If you run a small business, it might be intimidating to launch a new business website to compete with your rivals. Even if you’re in a small town, going online can give you access to an incredibly vast market. In order to do it right, follow these game-changing tips for making a small business website successfully.
1.- Hone in on Your Target Audience
The first thing you will want to do is identify who your target audience is. Are you trying to capture new clients locally? Are you looking to expand nationwide and ship out orders?
Making sure you have a clear vision of who your customer base is and what they’re looking for online is the first step to launching a successful business website.
2.- Do Not Stray From Dot Com Domains
When buying a domain name, you’ll notice that traditional dot com websites are significantly more expensive than website domains that end in dot net, dot me, dot-info, etc.
You should stay away from anything other than dot com. The only exception to this is if you live outside the United States, in which case use country-specific domains like .com.UK or .com.ca is perfectly okay.
3.- Invest In Fast Servers
Believe it or not, site speed is extremely important. Even if you think that a two or three-second load speed is okay, you should really be shooting for load speeds of under half a second.
This is because site speed is one of the most important ranking factors for Google. You will have a much harder time attracting new visitors if your site is not fast.
4.- Publish High-Quality Content
You probably were not planning on publishing low-quality content, but we have to be specific about what we mean when we say high-quality content.
When publishing new content, you will want to make sure that it:
- Is at least as long as your competitors’.
- Is properly formatted with H1, H2, and H3 headings.
- Is easy to read for the average user (i.e. not too technical).
If you follow these steps, you will be on the path to writing great content that can rank.
5.- Get An SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate certifies that a website is secure. Getting one is a lot easier than it sounds like, and getting an SSL certificate can make a difference between ranking and not ranking.
6.- Use Images, But Don’t Overdo It
Using images can be a great way to create a more pleasant experience for the user and showcase your brand. However, be careful not to overdo it with images as they can impact site speed.
7.- Add Clear Call-To-Action (CTA) Buttons
Once users get to your site, you will want them to do something. Call you? Purchase your product? Subscribe?
You should have clear CTA buttons throughout the site that make it easy for users to do what you want them to do.
8.- Do Some Competitor Research
While we definitely don’t mean that you should copy your competitors’ content word for word, it’s always a good idea to see what they are writing about—and then write content that’s even better.
9.- Include Contact Information
Whoever lands on your page should be able to get in touch with you very easily. You can include your phone number in your header and footer and also create a contact page with your full contact info.
10.- Create an FAQ Page
While it will not prevent people from asking you those frequently asked questions, it will certainly provide useful information to your users. Nobody knows what your audience wants to know more than you do!
11.- Showcase Your Client Testimonials
A website is a great place to showcase some of your best client reviews. If you don’t have any on hand, don’t be scared to ask any past or future clients for a quick review!
12.- Run a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaign
A pay-per-click campaign is a great way to get traffic to your site when you don’t have any. Google Ads works by charging you per click, so you will know exactly how much you’ll pay each time someone clicks on your ad.
13.- Launch an SEO Campaign
SEO campaigns take time to work, so the best time to start is when you first launch. The best part about SEO is that once you rank, you don’t have to pay for any traffic that you get organically!
Key Takeaways
A digital marketing agency like Auxilium Technology can help you launch your first website. We have years of experience helping small businesses grow through digital marketing. Call us today at 301-519-9622 to see how we can help.
