Thursday, October 27, 2011
If you're like most business leaders you put a great deal of
thought into the location, layout and function of your physical
store or office. And then you may have spent only a fraction of
that time planning your website. With so many of your customers
using the Internet to research, buy and interact with service
providers, you need to ensure your web presence is "more than just
a pretty face." As with your physical presence, you should be
purposeful about decisions involving the way your website looks,
works and is found. Read on for thought starters.
The way it looks
Sure, you used fonts and colors according to your
brand standards. There's a form here and catchy content there and
even a picture of your team. Yup, it looks like a website…like
almost every other website out there. How do you know if the form
is in the best place to be seen? Are you sure the most important
things your customers are looking for can be found with just one
click? With a little collaborative
strategizing, an experienced team can design your website
around your visitors' needs. The easier it is for visitors to find
what they're looking for, the more likely they are to fill out your
form or sign up for your newsletter. And those people are far more
likely to purchase something from you in the future. Turning a
casual visitor into a buyer is called conversion and it's what your
website should be all about.
The way it works
Just like with your physical store, your website need to create
a pleasant and efficient shopping experience. It should load
quickly and offer intuitive navigation. These important elements
are covered during the user experience and development phases of a
website design and implementation project. For example, an
experienced development team knows that images take a long time to
load. So a developer might suggest the use of a gallery to allow
visitors to browse through images without slowing down the site.
Paying attention to how your website works helps ensure your online
customers get in the door and quickly find what they need once
inside.
The way it's found
Where your website actually is located (meaning, its specific
server location) doesn't matter to your visitors. What does matter
is how easy it is for them to find it. You know it's easier to find
a store that can be seen from a main thoroughfare versus one that's
hidden in an alley. The same is true of the way visitors find your
website. Securing an intuitive, easy to remember URL is the same as
securing a storefront in a busy mall. Using effective keywords,
titles and page descriptions for your website are the same as
putting up eye-catching signs for your physical store.
An experienced team will work with you to create an overall
web presence strategy that takes your site's address (URL), search
engine optimization, online marketing and the use of social media
like Facebook and Twitter into account to help you attract the most
visitors.
Start with strategy
Having a plan before you get started will improve your web
presence and enhance your results. You'll be able to monitor
results to quickly determine what's working and what needs
tweaking. Just as you observe customers in your physical store,
your web strategy will ensure you can metaphorically observe them
in your online store. It's the only way you'll know if they're
finding what they need, having a pleasant experience, making
purchases, and coming back for more!
See more by downloading our Infographic about The Importance of
Web Presence
