You have successfully published your web site and it is viewable to the whole world. Now it’s up to you to direct traffic to it to ensure that it works hard for you in return. Once your web site has been published you must do everything you can to let people know it exists and direct them to it.
Like a new born baby you must nurture it, feed it and introduce it to the world!
YOU CANNOT ASSUME THAT BECAUSE YOUR WEB SITE IS LIVE THAT YOU CAN SIT BACK AND WAIT FOR BUSINESS TO COME FLOODING IN. Promoting your web site is the key to a successful and hard working, productive web site.
I have banged on about SEM in my other posts, but this one is goint to remind you of the traditional methods that also go along way to helping your web site get noticed. There are many traditional ways of marketing a web site and you should use as many as you can alongside the modern methods of SEM.
- Business Stationery
Business stationery, this may seem obvious, but many people don’t do it. IMPORTANT whenever you create business stationery whether it is a business card, letter head, invoice slip, delivery note, Christmas card or compliment slip, it is a MUST that you put onto that stationery your web site address. This is the EASIEST way to let existing and potential customers know you have a web site and to drive visitors to it.
- Business Premises
If you have premises that you work from then update the external signage to include your web site. Think about how many people drive or walk past your front door and will see your web address.
- Email Signature
We all use email as a way of communicating quickly and effectively to the rest of the world. Have you added an email signature to each and every one of the emails you send out?? An email signature is a great way to sign off your emails, working the same way as putting yours sincerely at the bottom of a letter.
By english law (January 2007), every business email should end with the contact details of that business. That is the registered address, phone number, registration number (if you have one), VAT number (if you have one) and email address. So why not add your web address to it? Just think how many emails you send out each day to business colleges, friends and family. This is a great way of persistently marketing your web site easily and at no expense at all.
- Business Email
If you have a web site then GET EMAIL that is linked to it. DO NOT USE a free service such as gmail, hotmail or yahoo. As a professional business this is tacky and cheap. If you have a web site with the address www.mywebsite.co.uk then you should have an email address that is anything@mywebsite.co.uk. By doing this you look instantly professional plus it makes it so much easier for your customers to both remember your email address and your web site address because they are the same.
One of my pet hates is seeing business vehicles travelling on the road network of the UK that have had nice logo’s and adverts painted on their sides to advertise the company they belong to only to see an email address that is totally unrelated to the business name or web site. How is that memorable? How am I going to remember that when I get back in front of my computer ready to send an email of enquiry?
- Traditional Advertising / Marketing
Yes you are now on the internet but never forget the traditional methods of advertising and marketing. Don’t stop using them simply because you have a web site. It is up to you to find as many different ways as possible to drive visitors to your web site. DO NOT rely totally on search engines alone. Remember a search engine is a business like yours and will show no preference to a web site regadless of how good it is. Even Google, ASK and eBay rely on the traditional methods, just think of the TV advertising they all do! Traditional methods that are known to work and you should continue to use are;
- Trade magazine adverts
- National press adverts
- Local press adverts
- Shop fronts / Business premises / Company vehicle signage
- Leaflet drops
- Trade Shows
- Radio adverts
- TV adverts
- Mail outs
Like business stationery when using these traditional methods, don’t forget to ensure that your web site’s address and email address appear on them. It is very annoying to see one of our customers lay out a very attactive advert and put it in the press and then neglect to put their web site address on the advert, what a wasted opportunity! Drive the traffic to your web site; never do any advertisning without your web site address.
In conclusion; NEVER stop advertising your web site and your business, even when you are busy. In order for your web site to succeed you must keep promoting it, keep reminding people it is their no matter how popular and how big you get. EBay and Google are known the world over, but do you think you’ll ever stop seeing their adverts?
For more ideas and FREE advice on promoting your web site please take a look at my other posts and web site www.specnet.co.uk. Or contact me at robert@specnet.co.uk I am always happy to part with some advice on the subject.
Posted 15th September 2008
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