A Good Business Website:
Do you own a good Business Website? If so, why do you think it is good? If not, why do you think it is not good
In a previous post we considered some of the signs that your website is not performing.
Today, we will have a look at factors that will ensure you have a Good Business Website.
Planning a Good Business Website.
That’s correct. A good Business Website starts with planning. Not just planning when the website will go live but planning the whole website from scratch. We will look at all the aspects that play pivotal roles in making a good business website. The below list is not exhaustive but do cover the most important aspects of planning a good business website.
- Objective of your business website:
- SEO Strategy
- Exploring and research
- Choosing a domain name
- Content, Content & Content
- Continued Website Management
Objective of your business website:
Prior to doing anything else we need to decide and understand the objective of our website. If we fail to have a focused objective, visitors to our website will not know what your business is about and more importantly will not understand how your business will be able to satisfy their needs or offer a solution to problems they may have. A Good Business Website will always have a clear message which contains a (pre)defined solution to a specific problem or need. Once you have made a list of your objectives and condensed them to a clearly defined objective(s) you will be able to plan the rest of your website.
Right at the onset of your planning it is important to have clear goals, and everything done in respect of the website must be aligned to these goals/objectives.
SEO Strategy for your Business website:
Once you have decided on your business website’s objectives the next step will be to decide on an (Search Engine Optimisation) SEO Strategy.
We have been many business owners who failed to plan a proper SEO Strategy before having a website designed and developed. We have been requested on several occasions to assist companies with SEO strategies years after their websites have been launched. This is difficult and without fail we had to redesign and change all the content on these websites. This always led to higher costs.
The launch pad for a successful SEO Strategy is on-page SEO. This starts with using proper and clean SEO friendly code. As an example, when using HTML to add content to a website you need to use tags in order for website browsers to distinguish between different content on a web page. For example, when you add a paragraph with text in a website the text will normally be contained within paragraph tags e.g. <p>This is a paragraph with a lot of text</p> When you place these paragraphs within a <div> tag. Div tags are mostly created when you are not sure what the content is and many WYSIWIG website editors use the dreaded <div> tag. Instead, the <article> tag (which I am using in this) article will tell search engines that this is an article. Using meta tags on every webpage also assists Search Engines to understand what content is on your website and how your content can assist people searching for solution that you may offer. SEO is a very big field and cannot be covered in this article.
It is however important to know that when you consider SEO Strategies you consider the following:
- Quality content will increase traffic to your website.
- Being listed in local directories or listings.
- Long tail keywords that addresses specific queries into products that you may offer e.g. “24/7 windows replacements in Pretoria” instead of just “windows replacements.”
- Mobile friendly or responsive website layouts.
- Use actionable keywords in your website’s meta data.
Exploring and Research:
Without doubt, irrespective of your type of business, you will have competition. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a look at your competition’s website’s and see what they are doing to be successful. This may include looking at the content they are using, the manner in which the content is presented and the design and feel of their websites.
You should also have a look at the keywords that your competition are using. You can view the use of keywords in your niche with the Google Keyword Planner. Another option is to use your browser’s inspect tool to view the metadata used by your competition. The meta data is stored within the <head></head> tags on a webpage. In the below video I will show you how to view the metadata on a competitor’s website.
By knowing which keywords your competition is using and how they have used their keywords on their websites you will soon get a grasp on the SEO Strategy you need to employ.
Choosing a domain name:
In a previous article we discussed choosing an effective domain name for your business website.
When deciding on a domain name best practice is to:
- Keep it short and memorable e.g. Google
- Use a keyword in the name that describes your product or service e.g. www.roofdoctor.com
- Use your target area in the name
- Avoid numbers and hyphens
In addition to the above it is also important to select your domain name extension properly, e.g. use biz if it is a business or com if it is a commercial website.
Content, Content & Content
The old saying “Content is King” still holds true. With content we refer to planning what type of content you are going to use, how you are going to use it, where and when it will be used.
Research has shown that visitors prefers videos and images of a product above long text. Text is however an invaluable tool to make your website “discoverable” by Search Engines.
In many cases a combination of text and images such as in an infographic can be an excellent tool to showcase the benefits of a product or to describe a process that you follow when rendering a service.
When planning your written content, it is important to make use of keywords that you have gathered in the above planning processes. It is however important to use these keywords in a logical and flowing manner without going overboard. Search Engines recognises the overuse of keywords as “keyword stuffing” and will penalise your website if they find it.
Lastly it is important to give all the images and videos that you are using on your website an alt title for SEO purposes.
Continued Website Management
Many businesses fall in the trap of believing that once their website has been launched it will get a good ranking on search engines and that it will remain at the top. The first mistake is brought about by advertising campaigns that state a website will rank #1 on Google overnight if you let them do your SEO. This is a myth and a complete lie. It takes many months to establish good rankings on search engines and it requires fresh content to be added, keywords amended, keeping your website updated etc.
Once the website has been launched, the real work of getting on top of your competitors and staying there begins. This includes engaging your clients on social media, integrating social media on your website and staying relevant in an ever-changing digital environment.
WebScripto makes explicit use of WordPress for its clients’ websites and offer training packages which enable business owners to keep their Business Websites on top of its game.
Conclusion:
As mentioned above this list is not exhaustive but concentrated on the most important aspects you need to consider when planning your business website or plans a complete rebuild of your existing underperforming website.
Please share your view on other important factors not discussed in this article.
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