Considering why you build a website for your organization will help you know what to include and what response to encourage. The “why” for your website can vary depending on the age or your company, the size of your company and the type of business you are building. Let’s consider a couple of different reasons for a website and how the “why” impacts your content and your ask.
If you are just starting out on the small business journey, your “why” may be because “you are supposed to have a website”. It may be adding legitimacy or supporting initial word of mouth exposure. A business with this type of “why” should be sure to include some key website features:
1. The business name prominently displayed.
2. The owner’s name prominently displayed. (Include any one else that will have a public role).
3. Your primary product or service.
4. The geographic area you desire to reach.
These items will be the primary keywords for your website.
Your “ask” will generally focus around the easiest way for you to interact with people. This could be a phone call. If phone is the way you want people to respond, place your phone number prominently and repeatedly. You don’t want to put website visitors on a scavenger hunt for how to reach you. Email or a form are other potential responses. Whatever your ask, make it obvious.
A different why will result in a different focus and potentially a different ask. We will explore more reasons behind a website in future blog posts. But we encourage you to spend some time exploring your “why” and evaluate if your website serves your purpose. Need help? Let us know and we will be glad to offer feedback.
We encourage business leaders to explore why they have a website. Understanding your “why” will help you focus your content and your call to action (your “Ask”). In this post we will explore the focus and ask for a business growth website.
If you are ready to use your website to more actively help your business grow, you likely want to generate leads, capture key data and perhaps even qualify leads so you can focus on responses likely to turn into future customers.
At this stage in a business, the website becomes part of a broader marketing strategy to reach new customers. The importance of branding elevates. Consistent colors, logo and taglines help visitors responding to another platform know they landed in the right place.
Website pages dedicated to your key products and service area help capture a wider keyword reach. For example, instead of one page saying you are an electrician, you will now have pages dedicated to electrical inspections, load calculations for new equipment, breaker panel upgrades and commercial electrical to better capture specific needs of customers looking for your services.
The ask is likely to be more detailed as well. Instead of just a phone call, a form fill may be more effective to capture relevant details like service location or best time to make contact. Different pages of the website may have targeted calls to action specific to the service being highlighted.
As you explore your why, evaluate your website content and ask so that it fits your purpose. If you would like us to evaluate your website, shoot us an email and we will be glad to offer feedback.
Being part of a connected world comes with its share of pitfalls. Sometimes these pitfalls are just annoying, but at times they can lead to serious headaches or become criminal. As options to communicate increase, so do the problems. Phone calls, texts, email, social media and more can all become ways people try to trick us. It can be even more challenging for business owners and sales professionals because we want people to be able to find and reach us! How can we avoid the pitfalls?
The efforts to prevent spam, scams and shams are ongoing, but never fully effective. A stronger response is continued education, vigilance and caution. Many IT companies offer training to help keep current on the latest scam techniques. Our partner AMBIT includes annual training to help us. They can also advise on implementing two-factor authentication, password protection and additional security measures. You can reach them at https://www.techambit.com/free-risk-scan.htm.
A common scam comes if you join a board of directors for an organization, join a community group like a chamber of commerce or join a networking organization. Organizations like these often help promote your business by publishing your contact information. While this can be immensely helpful in reaching new customers, it also feeds scammers details they will try to use against you.
While serving on boards I’ve received numerous emails and texts pretending to be from the board chair or president of the organization asking for gift card purchases or other monetary favors. If this is unusual behavior for your organization, it is likely a scam at work. A local networking organization has recently been subject to a similar scam tactic. We’ve been receiving emails and texts from other “group members” making unusual requests. Staying connected, communicating and remaining cautious is minimizing any potential damage from this latest scam.
And remember, if something “feels” off, STOP! Pause. Verify. You can read more on this subject in our blog posts, You’ve been hacked! and How to recognize a scam email.
The ongoing challenge to remain connected and avoid the scams and shams remains. Education, communication and stronger relationships are some of the best defenses. Let’s continue to build strong networks and provide quality service and products to our communities while beating the attempts to turn our connections against us.
A website domain name is a key piece of the puzzle when building a website. When exploring a domain name, consider three things: availability, memorability and communicability. The most obvious choice for a domain name is the name of the organization. Think mcdonalds.com, bestbuy.com and walmart.com. But as the number of websites continue to multiply, the availability of obvious domain names is rapidly diminishing.
Availability can be checked at any domain registrar. Enter the domain you desire and you will get a price if the domain is not yet taken. Most registrars will also give you related options if your first choice is already in use. If your name is not an option, consider variations on the name, shortcuts or topically based names. The domain nissan.com was not available for the massive car company. You can find their websites at nissan-global.com and nissanusa.com.
Memorability is the next thing to consider. Refer back to the first paragraph and there are some memorable domain names in that list. Shorter domain names are generally recommended, but not required. Your domain name will impact your email addresses, so keep that in mind. Some professional organizations tend to string together the initials of their names. While this can generate a shorter domain, it may be harder for people to remember.
Communicability is also important. Can you easily tell someone your domain or will you need to spell it, tell them where any dashes might be, or explain why your final three letters (top level domain) are not .com or .org? There are over 1000 different top level domains from .pizza to .law to .church. Even more common top level domains like .net or .biz can create confusion for end users. And beware of the “cute” combinations. The popular convenience store 7-Eleven fits their name (7-eleven.com) but will take a bit of explaining to get it right, “the number 7, dash, eleven written out.com”.
None of these items are deal breakers when choosing a domain name. Google, email software and general automation will mitigate tougher domain names, but keeping availability, memorability and communicability in mind will help the decision making process.
Onsite SEO includes multiple tactics to help your website rank higher for targeted keywords and phrases. Tactics range from keyword selection, to content creation to technical elements within the website. As you work through the various elements, having a plan in advance will help keep your efforts on point.
Keywords
The first step in a solid onsite SEO strategy is to carefully consider your keywords. Keywords and phrases should include branding elements, content targets and a geographical consideration. Branding elements include the business name, owners’ names and key employee names. Be sure to use words and not just logos or graphics to represent your company. Google understands words far better than pictures. Using owner and employee names helps is someone may know you and that you are part of your organization, but may not remember the organization name. A search for John Smith accountant may not display your website if John Smith is not included in your keyword content.
Content focused keywords are the words people will enter into Google related to what you do. For a landscaper, think words like “lawn maintenance”, “grass cutting”, “irrigation installation”, “sprinkler systems”, etc. Multiple variations of a term will help capture a broader range of search inquiries. Geographical keywords are where your business is located and the different areas you serve. With keywords, always think “what will someone enter into Google when they are looking for my website?”
Website Content
Now that you have your list of keywords, begin using them to help craft the written content on your website. Keywords should repeatedly be woven throughout the content on your website. Include keywords in headings. Include keywords in paragraphs. Include keywords in image captions. Do it repeatedly, but also do it naturally. Keyword stuffing is a black hat tactic and can get your site banned. (Don’t do keywords, keywords, keywords to get more keywords.)
Technical Elements
Each page of your website has a <title> tag. Titles should absolutely use keywords. Website pages should also include <meta> tags including the meta description. The meta description is a snippet or summary of your page content that should be more readable but also include keywords. Images should use [alt] attributes to describe what the image represents and are another opportunity to include keywords.
Page Load Speed
How fast your website page loads is a factor for search engine ranking and for user experience. While not tied to your keywords, be mindful of practices to make your website load faster. Use properly sized images and next-gen image formats like WebP, AVIF and SVG for faster image loading. Use “extras” sparingly. Items like popups and other website widgets may be valuable for your user experience, but be mindful of the impact to load time and use these tools strategically.
SEO Summary
Keywords and their repeated but natural use throughout the content on your website is one of the strongest SEO tactics available to a website. Using those keywords throughout the technical elements on your website increases the keyword impact. A focus on these onsite, organic SEO tactics will help your website rank higher.
SEO is an abbreviation for “Search Engine Optimization”, which means utilizing tactics to help people find your website using online search. SEM stand for “Search Engine Marketing” and refers to paid advertising on the internet.
SEO is “organic”. Organic refers to the listings in the search engine results that are not paid advertising. SEM results in paid listings which are marked with a tag that says “sponsored” or “ad”. But how do you know when to use SEO and/or SEM?
The answer to the SEO vs. SEM question often depends on budget, time and competition. SEO is the longer play. SEO is driven by content changes, website structure and meta tags to better emphasize desired keywords. But it takes Google and the other search engines time to process these changes and begin ranking a website for those adjusted targets. SEO can be handled by the website owner and generally costs much less than SEM. And if you are in a crowded marketplace (think “real estate agents”), then the time for SEO changes to rank is much longer.
SEM is fast, is a pay to play solution and is still impacted by competition. The results of an SEM campaign can be seen in days rather than weeks. Competition has less influence on where your ad will display and more influence on how much the ad will cost. If you are in a niche market and looking to make a quick splash, SEM can start generating additional traffic for a few hundred dollars per month. In more competitive fields, the cost per click is higher and could require a budget in the thousands per month to generate the desired results.
Overall, SEO is a must for every website. Well defined keyword targets, combined with quality content that includes those keywords, supported by strong website structure and meta tags will help your website rank higher in search results. If your budget allows, SEM campaigns will accelerate traffic and gain exposure where the organic work has not yet reached. Ultimately, the answer is not SEO or SEM, but a blend of both to help people better find your website.
SEO is a term that is often used loosely to mean anything surrounding getting your website to rank in the search engines. SEO is an abbreviation for “Search Engine Optimization”, which practically means utilizing tactics to help people find your website using online search.
Other terms that often are included when discussing SEO are SERP and SEM. SERP stands for “Search Engine Results Page” and is what you see after you enter your search into Google. SEM stand for “Search Engine Marketing” and refers to paid advertising on the internet.
Another term that is important to understand when exploring SEO is “organic”. Organic refers to the listings in the search engine results that are not paid advertising. Organic results is what SEO works to influence. This leads to the next question, how do we influence organic search results?
SEO is generally broken down into two broad strategies: onsite SEO and offsite SEO. Onsite SEO is included with every website design project from Convergent Design. Onsite SEO is focused on relevant keywords or phrases and utilizes tactics like quality website content, strategic page and image names, title tags and meta descriptions, page speed and more.
Offsite SEO refers to tactics that happen away from your website. Offsite tactics can include a variety of activities. Social media accounts and posting are some of the most popular methods. Setting up listings with popular platforms like Google, Bing and Yelp contribute to stronger SEO. Referral links from reputable websites like your local Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau and vendors or other partners with your organization will help.
A successful SEO strategy starts with understanding the target market for your website and what keywords people will enter to try and find you. Building your website to capture those keywords will lead to more accurate exposure, higher visibility and stronger search rankings.
A website redesign can be motivated by several different factors. Changes in technology, a branding change, new developments in your area of business, new products or services you plan to offer and changes in society are all potential factors that drive the need for a website change. While this list is not all encompassing, it includes some of the top factors for starting a website redesign.
Past changes in technology include the proliferation of mobile phones creating new screen sizes for website display and new compression methods for website images resulting in image formats like .WEBP and .SVG. If you have an older website that is not yet optimized for mobile sized screens, it is past time for a redesign. Some industries like restaurants can see as much as 90% of their overall website traffic coming from phones. Having your website look appealing and informative on a phone sized screen is a must.
If your website still uses older image formats like .JPG and .PNG, it may be time for a redesign. The newer compression methods result in considerable savings in file size. Smaller file size means faster load times. Faster load time leads to improved user experience. Load speed is also a major factor in Google’s ranking algorithm. Older images on your website are motivation to consider a redesign.
A branding change almost always includes a website redesign. New colors, new logos, new slogans and font changes all lead to a desire for new presentation on your website. Be sure to include your website as part of a branding change so you don’t leave your digital presence lagging behind your other marketing efforts.
New developments in your area of business can range from a new standard being released, new laws passed or new opportunities. Business changes often drive what potential customers will enter into the search engines. If your website does not talk about the new developments, your business will miss out on that search traffic.
New products and services can sometimes be handled by a website update, but can also be a good motivator for a full redesign. Especially if the new item helps drive new business to your company. A new home page coupled with new content pages can properly promote the new part of your business to maximize website impact and customer response.
One change in society that impacted the online world was COVID. As face to face interactions were limited, many organizations looked to their websites to help carry additional load. Online ordering systems increased, changes in hours or business behavior required new communication and websites played a major role in communication the response to the changes happening around us. Watch for other changes in society that may drive change in how your company communicates online.
The main question when considering a website redesign? Is your website still effective at communicating your message to your target market and driving the response you desire? If your website misses on one or all three parts of that question, let’s talk about redesigning your website.
Simple, Clear and Focused summarizes our design philosophy here at Convergent Design. When you work with us to build or update your website, this philosophy helps guide our decisions, advice and actions. What does this mean for you, our customer?
Simple – Simple refers to the navigation system of the website. We have seen websites where navigation systems change depending on which page of the website you view. Lack of consistency in navigation creates confusion and frustration. Not what you want your website visitors to feel when they visit your website. Simple navigation is consistent and makes it easier for visitors to find what they are after.
Clear – Clear is the overall messaging on the website. Are you a house painter? We want that to be incredibly obvious on the website. If the main point is communicated clearly, visitors are more likely to engage your content and look deeper for more information. If you are a painter and someone is looking for an electrician, we don’t want them to call you and waste your time. Clear messaging captures attention and leads to deeper engagement.
Focused – Focused revolves around what you want a visitor to do next when visiting your website. We work to identify your primary response and hammer that response through multiple calls to action throughout the content on your website. Your primary call to action may be potential clients completing a “Request a Free Estimate” form. We will place prominent “Free Estimate” buttons in the main menu system, at the bottom of the website, and woven throughout the content encouraging people to complete that form.
These three items: simple, clear and focused help us create websites that move your customers to the next step in your process.
Online forms have multiple uses that can include collecting needed details, requesting more information, event registration and processing payments. This is not an inclusive list by any means but we wanted to share a couple of examples to show how a form may benefit your business.
A simple contact form may be helpful for several reasons. You may not want to expose your email to limit spam. Website users can use the form to send information to you that will still reach your email, but not let all the spam bots see your email address. You can see a simple contact form at the bottom of our website at https://www.convergesc.com/.
An example of collecting needed details can be seen on the Phoenix Roofing website at https://www.phoenixroofingsc.com/contact-phoenix-roofing.htm. This form specifically asks for the address where the roof is located and what issues the roof may have. Generic contact information without those details are not as helpful in this situation and the form helps make sure the needed details are collected.
Payment forms can help streamline an overall business process. We built a recent form for ISI Consulting that enables users to register for select trainings and pay as part of the registration. To see these forms in action, visit the ISI Training page at https://www.sharpertogether.com/isi-training.htm and scroll down and click the Register Online buttons.
Do you have an idea on how a website form could benefit your business? Let us know and we can explore options and help you collect better information from your website visitors.