The world is wildly connected with internet and thus smartphones, tablets and the huge wave of technology have completely changed the way business is done. Everything said and done, no business becomes a success overnight. Do you ever wonder what it takes to have a successful online business? The art is bundled up in many layers and extends much further than just organizing the business. Web assets are equally important and need to be managed, articulated more efficiently than you think. This entails everything right from hosting website domain, maintaining customer data safety, to managing social media profiles.
It’ll only take a veritable Superhero to handle the business, organizational security and digital presence with flair – let’s bust this myth first. Anyone, literally anyone, can rule the internet world; but here are a few important things you will need to do first.
Purchase a good domain name that reflects your brand appropriately.
The easiest and most inexpensive part of a website is the domain name selection. You don’t need a tech expert for this and requires only a few minutes to get started.Ensure you choose something that clearly explains what your business does. For instance, if you are doing a custom shoe business, opt for something like “www.shoethatfits.com”, “www.custommadeshoes.com”, etc. Yes, we all want fancy names. But sometimes it’s better to be simple than fancy.
Helpful Tip: Look for keywords around your business if the name is already taken and it is preferable to buy a domain ending in “.com”. If unavailable, your next best preference should be “.in”, “.co.in”, “.biz”, “.net” etc.
Reliable web hosting ensures that a website is accessible to customers any time of the day or night.
Web hosting is where the website lives. So the choice of web hosting company reflects the security, traffic, and performance of your website. A reliable one will ensure there is little or no downtime, thus, no loss of customer engagement. Whether you choose a monthly or yearly subscription, they will have to ensure that your website is delivered to customers just the way you envisioned it. Some people overlook this aspect of their business and thus end up making the wrong choice in the very beginning. If the customers can’t view the website, your “awesome content” will make no sense. There will be a loss of revenue, negative SEO ranking and the website will be susceptible to malware & security attacks.
Helpful Tip: Always sign up for yearly hosting contracts than monthly as they are more beneficial in the long run.
Invest in good, structured content which conveys the brand message effectively.
Take a really hard look at your content. Did it fail to excite you? Did you feel you’re just reading words and did you pull out a yawn? Well, if it’s not communicative and engaging, it deserves the yawn! Keep your ideal client in mind, show them naturally how much you love your product (without sounding promotional) and let the words flow as if you are talking to them directly. Relevant information, properly spaced around the layout is always pleasing to viewers. Stuffy and repetitive content is boring and will make viewers leave the page instantly.
Helpful Tip: Large headlines attract the eyeballs, they help in giving the information upfront.
Keep the content fresh, updated and easy to read
On the internet, people first look at your website; not the brand, not the product. Within a few seconds of getting to the site visitors decide what to do next. Engage or leave. People often make the mistake of first bombarding the site with lots of content and then falling off the edge of the world. They return to the website only after a significant warning of becoming obsolete from search engines. It’s so important to stay connected even if the website isn’t getting as many hits or conversions in the beginning. A sign of constant activity is good for rankings. Naturally, nobody has the time to post hundreds of messages or blogs a week. But consistency in updates is good.
Helpful Tip: For instance, let your viewers know you are going to post some contest every Monday, some new product every Wednesday, some discount deal every Friday and exciting offers every Sunday. This makes the customers wait in anticipation for next big sale or contest. You can post blogs, statistics, staff stories and so much more. Really, there is no end when it comes to content!
A flexible CMS system guarantees less dependency on technical world.
It is essential that the content is built in such a way that even non-technical staff members can easily edit it anytime. Ensure that you, as the business owner do not feel the need to seek technical help for small tasks such as updating the website content. Choose a robust, well supported, well documented CMS for e.g. WordPress for your content rich website. If the web designer suggests building something static, run the other way as this is going to cause long-term problems.
Helpful Tip: Static HTML tags, unstructured content, overuse of WYSIWYG editor causes too many problems than you can ever imagine.
First things first; is your website SEO optimized?
One might think – I have the best looking site, engaging content but why am I not getting enough hits or conversions? Wake up! you’ve got yourself a problem because the website isn’t Google friendly. Are there search terms/keywords in your title and content body? Does your content have the necessary CTAs(call-to-actions) wherever needed? Have you embedded RSS feeds to capture what your users like to read? Have your content team answer all these queries.
Helpful Tip: SEO’s are the best way to pull heavy traffic to your website and that too free! If you aren’t sure how to do this, it is ideal to hire a specialist SEO writer who can magically shoot up your rankings by tweaking small little changes in your content.
Is your website well designed?
You may have designed a jaw-droppingly gorgeous website. But if it takes the customer really long to find contact info or quotation form, you have lost a lead. Customer attention span is short and picky. Make sure every second they spend on your website is worth their time and efforts. So lay it all out in front of them. Too many images equals increased page loading time. A big chunk of viewers, actually majority of them are smartphone users. So your app/website MUST be responsive.
Helpful Tip: Ask your grandmother and millennial brother their feedback on your website’s look and feel!
Besides the great look and feel, is your website functioning right end-to-end?
Plan your website. Don’t just haphazardly include functionalities that may otherwise interfere with a smooth functional flow. People pay bills and make tons of transactions from their smartphones every single day. They need to know that this medium is safe and they can trust you.
Helpful Tip: Do in-house user testing to see if they were easily able to navigate through all the pages, could go back and forth and place an order. Take feedback and then get the functional, user acceptance, smoke testing done from professionals!
Give customers the needed closure on queries, complaints and even positive feedback
“Online” can be a scary term for people who do business face-to-face. However, people fail to understand that by strengthening online dialogue with customers, you give them a virtual “face-to-face” feel. If you need faster conversions the best way to speed it up is by building a good rapport with your customers, partners, and visitors.
Helpful Tip: Talk to them – via emails, online chats, forms, forums, blogs, videos, etc. Answer their queries. Thank them in an email or reward them with loyalty points! Get feedback on promotions, new products; even if it is negative. Haters gonna hate, you know!
A website cannot do without tools – monitoring, analytical, graphical and so on…
Whether it is designing or marketing, your site needs the best of the best. This does not mean however that you go on adding to your column of investments on tools that your business does not require or it’s too high-end for a small scale of audience. For example, Google Analytics is a popular free tool that rips through large data of visitors and helps form data sets – data comparison to previous campaigns, real-time campaigns, etc. This information can be used to make informed business decisions.
Helpful Tip: Analytical tools help capture statistics and data to a large extent. They can filter out records and help you make informed decisions based on facts and figures; not simply on your gut feeling. It’s good to pamper your site with much-needed tool-therapy, just don’t over-do it.
Use the persuasive power of all social media tools.
It’s the ideal way to reach to people. What’s better than getting to spend all your time on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites? Social networks are a great way to tell your story and demonstrate your expertise on a global level. They assist in getting a lot of traffic for free. Building a large network of followers takes time and efforts, but it’s worth all the energy. Give CTA’s wherever necessary. Retweet, repost, share, comment and like wherever necessary!
Helpful Tip: Publish original content with a customer in mind, share curated links, engage in real-time conversations with customers, create a community of followers, supporters, and advocates.
Giveaways, Contests, Promotions will drive sales up to the roof.
Everyone wants something free or discounted. Contests are a great way to reach out to customers and engage them with your brand. Create a free product or service when they buy or subscribe on your website. There is a thrill in “winning” something or getting something “free” or at “discounted price”. Why not focus on this emotion and make the most of it for your business?
Helpful Tip: The minute you read “Online Flash Sale” on a minimum amount of 2000, the cart is immediately filled with your stuff. Would you think of buying the same stuff on MRP? By introducing a sale, they are luring you into compulsive buying and so the minimum you HAVE to spend is 2000. The stock is cleared, sales are driven; smart, eh?
Hire Professional Service
Agencies, including Rhizomatic Web Services, specialise in digital techniques like web design, development, Adwords & PPC campaigns, SEO optimisation, content curation, business consultation, social media monitoring-marketing and increasing relationships. When you hire a professional service, it is guaranteed that your website will turn out just the way you want it. Doing so gives you the time to focus on your product/service and turn down the responsibility of other intricate functionalities to the web agencies.
For instance, Rhizomatic Web Services handles domain purchases, registration, website hosting, graphics and development, testing, configurations, security and other IT services for its customers. In addition, the whole spectrum of social media umbrella is optimised per customer needs and specifications. All of this and much more at fraction of a cost. Please follow the CUSP (Continuous Support & Support Program) page for more information.
Helpful Tip: No matter what you do, how charismatic your persona is, how awesome the product is; your website does all the talking for you. So why not invest in the best?
Do let us know what you think of these tips and whether they are helping you, hero, the world of internet.If you have a project that we can work on together – Let us know.