There is absolutely no point in creating a website if no-one is going to visit. Do you need more traffic / more business from your website? Then read on….

5. Get Social

There is a million ways to get social on the internet but only the big three are worth contemplating – MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

MySpace and Facebook allow you to create pages for your business from which you can derive traffic for your site. People can join as Fans and listen your “blogs” and converse with you. Why would you bother? If people can find you on a social network, surely they could find your real site. Build a blog and/or chat room into your business website instead.

Twitter is a different kind of beast. Using Twitter, you can establish yourself in networks that are actually interested in you (they “follow” you). By adding tweets that are relevant and link to your site, you could generate a small following for your business.

Be warned however that social media rarely leads to actual sales. A serious prospect would more likely find your business in a search engine or advertisement.

4. Pay for Traffic

The monolith we know as Google makes millions out of this every year. Website owners, just like you, pay Google AdWords for link placement on the right hand of the screen in relevant Google search results. This is known as Pay per Click. When potential visitors click on your Google AdWords, you pay Google a specified amount. If you choose this method to drive traffic to your site, be sure to limit your monthly expenditure or it could prove very costly. I personally ignore these AdWords so as a website owner; I tend to use other free methods instead.

3. Reciprocal Linkage

Links to your site from others are very important for two reasons. One, they get traffic for your site and two, they push up your Google PageRank (see my previous post for more information). Reciprocal links are very easy to set up – simply contact other webmasters in your industry or client base and offer to link to their site if they link to yours. Example: One of my clients, Bluewater Harbour Motel, is setting up a links page for accommodation around Australia and asking other sites to do the same. Not in the immediate area of course, that could be detrimental to business. Best of all, once the page has been set up, reciprocal linking is free!

2. Return Traffic

Give your site visitors something to return for. If you write quality articles in your blog regularly, you may encourage return visits. If you are a photography site, allow monthly calendars featuring your photos to be downloaded as desktop wallpapers. Conduct polls, forums, online meetings, anything to encourage people to return. Regular visitors will pass on your links to their contacts and you will benefit from the snowball effect.

1. Search Traffic

This is the best type of traffic to get. When you are found using a search engine, it means the visitor is genuinely seeking out your services and is a potential client. A good ranking in the search engines is hard to get if you have a lot of competition. To achieve a first page listing in a search engine, you will either need to learn about search engine optimization (SEO) or pay someone to optimize your site and check out the competitors. Front page on Google is achievable but not easy. Example: Using search phrase “Web Design Innisfail” it was fairly easy for Rusty Mango Design to achieve #1. I’ve set aside a fair bit of time in the coming weeks in order to conquer the search phrase “Web Design Cairns”. There is lot of competition therefore I need to look at what phrases are working and how I can optimize my site to grab that elusive market.

In addition to my web site designs, I have been asked on occasion to create logos for various companies. Some people think that logos are simply something pretty to put on stationery and websites. However, if you stop and think about logos, there is much more to them.

Logos form part of the brand for a business. A strong brand is one of the many keys to success as the scramble for customers gets harder every day. Here’s an example:- What automatically comes to mind when you think hamburgers? You certainly don’t think about the local fish shop. MacDonalds has spent millions ensuring that those golden arches are seen everywhere and are synonymous with fast food.

It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It’s a foundational piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.

To create a successful brand, you need to delve deeply into your core business and the perceptions of your clients and potential clients. Look at what you do and what your customers want you to do.

The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:
• Delivers the message clearly
• Confirms your credibility
• Connects your target prospects emotionally
• Motivates the buyer
• Concretes User Loyalty

You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact.

Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot.

It might seem strange for a web designer to blog on this topic. After all, I make websites and I want people to pay me for making websites. I’m not going to dissuade anyone from creating a web presence. But I continually get asked by new clients “Do you think I really need a website?” and my answer predictably is YES.

There are several very good reasons for getting a business or organisation online. Some of them are quite obvious. For example, a motel must have a website. If they don’t, they will miss most of their potential clientele. Tourism operators must have a site for the same reason. Anyone planning a trip or holidays rarely leaves home without planning ahead and the most informed travel agent around is living in your computer.

Another compulsion to get online for some businesses is simply based on what the competition is doing. If you’re not online, you can count that your competition will be. You’d be surprised at the variety of businesses that are online – from lawn services through to your local delicatessen.

What about not-for-profit organisations? They definitely need a site. What better way to repay your sponsors then getting an article in the local newspaper with a web address at the bottom. People go to visit the site and there’s the sponsors logos across the screen, linked to their websites. You can run membership drives for your organisation utilising online forms and surveys. Most importantly of all, you can tell everyone about the work you do and how they should get involved.

In a economic climate where advertising may not seem an option for some businesses and organisation, a web site is a cheap and effective alternative but only if it is utilised properly. After all, if no-one can find your site or it doesn’t convey an effective message – what’s the point?