Website Marketing Tips

So you launched your website. Now the real work begins.

For most businesses, creating and launching a company website requires a great deal of blood, sweat and tears. Countless hours are spent spent organizing and getting content and photos to your web designer and developer while they build a user friendly website that will appeal to your customers. Finally, when all of this work is completed and your website is launched, it’s time to kickback and relax, right? WRONG! This is a common mistake a lot of business owners make. Although it may feel like so much time and resources have been invested to get the website perfect, this is only the first step in an ongoing process to get the most out of your web presence.

To help illustrate this point, let’s say you open a new retail store. You have the nicest looking store on the block with a beautiful interior and smartly displayed products. However, the location isn’t prime, your signage is a bit small and you did nothing to get the word out about your business. Your beautiful little shop will likely close within a few months because no one will know it exists!

The same applies to your company website. Building a great looking site with user friendly navigation is a good start, but now the real work begins to get the site noticed. If no one can find your website, obviously it will not benefit your business. Just like you need to market your storefront, you also need to market your website! Using internet marketing to increase traffic to your site will ultimately help move you up the search engine rankings to ensure you are front and center when people search online for terms related to your business.

To help get your website on the map, we’ve compiled our top 10 strategies.

1. Understanding what your customers are looking for is the key to bringing the right content to them. By using keyword/search term analysis, you will appreciate your target market, what they are looking for and how they are looking. This process takes time but is well worth the effort. Understand your audience and then use that insight to your advantage.
2. Ensure that your site is built with SEO coding in mind. Your site’s code can play a role in its overall optimization. It’s like building your house on a firm foundation. From ensuring your site can be crawled and indexed appropriately to providing text-based alternatives, the code is an important piece of the puzzle. You don’t have to understand all the details, but be aware and ensure your coder does!
3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) copywriting is an easy way for you to direct users to your website through organic searches rather than pay-per-click advertising. After you’ve determined what keywords you need to use, focus on these words and use them naturally and in relevant context throughout your article. For more information about SEO copywriting, see our article SEO Copywriting that Matters.
4. Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising allows your products and services to be front and centre with potential clients when they are looking for a product or solution. Google AdWords, Display, Remarketing and Facebook PPC campaigns will require an ongoing budget but can get you really targeted results. Each platform offers its own benefits but allows you to focus your marketing in an effective way. Click here to learn more about our SEM digital marketing services.
5. E-blasts are an effective way to promote your website and generate traffic. Be sure to abide by CASL rules and obtain permission to email your contacts. A great way to create interest and acquire consent is by offering an incentive like an eBook, white paper, discount or special offer. You can then use your marketing list to share events, new products, content from your website and exclusive deals. Directing all links back to your website increases the likelihood of further clicks and interaction.
6. Using direct mail to send customers to your website can be an effective strategy. “There’s no denying that direct marketing can be expensive – postage alone usually costs more than an entire e-mail campaign,” notes Chris Dugas, Partner and Managing Director at ZOO Media Group. “But if done correctly and creatively, a direct mail campaign can yield solid results.” By cross-promoting the same campaign across a variety of marketing channels, you can leverage the effectiveness of a direct mail campaign.
7. Similarly, unaddressed admail can be sent to your target audience with a similar strategy to the direct mail campaign. Unaddressed admail is more cost efficient but is not as focused as a direct campaign. These pieces can lead recipients to your website to redeem an offer or correspond with online display ads for even better results!
8. Online contests can drive traffic to your site. Be sure to start with your goal in mind and plan all the details before you get started. Be consistent and run contests periodically to build a following and increase anticipation. Use your social channels to cross promote the contest and drive even more traffic to your site.
9. Leveraging trade publications related to your industry is also a good strategy. Budgeting for some advertising in these types of magazines and journals can achieve a targeted result.
10. Using your social media channels is a great way to direct people to your site. These users are already engaged and interested in your company, so you can leverage these networks to direct fans and followers to your website. Create great content and then share it. You can market your website through these channels by directing people back to your site to continue reading or to learn more.

One more bonus strategy is to leverage positive feedback. People trust people, so using testimonials from satisfied clients can go a long way to establishing credibility. Don’t be afraid to ask for a referral or review when you complete your transaction. If your service was great, your customer won’t hesitate to provide you with a glowing review.

These are our favourite tried and true web marketing tactics to get you on the right track when promoting your new website. To learn more, contact the London, Ontario marketing and web development professionals at ZOO Media Group today!