Entries Tagged 'internet marketing' ↓

Your website is a reflection of your business.

For many people it will be the first contact they have with you therefore it must portrait your business in a professional, approachable way.

Your website’s design and the copywriting it contains will go a long way to persuading your reader that you are the company for them, but what if you want to get even more personal?

The power of video

You may have noticed while browsing the net that more and more companies are incorporating video on their website.

But do you think they are a good thing and could you use the power of video to enhance your message?

Well let’s take a few minutes to think about what a video could do:

1. Personal touch

A corporate video, especially one showing you, is a powerful way of conveying your (or your company’s) personality to your viewer. Although it is possible to use the written word to convey this too, writing is unable to show your personality in the same was as a video.

By directly speaking to your customer, you will make an instant connection and they will feel as though they already know you when they decide to do business with you.

2. Product/service insight

It is also a means of quickly showing your product/service range to your viewer.

Rather than having to navigate through your website to read about the particular product/service they need, a video can quickly show them what you can offer. Of course, you can also utilise videos as ‘How to’ guides to provide your visitor with a comprehensive library of help topics which will add value to your relationship with them.

3. Innovative

The use of video on your website will also show you as a forward thinking organisation. Utilising the latest technology shows you as a company that thinks beyond the normal limits of marketing.

4. Search engine optimisation

Google loves video so incorporating it within your website will give your search engine optimisation a boost. Whether you host it directly on your website or bring it in from YouTube, utilising the descriptive element of your video will enhance your online visibility.

Sounds great doesn’t it? But there are also a few other things you have to take into consideration…

• Music – not everyone will be thrilled if your website begins to blast out music as soon as it’s open. Make sure there is an obvious icon to click to mute or reduce the decibels.
• Auto play – don’t have your video on autoplay. Have it plainly visible so your reader can decide when (or if) they want to play the video.
• Load speed – video can affect the load time of your website so be careful. When browsing the net people aren’t going to want to hang around while your site loads.

Video can be a very powerful sales tool. It makes an instant connection with the viewer, offers an innovative way to market your products and a valuable tool through which you can offer help and guidance to your customers.

Having a website is the new black – everyone seems to be doing it these days. But there are still a small percentage of businesses that have resisted the urge to dip their toes into cyberspace.

Why are they resisting?

• It wouldn’t suit our customer base
• We get enough customers without having an expensive website
• I don’t understand all that computer stuff
• It’s too expensive
• I don’t want to sell online
• I don’t have time for one of those

These are just a few reasons why businesses shy away from using the power of the internet.

Well, whether you sell online or not, a website is still a very powerful tool for any business. To try to convince you it may be worth taking the plunge, here are 4 reasons why you should consider a website for your business:

1. Open all hours

The last thing you want to do, being a business owner, is to be at your customers beck and call 24 hours a day. We are all struggling to get that work/life balance right, but when you own your own company that can be difficult.

Unlike you, a website doesn’t need to eat, drink or sleep and is open for business 24/7. Your customers can browse it whenever they want to. Plus many people will research local companies on the internet before making a decision about who they’ll buy from. So if you’re not on the net, the changes are you’ll be overlooked.

2. Credibility

As mentioned in my previous point, people like to research companies online before buying.

Your website and its content is a great way to instantly build rapport and credibility with perspective customers. They can take time to read about you and what you offer. If you come across well they will be more inclined to do business with you as they will already feel as though they ‘know’ you.

If you don’t feel confident enough to create your own website copy, hire a professional copywriter to write it for you. That investment will ensure your website contains copy that is powerful, search engine friendly and will convince your customers to get in touch and buy.

3. Money

Appearing online will boost your income potential. Even if you have a physical shop, selling online will generate income for you 24/7. As in my first point, your online shop will never close. If you sell services, your potential customers can react instantly to your website and email you.

With over half of all UK consumers now regularly shopping online (Forrester UK Online Retail and Travel Forecast 2008-2014), if you don’t have a website you’ll be turning your back on a vast untapped marketplace.

4. Widen the net

Having a website will extend your reach.

Rather than relying on local customers, a website will enable to you to reach clients nationally and even internationally. You will tap into marketplaces you’d only ever dreamt of working with before. This could lead to business growth, diversification…the opportunities are endless.

If you think having a website is too expensive, there are alternative services available. I’m thinking of websites such as BT Tradespace and myProspot. Both of these offer the opportunity of utilising their powerful platforms and extensive social marketing tools to market your business.

Plus myProSpot also gives you the opportunity of having your own website, with your own URL (e.g. www.briarcopywriting.com) so it will look just like your own specially developed website but at a fraction of the cost.

So as you can see, there really are no barriers to getting a website.

Have you claimed your Google Local listing yet?

If not, you should.

One very good reason is that it’s free. A second is that it could give you the opportunity of appearing in the Google 10 box (shown below) which will give your local Google exposure a shot in the arm.

If you have claimed yours, well done you’ve taken the first step to boost your online visibility. But how are you using it?

Have you just claimed it and left it at that?

Your Google local listing is more than just a line of text. It should be viewed as a marketing tool for your business – a free marketing tool.

When compiling your listing you have the opportunity to add video, photos, receive customer reviews and list events.

Utilising all of these tools will help generate more business for you. Yes it will take time, something we all could do with more of, but it will be worth it. Plus you can manage the effectiveness of your listing through its analytics.

Try to think of it as a dynamic Yellow Pages. Unlike its paper counterpart, your Google listing is:

• Versatile
• Free
• Interactive

Make the most of it and keep it updated with fresh content. Encourage customers to write a review; list new offers and events. Basically treat it as you would any other form of marketing. Just because it’s free doesn’t mean you should neglect it.

Local search is fast becoming a very important marketing tool for many businesses.

More and more people are turning away from Yellow Pages and local press and towards Google and the other search engines to find local products and services.

Therefore it is more important than ever to make sure your website and online marketing activities are geared up for local searches.

Boosting your local search potential is all about owning more of the web.

How to boost your online presence

A great way to give your presence a boost is to increase the number of web pages on the internet that relate to your business.

By that I don’t mean you’ve got to grow your own website, but instead utilise the power of other websites. To illustrate my point I thought I’d review one such site called www.myProSpot.com.

myProSpot is just one ‘directory’ style website that you can utilise to boost your online presence. By adding your company details you are opening yourself up to a whole new market. Not only that but the Platinum membership (the site also offers a free membership) offers you something very valuable – a micro site for your company.

If you’re not sure what I mean take a look at the one I set up for my own freelance copywriting business. Now, not only do I have my own copywriter website, but I also own more of the web through my myProSpot web pages.

Websites such as these are great for local businesses. Not only do they increase your web presence and therefore increase your chances of appearing in the search results, they also offer other services such as customer feedback – so you can compete against the big boys through your feedback. Great feedback is only achieved through good service so the size of your marketing budget doesn’t matter.

Did you know approximately 40% of small businesses don’t have a website

That’s quite scary – but again, sites such as myProSpot can help you out.

If you don’t have the budget for a website, setting up a profile like the one above will give you that all important web presence.

It really is worthwhile looking into setting up profiles on sites such as this one – there are plenty out there.

Every now and then it’s a good idea to give your website a fresh look. Whether it’s because your company focus has changed, you’ve undergone re-branding or simply that your old site is looking tired, a fresh new image will breathe life into your online marketing.

Of course, along with a new design, fresh content is always a good idea so hiring a good SEO copywriter is always a great investment.

But getting back to your website – there are certain things that really should be avoided when you are considering a revamp:

Don’t over complicate

We all like an easy life so your website has to be simple to use. If your reader lands on your site and they can’t navigate around it, they’ll leave. Make sure your navigation is clear and very easy to follow. Also don’t over do the number of links on your website. There’s nothing worse than being faced with text littered with links and – more to the point – vast quantities of boxes in the sidebar containing links and asking them to do umpteen things.

You don’t want confused readers, you want relaxed readers.

Make your navigation simple and logical.

Dare I say it? Flash

Once upon a time, Flash was unreadable to Google and therefore did nothing for your SEO. Today, although Google has developed the ability to crawl some Flash, it will still limit the effectiveness of your search engine optimisation so it’s important to keep its use to an absolute minimum. So rather than filling your site with it, how about utilising your white space to add some great content instead.

Images

Everyone loves pretty pictures but, just like Flash, you can over do it.

Images that enhance the text are great. But if you have too many your reader won’t know where to look first. Keep them to a minimum and make sure you choose wisely. A bad image can kill a website.

When used well, images can also help you with your SEO.

Loading

If your website takes a long time to load it will turn off visitors faster than Jonny Vegas in a jock strap, and it will also have a detrimental effect as far as the search engine spiders are concerned. Google likes sites that load quickly as this post from the Google Official Webmaster Central Blog shows.

What’s your offer?

When redesigning don’t get so wrapped up in making it so pretty that you forget what your website’s there for in the first place. Many website owners are so obsessed with SEO they completely forget what is it they want their readers to do. Yes, SEO and organic search results are important, but so is your offer and call to action. If  you neglect those you will end up with an ineffective website.

Keeping your image fresh is very important but just make sure you always have your website goals in mind when redesigning your site. Don’t be tempted to go OTT – simple and effective is the best way to do.