Are you doing everything you can to make your company website successful? Small business owners and home based businesses can benefit from a website if it’s constructed in an easy-to-use format. There are steps you can take to make sure you’re doing all the right things when it comes to your website, and according to Dotster, Inc., a provider of Internet business services, there are specific steps you can take to get the most out of your website efforts. Here are the remaining tips that, according to Dotster, small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) need to do: 6. Take advantage of Google Analytics and Google AdWords. There is no better package for analyzing the traffic that comes to your site. Google Analytics offers a very robust package of reports on all website traffic. The paid option of Google AdWords will list a website on additional websites that advertise with Google AdSense (a market standard). Implementing this capability on an SMB website takes some effort and Dotster's web design experts can help increase a website's exposure to new users and generate additional traffic. 7. Ensure an SMB website is xhtml/css 2.0 compliant. Redesigning an SMB website to be Web 2.0 compliant will ensure it is viewable across all Web browser platforms. The Web design industry has come a long way since the days of designing websites in Frontpage and your business needs to be on the leading edge of design. Web 2.0 standards separate the content from the layout, making it easier for search engines to index the site's content. 8. A blog is one of the best ways to open up communication with business prospects and customers. A blog is a Web journal that is an important tool for SMBs to communicate with consumers about the latest news, products and services relevant to their business. It can also identify the business as an industry leader and expert. Blogs are indexed more quickly than other pages by search engines, especially blog search engines, and can point search engines to other content on the SMB's site via links. To maximize the power of a blog, SMB owners should provide interesting and thought-generating information; ask for reader comments, questions and opinions; and comment on readers' feedback. 9. An Internet newsletter can help maximize your overall communications efforts. SMBs can provide consumers with an expert e-mail newsletter that offers interesting, timely and entertaining information related to their businesses. Newsletters that feature tips and advice are especially helpful. SMBs should give consumers the ability to register for the newsletter on their website. This also provides an effective way to obtain valuable contact and marketing information that can lead to future sales. 10. User-friendly sites ensure maximum use and profit. SMB websites should be designed to help visitors to find key information. It is important to clearly identify ways for customers to contact the business for more product information, obtain customer support and buy products. If an SMB website offers direct sales, it must feature an easy to use commerce system that makes it simple for customers to purchase products and services. These 10 tips are simply a starting point. There are many more ways to increase SMB website traffic and conversion regardless of the economic climate. For more information, contact http://www.dotster.com/design/studio. |