I see the four pillars of online marketing as Email Marketing, Google Adwords, Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing but the foundation these pillars sit is your website. Others make the argument that in the digital age your website is the foundation to your whole business.
As with your house, if the foundations of your business are in poor condition then it is only a matter of time before the whole shooting match comes crumbling around your ears.
Planning
First and foremost (and the first question I pose to any new customer) what do you want your website to do. Think very carefully about this. It may be obvious (like with a recent new customer who wants to open an online second hand book shop called 10p books) but it might not be.
Your website can sell stuff, of course, but what if your business doesn’t have a product that sells itself and is easily shipped? What if you own a pub? What if you sell cleaning services? What if you’re a hairdresser? The objectives you have in mind will be different for each one of those businesses.
A common goal for new online strategies is to use your website as the starting point for a conversation with your existing and potential customers. Even if they are not ready to buy from you today you can place your business in their minds for when they are ready to commit. You do this by offering something for nothing, usually information, and hopefully gain something in return, an email address for example. Once they are ready to buy, your website is the conduit through which they can make contact and book an appointment, a table or a meeting.
Cost
Regarding cost, you essentially have two choices with your website. Firstly, you can do it yourself or pay for a professional to do it.
Building your website yourself will save you money but be careful that by doing it yourself you aren’t starting the rot in your foundations that will cause your business to fail later. You will need a good deal of time and some knowledge of computers and the internet at the very least. If you are a novice, you could look at other websites and try to copy a successful design.
Paying a professional can cost less than £500 with annual costs for hosting and support being under £100 per year, but make sure you know how much the website is going to cost and how much the monthly or annual costs are going to be before signing any documents or parting with any money.
When making your decision consider how many hours setting up and designing your website might cost and factor in your time and how much you would pay yourself or the cost of taking time out of your business. Once you have paid yourself, the difference might only be £100 (or less).
Design
There are no absolute rights and wrongs in website design but there are things that don’t make logical sense. Think of it like decorating. Your colour choice is neither right nor wrong, but you wouldn’t paint the windows or put wallpaper over the door, because that doesn’t make logical sense.
So you need to make your website your own, a reflection of you and what you and your business stand for but without making logical mistakes. If you’re using a web designer they’ll help you with this. If the company you are using don’t seem to want to take the time to explain why something is logically wrong or why something else is important, switch to one that will, you’re not short of choice.
Content
Content means the information you are going to put into the pages. This will mostly be words (called copy) and appropriate images, but this can also be sound, animation and video. Sounds that are not invited (like background music) is really annoying and will drive traffic away in droves, but a podcast might be a great addition. Think carefully about headlines and then sub headers as these will give quick clues what the page is about and draw your visitor in.
Do you want to be able to add your own content later on? This might be in the form of a company blog or a news and events section. If you are adding products to a catalogue or e-commerce shop then updating existing products and adding new products will be essential. Don’t assume you will be able to. You won’t be the first to get caught out.
Marketing
Customers will not find your site without you making it easy for them. To help people find your website you need to publicise it in all of your offline marketing. Put the web address on your business cards, letter heads and other stationary. Put your web address in any offline advertising, be it a classified, a display ad or radio ad, make sure your new website gets a mention.
Online marketing can be deployed in small amounts to give your website a boost or it can be used in a more sustained way to drive high volumes of long term visitors. It really is a topic to itself.
A Considered Approach
No matter who designs your website you will need to have a big input from the very first moment the concept is conceived to months and years after the first version has gone live. The Rake Mark website is constantly evolving with new specialist micro sites that are created to support different aspects of the business. A comprehensive marketing strategy backs up and supports our online efforts.
Finally, please remember, no matter how well appointed and decorated your home is, it needs good foundations to stay up and you didn’t wallpaper up the kitchen door for good reason.
