One of the most difficult, but key components of the Internet marketing process is to design your website to achieve the goals you have set for your business. However, most business people ignore this critical step, or leave it to their web designer to take care of, which can often be even worse.
When you take the time to strategically plan the outline of your new website or an upgrade of your current one, not only will you achieve a website that will show off your business in the best way, but one you will be able to add and edit content easily, and probably most important will help to achieve your overall business goals. Below are a number of steps to follow while planning your new website:
1. Write down on a piece of paper everything you think the visitors to your web site might want to know about your product or service. If you are planning a website for a school, for example, the visitors would be interested in how man students attend, classroom sizes, staff information and sports offered. Brainstorm every possible topic someone might want to know related to the industry, product or service your website will be offering.
2. Imagine for a short time that you are a potential website customer. Surf the Internet and visit various sites offering similar services, then review them as a potential customer would. As a visitor, what do you like and dislike about each site? Are you inspired to take action from the website? Are you able to find what you are looking for quickly and easily? Are there a lot of pages to navigate through to get to what you are looking for? Note all this data down with the intent of making your new website as easy for your visitors to use as possible.
3. Research to find out what keywords your visitors might search for. You don’t need to invest in expensive search tools, Google has a free keyword tool that is adequate for this purpose. Type in a general phrase such as “high school” and see what other keywords come up. These are the things your visitors already have questions about. With this information in hand, you can plan your website to feature content that answers people’s questions.
4. When planning your new website, make sure to keep in room to grow. Don’t be lured into a website format that won’t let you expand easily to add new content pages or products. You will find that building a great website is a constant work in progress.
5. Plan a website that you can control, rather than be at the mercy of a web designer to make even small changes to your website. Today’s dynamic Internet marketing environment demands new and fresh content added to your website often, and the old fashioned sites that rely on a web developer to make changes just won’t work anymore. You need a website platform that will allow you to add website content fast and simply.
Usually, a new website is one of your business’ largest expenses. Don’t waste it with an inferior website that doesn’t support your business objectives.
Marty Dickinson is the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for over 10 years. His specialty is Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors. Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.
Tags: general business tips, internet marketing, marketing, online marketing, sales and marketing, small business, website design, website development, website tips