Website Design Tips
7 Fatal Mistakes People Make With a New Website and How to Avoid Them:
Mistake # 1: Choosing the Wrong Domain Name
Choosing the right domain name isn't simply a matter of using your business's name as your domain name eg. www.abccompany.com as most businesses do.
It really depends on what your desired outcome is with your website presence.
Would you like your website to simply act as an online brochure about your business and your products/services? Then having your company name as your domain name would suffice. This is the formula most people take with a website, one that adds no value to customers or the business itself. This approach to websites is one that defines a website as an expense, simply because it costs money to create and update it. There is no measurable data that tracks if customers have found you via your website or not and there's no measures in place to capture and follow up with a website visitor.
However, if you'd like to have your website act as a silent salesperson that brings in leads 24 hours a day then you will need to consider a different approach.
As a business owner, having your website work for you should be your ultimate goal. By this we mean having a website that creates business for you, where customers make contact with you either through your website itself or phone you as a result of visiting your website. The goal should be to make your website cashflow positive, where the income you receive from your website is greater than the cost of building and maintaining it. Does this make sense?
This process all starts with the right domain name. In order to rank high in search engines quickly such as google and yahoo, you need to purchase a good keyword domain name so that your website is essentially 'google bait'.
When people type their searches into google, in order to help google find a related website you need to have a domain name relevant to the search terms someone is using. This is known as a keyword domain name.
For example, some might type into google 'website designer', if you have a website called 'websitedesigner.com.au' then google determines your website as being very relevant to the user's search and will therefore find your website first... or at least near the top of the search results. Now, nothing is ever guaranteed but taking this approach is an essential step in ranking highly in search engines.
Having a good keyword domain name is the first step to getting your website near the top of the search engines quickly.
Choosing the right domain name is closely related to the following topic...
Mistake # 2: Insufficient Keywords and Search Engine Optimization
We've just spoken about utilising the exact search terms people are using to find and purchase a relevant keyword domain name (eg. 'websitedesigner.com.au'). The next step when creating a website is to utilise several of the most used search terms, also known as 'keywords' throughout your website.
For example, several search terms for people wanting to find a website designer might be: website design, website designer, create website, make a website, website builder, build website, website development, website promotion, business website. So if you have your website websitedesigner.com.au you would add content (words) to your website that included these and other popular search terms related to website design or building a website. Taking it a step further it's a good idea to add articles relevant to these search terms to your website, acting as additional 'google bait'.
Keywording is really the key to getting your website found as search engines deliver 'related content' to users, this is their sole purpose. Keywording is the foundation of search engine optimisation. So through correct keywording you essentially 'optimise' your website for the search engines to find you first.
Mistake # 3: Having an "All About Us" Website
When most people create a website their main focus is on telling everyone 'this is who we are' and 'this is what we do'. And while that's nice, customers really want to know 'what can you do for me?' and 'how can you help me solve my problem?'.
You primary goal in relation to the content that fills your website should be to:
1. Use popular keywords throughout your site for search engine optimisation
2. Educate your customers using articles to create a perception of expertise that communicates 'yes, we can solve your problems'.
And leave the 'all about us' information to the 'About Us' page of your website. If you visit the homepage of YourWebsiteDesigner.com.au you'll notice there are three specific focus points and they're all aimed at helping the customer and highlighting how our expertise can help them achieve their goals.
The three areas addressed on the homepage by title are:
1. "Would You Like to...?"
Identifying the customer's problem (ie. No website, old website that needs updating, needs a shopping cart etc) which lets them know our services provide the solution to their problem.
2. "7 Ways We Will Add Value to Your Business"
This highlights the seven primary objectives and outcomes customers would desire from their website which demonstrates our expertise and communicates that we can help them.
3. "How Will Your New Website Change Your Business Life?"
Future pacing the customer to allow them to imagine how their new website will benefit them and make their business life easier.
Mistake # 4: Not Adding Value for Website Visitors
One of the keys to having a successful website is to make it interesting enough so that visitors return over and over again. The majority of websites are 'visit once' websites. They add no value for the customer and offer nothing to prompt them to return to the website again tomorrow or the next day. The way to solve this is to add value for visitors.
You can do this a number of ways:
1. Add a Blog - a blog is essentially an online 'diary'. Large companies use their blog to keep their customers informed of new product releases, product recalls, staff changes etc. This information is helpful and you should also seek to educate your customers via your blog by providing information such as 'hints and tips'.
2. Create a Forum - a forum is a communication medium whereby customers can communicate with each other to seek information, gain product knowledge or solve problems. For example, a customer may ask a question on the forum relating to their new purchase of a motor vehicle and several others may reply to the question with their own experiences and how they solved the problem.
3. Articles - write articles that help the customer in some way. Do not write articles telling customers about how wonderful your business is and why they should choose you over your competitors, this doesn't add value at all. If you seek to help customers first this will demonstrate your expertise and your customer will make up their own mind that yes, you are the best business to deal with.
4. Videos - create information-rich videos (similar to your written articles) that help customers solve their problems. Videos are a great visual medium to educate customers, particularly 'how to' videos which educate customers. And just like written articles, if done correctly they demonstrate your expertise. Upload these videos to YouTube and gain free traffic to your website.
5. Free Newsletter - The most essential component of your website will be your signup box where visitors will leave their name and email address. Once you have their permission to contact them, via your 'opt in' signup box, you can then send emails in the future about new products or services that you offer. You'll need a 'hook' to give them a reason to leave their email address with you and the best way is to offer a free weekly, fortnight or monthly newsletter with information, hints, tips, and news about products or services that will help them.
Remember Always... Demonstrate expertise FIRST and price will become a secondary issue.
Mistake # 5: Having a "Busy" Website
In an effort to not leave anything out many people will cram too much information on their website and overwhelm visitors. Websites that have information overload such as news websites serve a different purpose than a business's website. A business website exists to educate customers, demonstrate expertise and capture visitors' contact details for future follow up.
Use clear, concise headlines that make it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for. Use small pictures if necessary to identify categories of products/services and make the purchase or order button blatantly obvious. The easier you make the more leads you'll generate and the more sales you'll make.
Step inside the mind of a website visitor and ask yourself 'what would I like to see on this page that quickly identifies the next step I need to take?' There will generally be between one and three reasons someone visits your website. These are:
1. Just browsing - they just want to check out what you're all about
2. They want to contact you - they need your contact details to contact you by email or phone for a specific purpose.
3. Information - they're looking for information about your products/services, news, your forum or your blog.
Information (content) is the magnet that will draw customers in and keep them on your website. The way people use the internet is the same they watch the news on TV, they're seeking information, updates, stories and interesting tidbits. Deliver this on your website and they'll tune in to you regularly. Ensure that it's clear and laid out logically on your website so as to not overwhelm visitors.
Mistake # 6: Not Capturing Visitor's Name and Email Address
By far the number one cardinal sin with a website is not having a facility that captures visitor's name and email address to allow for future follow up.
You can set the follow-up on autopilot using an autoresponder. This is simply and automated email system that sends out pre-created emails in a specific sequence on specific dates or days determined by you.
In regards to the content of your autoresponder emails, begin with the idea to educate first and sell second. Your autoresponder would be set to email regular articles, hints, tips etc which educate your customer and helps them learn to do something or simply to do it better. At the bottom of each email you can feature a list of your products or services in a 'Did you know we do X product/service?'.
The key is to let the customer discover your products/services themselves, but also seek first to educate, help and solve the problems your customers have.
It all starts with collecting their name and email address on the homepage of your website. It's essential that you give visitors a reason to give your their details. Offer a free newsletter, a free report (like this one you're reading now) or something else of value (Note: it must be an electronic product that can be downloaded, We don't suggest offering a physical product as it has a hard dollar cost to it and takes too much time with postage etc).
Give, give, give and you'll receive, receive, receive. It's the secret to business as well as life in general yet most people do the opposite and wonder why things aren't going their way.
Mistake # 7: Not Leading Visitors to the 'Next Step'
If you make it easy for a customer to buy you will increase your conversion rates considerably. One of the ways to make this happen is to make the 'next step' obvious, whether that be an 'Add to Cart' button, 'Review Your Order' if they're buying a product directly from your website, or consider adding text such as 'Call Us Today on 13 13 13 To Get Started'. It needs to be large, obvious and clear of obstruction, it should be in the place they expect it to be.
A next step could simply be a Signup Box where they subscribe to your newsletter, obtain a free report etc. Your Signup Box should therefore be near the top of the homepage on the right hand side so that it's visible and easily accessible.
-------------------Now that you know the 7 fatal mistakes people make when building a website and how to avoid them, it's time to start your website the right way by contacting YourWebsiteDesigner today...
Would you like to...
...Have a website that promotes your existing business?
...Revamp or modernise your existing website?
...Add a shopping cart facility to your website to sell your products online?
...Create a new business online where your website is used as the primary means of generating business and interacting with your customers?
...Have a self-promotion website (eg. www.yourname.com) where you promote your expertise and offer your services eg. Keynote speaking, consulting etc?
Then take a step towards making this happen by contacting us today...
Website Examples...
Afra Label - a women's fashion label utilising a unique High Grade Rayon Viscose Spandex material.AfraLabel.com.au
CatharticGallery.com - an online art gallery with a shopping cart facility built in to automate the sale of art online CatharticGallery.com
NoosaKidsMarket.com.au - an online resource for stall holders and market visitors complete with market stall booking facility. NoosaKidsMarket.com.au
How will your new website change your business life...?
...Imagine your website as your # 1 Salesperson, working tirelessly to bring in new customers
...Picture your new 'face' of business, reinforcing your expertise and your brand
...Allow yourself more free time by utilizing the power of automation that your new website gives you
...Realise that you can own a website that pays for itself many times over by implementing some key strategies, and separate yourself from your competitors
Take action now and have your new website working for you... contact us today...