It’s been found that Tuesday is better than Monday or Wednesday and 9:00am is better than 12:00 or 4:00. Seems people come to work, check their email and visit websites before launching into their day.
Recently I was fortunate to attend a Google seminar in Toronto. Although the focus was on the automotive sector and how research conducted outlined consumers behavior in the purchasing of vehicles, there were some identified trends that applied to all. One of the most important one is the increase in online video and how important it is to include in your online strategy. And it makes sense. More people have high-speed more people are comfortable with it because of You Tube, it’s easier and sometimes even fun. For me the most important point to remember is the computer is a one to one communication device. It’s a big visual screen in front of your target audience’s face. People skim words, but watch videos. The human mind processes visuals faster than words. So why not include videos to show your commercial, demo your product, show how to fix your product, answer frequently asked question.
Do you want to move up in search engine rankings? There are many factors, however, here are a few of the most important. Search engines send “spiders” into you website periodically to scan and index your website. The first important factor then is to make it easy to crawl for them. (Spiders don’t read flash as they are graphic, so go easy on flash elements). Choose your keywords carefully and use those keywords through out the text your website. Optimize each page for different keywords. Make sure the content is relevant and popular, not only with your target audience, but popular with other people in your field. Have links on similar sites targeting the similar topic and ensure the inbound links have good specific anchor text. In other words, for a Toronto Limousine company, have links on other popular wedding focused websites and use the words “Toronto wedding limousines” hyper linked back to your website rather than just your web address.
If you need professional images a great place to get them inexpensively (as low as $2) is www.istockphoto.com. When building websites for clients, many times we’ll send them there to get images that “resonate” with their company. If you haven’t visited, check them out.
Are you gathering email addresses of most that come through your store? If no, why not?
Think of them as seeds you send out into the world. How will you care for them and nurture them?
They are more likely to provide an email address if you make it fun/rewarding for them…give them a reason!
Once they buy something, others might ask, “where did you get that?” Then you’ll have 2 seeds.
If your store has a unique niche, like organic gardening, Scottish products (www.weetartanshop.ca) etc.you can start a club and provide key information, specials etc. Soon you will be leading and connecting circles of like minded customers from around the world. Amazing how all you need is the internet and a post office to sell or buy anywhere in the world. My have times changed.
If being found on Search engines is important. Here are just 3 of many tips to get you on your way. 1. Pick just a few search terms you believe people will put into the search engines to find you 2. Optimize the title on your website for those terms. The title is the blue bar at the top of your website (left of the red “X”.)To fulfill most search engine requirements don’t use more than 63 characters including spacing. 3. Write good copy that has the most important information on top;think inverted pyramid. There are many more variables, but this will get you started.
Good music with good lyrics results in a hit. Good website design with good copy also results in a hit, both with visitors and search engines. If you have a Content Management System ensure the copy you write is like an inverted pyramid, with the most important keywords (that your website was optimized for) going at the top. That’s for the benefit of both search engines and your visitors as visitors skim website copy. At the same time, ensure the copy is interesting for your visitor. A professional looking website design that’s easy for search engines and visitors to navigate coupled with well written and optimized copy translates into an effective website that will be a hit.
Getting your attention is becoming more difficult with the large amount of information we are bombarded with. So how do you as a small/medium size business get attention for your product/service? It used to be about headlines, but even those strategies are becoming overused and ignored. An effective strategy is to visualize a person in your mind that you wish to target. (Not a group of people, a real living, breathing person) and ask yourself what do I need to say to that person so that they will say “hey they’re talking to me! This strategy forces you to focus not only your product/service offering, but also focuses your message to your target audience. By focusing on an individual, you can then ask additional questions about where they hang out, what websites they visit, what words you need to use to speak the way they do (as opposed to the way you do). Remember the better the focus, the easier and more effective your message will be in getting some of their “mindshare”.
Having links that go from other websites to yours is one of the variables that will help your search engine rankings. Highly visited websites are particularly valuable. One key link that many do not take advantage of is a yellow pages listing of their web address. It appears in blue in the book version and is also placed on-line. Many search engines, especially those interested in local search results mine their data from these on-line yellow pages. It’s cost per year is small, but well worth it.
Through teaching courses to new businesses and involvement with the Chamber of Commerce organizations, we are exposed to many small companies We are asked time and time again: what do I need to have a good website? Our answer is always the same: a good business.You see for most, websites are just extensions of a business. They are a tool that can supercharge sales, cut operations costs and increase productivity. The key word is extension. No website, no matter how good, can save a bad company. A website is about content and content comes from the business. So you want a better website? Start by looking at your business first and extending it through your website.