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Remember When It Was Just the Yellow Pages? Well, Not Anymore.
By justPasadena.com | December,2008
According
to a recent survey by Business Week, only 10% of consumers still use
the Yellow Pages. Business is being done online and if you’re not
there…you’re missing out. Unfortunately, there is a steep learning
curve to getting there. Here are some initial steps you can take to
make the process less painful.
1. Go to Google and enter a couple of phrases to locate your competition - Take a good look at their websites. Find a couple that you like and bookmark them.
2. Select an address or domain for your site - (go to the "whois" tab at www.NetworkSolutions.com to see what is available).
3. Relevance is more important that branding - This
is definitely true if you are a small business…You will get more
exposure if you select a domain that has words in it that relate to
your business, because it is more likely that those are the words
people are using to find your product/service. If a consumer already
knows your business name, and uses those words in their search, your
site (if designed well) should still come up in a Google results. By
using words in your domain that are relevant to your business, as
opposed to your business name, you will be opening your site up to more
searches, and thus, more consumers. See if you can get one that relates
to what you do or sell. (ie: JoeThePlumber.com or PasadenaBooks.com).
4. Make your site relevant –
This is all about writing good copy and is vital to getting found by
your customers. Google ranks sites higher if they have high quality
content (related to the search terms used or “key words”). So, start
pulling together lots of meaty information about your business from
your brochures and elsewhere. You will need a clear and detailed
description of your services and/or products, biographies and/or
company info, and copy about what makes your company different or
better than your competition.
5. Getting a website started -
If you are a little tech savvy, you can find good templates on
www.monstertemplate.com and adapt them for your use. If not, at this
point you will need to find a website designer. Ask around and get a
referral to someone reliable and experienced. If you find one who you
like, treat him/her well because the good ones are very busy and you
will probably want to develop a long-term relationship. View their work
and do your best to communicate what you do and what you need. Then
request a written quote that includes cost and time frame.
6. SEO -
Ask your web designer if Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is included
in the quote. This is important, because a properly coded site has a
big advantage over other sites. Over time, optimized sites become more
visible and more visited. This is how keywords and other strategies
enable your potential customers to find you. If you love your designer,
but they are not familiar with SEO, don’t fret; you can hire experts in
SEO to work on your site. If your designer says that they are
familiar with SEO but can’t explain to you what they plan to do to help
your site rank well in search engines…look elsewhere, you may be
getting lip service, and your site is too valuable to just “hope” they
know what they’re doing.
7. External optimization -
This is simply a popularity contest. The second most important factor
in ranking a site (after relevant content), is the number of outside
links from other websites to your website. Whoever has the most outside
links from other high quality websites is rated the most popular and
gets on the first page of a Google search. Research directories – local
directories, industry related directories, business networking sites,
etc – and join them to get that link back to your website. Your web
designer may be able to do this for you.
8. Staying fresh -
Fresh content is also what Google spiders continuously “crawl” websites
looking for…new tasty treats…yum. They like new content and give it
extra points in the Google search game. If you or one of your staff
likes to write about what you do…start a blog (www.blogger.com or
www.wordpress.com) and add just a paragraph or two a month. Have your
web designer link your site to it and voila…fresh content added for
free. Offer tips about your business (i.e.: for florists…”The latest
trend in bridal bouquets” or for pool service – “Great family games for
the pool” and so on). A successful blog can also bring more links back
to your site from other bloggers.
9. Online advertising - E-mail,
PPC, and Word of Mouth. Paid advertising is something to consider once
all of the above is in place. But that is a whole other article.
You
probably have lots of questions about the above…some of which your web
person or your 12-year-old nephew may be able to answer. Do these steps
and not only will you be online, but you also will have learned how to
talk to the average 12-year-old.The team at justPasadena.com collaborates on articles. Each employee contributes ideas, Kate edits for business friendliness and Libby has the final edit for humor's sake. Our aim is to provide useful and entertaining information.
