others think highly of and also you will build confidence as a source that could refer others business by their link on your site.

 

If you are a product based business and sell items from your site, you will need a shopping cart system and a credit card authorization process. Make sure you make your store easy in the buying process. A satisfied customer will return to your site. Its good to offer great customer support and service as well.

 

Promotional items are a great way to advertise your business! Make one of your items that you have in your store a give away item! Things like pens, mugs, notepads, etc, are items people will regularly use and are an aid in getting people aware of your business and your products, service, or both.

 

One of the best ways to show prospects your business’s value is with a few customer case studies. Think about how your business has already solved problems for your satisfied customers, saved them time and money or helped their efficiency. Done correctly, potential customers will feel they’re getting a tremendous value for free while you’ll have created an opportunity to bid for their actual business.

 

Show testimonials. As a service business owner, requesting testimonials from satisfied clients is one of the quickest ways you can start to establish trust with your online visitors. This is showing that customers are happy they were with your product or service and how its use changed their lives for the better. Testimonials create credibility, believability, and a sense of security for prospective customers when they visit your site, as they then know that others have successfully used your product or service.

 

An essential asset to your business is to fill your web site with great material on subjects important to your business. People are out there looking online for information that will aid them in product decisions, so it is wise to provide your leads or potential clients with useful information. The best way to provide content is to write articles on subjects within your field. This can serve as an educational tool for your list and help some of them out there with the same problem and show you to be educated in your field which helps with customer confidence in your business. If you do not like to write, you can purchase articles or e-books in the market have very good content that can be of great use to your site.  It is very important to constantly upgrade the knowledge of your subscriber.

 

In addition to adding content to your site you are going to also want to add a blog. A blog helps build up consumer trust. The idea behind the blog marketing scheme is to blog well informed posts about your target audience that shows your expertise in the field. You may gather a small readership interested in the same subject. You could attract customers who are just browsing and might have a quick read of your blog. This prospective customer is reading about your expertise in the subject and with every word read is gaining trust in your company. The customer sees that there is also a real person behind the corporate identity, and they really know what there talking about. Another great reason to blog is the word of mouth theory. People may link to a article you have written on your blog giving your site visibility to new people on the web and increase your chance of getting business. Blogging gives your company an edge and a personal touch.

 

Your customers are increasingly turning to the Web to research and compare companies, products, and prices of items they could purchase online. Give yourself the competitive edge you will need by making a great website and being thorough in all the ways of representation and promotion. Follow these steps in the article and you will be marketing yourself, your products and services online, and will be gaining the valuable business opportunities that you are looking for. Best of luck! 

 

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June 19th, 2008

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