| ite is a crucial ingredient of your marketing strategy | | | | but they also need to be relevant to your small |
| because it can widen your target market to include | | | | business. If your visitor can't figure out what your |
| anyone who has access to a computer and the | | | | web site is about in just a few seconds, they may |
| internet. Almost 60% of Canadians had access to the | | | | leave. |
| internet at home in 2003, and around 8 million had | | | | The internet was at first strictly informational, and |
| regular access to the internet from somewhere, | | | | that's how it remains today. Several times people |
| either at home, at work or at school. | | | | have tried experiments using copywriting similar to |
| And that's just in Canada. Ecommerce sales from | | | | direct mail sales letters, but they've all failed. It seems |
| Canada were $7.2 billion, and we only captured 4% | | | | as if people surf the internet more for information |
| of the global ecommerce market! So, how can you | | | | than anything else. Knowing this will help you write |
| reach some of those internet surfers, and how can | | | | pages people will want to read. |
| you capture some of that $7.2 billion spent in | | | | Attracting visitors |
| ecommerce? | | | | You could follow your instinct and just start writing, |
| First, you build it | | | | but wait. There's research you must do first, or your |
| The first step is designing your website. If your | | | | web site simply won't be high enough in searches to |
| company already has business cards and letterhead, | | | | be found. Search engine optimization is far too big a |
| it's best to design your website around them. A | | | | subject to cover in this short article, but among |
| matching corporate identity and website helps with | | | | other things, search engines find your pages based |
| branding. | | | | on keywords. |
| I like uncomplicated websites, with a simple layout | | | | So, pretend for a moment that you're on the other |
| and easy navigation. A nice, simple layout, with good | | | | side of the desk. If you were a customer of your |
| graphics, balanced look and good color combinations is | | | | own business, what words or phrases would you use |
| my #1 goal when designing a small business web site. | | | | to search for your product or service? Ask friends |
| Remember to use graphics sparingly and to optimize | | | | and neighbors how they'd search for your product or |
| them for your website because internet surfers are | | | | services. |
| impatient. If your page loads too slowly, they'll leave. | | | | When you've come up with a few, check them out |
| Navigation should be easy to find and to use, and it | | | | on a keyword suggestions tool. You can also use |
| should be consistent from page to page. I've left | | | | that tool to suggest similar words and phrases. Then |
| more than one site frustrated because I couldn't | | | | find out how many results there would be if you |
| easily find their navigation. | | | | searched for that term. What you want to do next |
| Small business web sites aren't static. They evolve. | | | | is narrow down your choices to the words or |
| You need to start somewhere, and starting with an | | | | phrases that are searched for the most, but have |
| introductory web site is probably easiest. All you | | | | the fewest results. |
| really need to start is five pages. You can always add | | | | Remember that people generally don't look beyond |
| pages later. The important thing is to just do it-take | | | | the first three pages for any search term, so if |
| the plunge and get it out there. | | | | you're not in the top three pages, your business is |
| Your five pages could include an index, or home | | | | not likely to be found at all. If there are millions of |
| page, about us, services, contact and a sitemap. The | | | | results for your phrase, you might simply need to |
| index page is your landing page. Typically its design is | | | | make it more specific. |
| a little more detailed than the others, but it doesn't | | | | For example, let's say you have a small business |
| have to be that way. | | | | consulting company that specializes in communication |
| I like to use CSS (cascading style sheets) for | | | | for small business. Using "communication" as a search |
| designing because it's simply easier to build a web site | | | | term is nearly pointless because there are almost 2 |
| and to edit its layout with CSS rather than just HTML | | | | billion results for that word. But, there are only 974 |
| (hypertext markup language) alone. A change on a | | | | results for "small business communication". |
| CSS sheet changes all the pages on your site at | | | | Much better, but how often is that searched for? |
| once. | | | | According to WordTracker, it's searched for 10 times |
| Content is king | | | | a day. Not bad, but I think we can do better. How |
| Once your site is designed, you'll want to start | | | | about "small business consulting"? That's searched for |
| thinking about content. Design is very important, but | | | | 261 times a day, and there are 373,000 results. That |
| it does little good to have a beautiful site without | | | | could be the best primary phrase for a small business |
| high-quality content. | | | | communication consulting company. |
| Your small business home page introduces you and | | | | What you want to do, is write your content around |
| your company-who you are and what you do. The | | | | those words and phrases. You don't want or need |
| about us page is usually used to give more detail than | | | | very many-three or four are plenty. |
| the home page about who you are, and your | | | | Getting them to come back again and again |
| services page gives more detail about what you do. | | | | Getting visitors to come back to your site again and |
| You might wonder why you'd "waste" a page on a | | | | again is relatively simple. Keep your content fresh and |
| sitemap since you only have 5 pages, but sitemaps | | | | lively, make sure it's informative, and add to it often. |
| help search engines find all the pages in your site. | | | | I hope you decide your small business needs a web |
| As far as content goes, more is better, up to a point. | | | | site. It's the best way I know how to reach a wider |
| Your pages should be content rich and informative, | | | | target audience with a relatively small investment. |