Are you a newcomer in business and wish to get new buyers to your internet site? Great! Or, perhaps you’re planning to expand your business by getting more new clients to find you on the Web.
Either way, you’re in good company among the 27 million other smaller businesses in the U.S. Across the U.S, small company failure rates rose by 40% between 2007 and 2010, according to a Dun & Bradstreet report quoted on CNN.com.
Ready to prevent being among the small business closings every year? Wonderful. You’ll want to get new customers to find your company on the Web, so continue reading.
The Purpose of Your Business Website is to Get New Clients
Your number one challenge is how to get clients to find your website. Why? Because studies show that everybody begin purchases on the Web using a search engine. Don’t you?
Entrepreneurs regularly make a giant mistake when creating their sites. They do not consider their ideal client. Do not make this mistake!
Create each piece of info on your website from your customers ‘ perspective. That includes your subjects, how you describe solutions, and the words and terms you select. Make your website content talk straight to your ideal clients.
If you apply the guidelines and avoid the web site mistakes detailed below, you can make it more likely to get new customers to find your site. If you fail to consider the recommendations contained below, it’s going to be more difficult for you to easily be found by buyers on the web.
Top 9 Mistakes to Avoid with Your Business Site
1. Contracting a web designer before doing homework about your customers. While you need a professional web design, the make or break aspect of your site is your info and content! Plan your internet site content based mainly on your customer challenges first.
2. Not profiling your ideal customers. Document who your best potential clients are. Develop a complete profile of your ideal clients with details beyond age and other demographics. Include the competing issues they are dealing with besides those your products and services fix. Consider their purchasing cycle.
3. Not zeroing in on your customers’ most painful problems. A website that doesn’t highlight your clients’ Issues and priorities is a waste of effort. You’ll be more successful by talking about your customers’ concerns. Avoid having a business site full of info that’s principally about your company.
4. Not documenting a job profile for your business site. Never thought about a job description? You will be investing time and money into your business site. Manage it like you would a team member or a contractor. Identify specifically what you expect it to do for your business. As an example, generate leads, collect customer e-mails, or encourage downloads of your content.
5. Not using your customers’ own language in your business website content. Future purchasers have words and terms they use everyday. Remember how they describe issues. You are an expert and may use industry lingo or terms unfamiliar to your customers.
6. Not studying the competition. It isn’t difficult to discover what other companies like yours are doing right and doing wrong on their websites. Don’t overlook the lessons you can gather from competitor sites.
7. Not using a business blog. According to studies from market agency firm Hubspot:? Firms are now in the minority if they do not blog. From 2009 to 2011 the proportion of businesses with a blog grew from 48% to 65%.
Here’s another Hubspot finding: Firms are keenly aware their blog is very valuable: 85% of firms rated their company blogs as useful, important or critical; significantly 27% rated their company blog as ?critical to their business.
8. Not reserving a budget for your company website. You need to use free or inexpensive website and blogging software such as WordPress. You’ll still need developer help unless you’re reasonably technical. Budget correctly for this key aspect of your business.
9. Not learning the way to research keywords for use in your content. Your clients enter certain phrases and terms into search engines when trying to find help on the internet. Learn to use the excellent keyword analysis tutorials that Google publishes.
Be very clear about what you need your site content to say about your business. Potential clients form an instant impression about you from your business site.
If you’re starting in business, or redoing your present site. Stop. Take a deep breath. Avoid taking shortcuts to just-get-a-website-up. Think about the best way to use what you know about your clients in your content. Put everything you have learned into your site and company blog content. Good luck!
Cynthia Trevino works with business owners and solo professionals who want to attract more customers using smart, practical business blogs and website content. She blogs at SmallCompanyBigImage.com