UPDATED: MAY 16TH 2022
Turn crickets into cash with this fail safe website plan.
You’ve got your website looking great, it functions well all on all devices, your call to actions are clear and visible but then
…nothing but crickets.
A gorgeous website that also functions well and keeps users in mind is awesome but there is no guarantee that it will make you money. After all, if no one can find it, what’s the point? Your business needs to be found by the people who need your product or service. So how do you get your business noticed online?
If you own a business that requires an online presence, and frankly most if not all businesses need this, then it’s key to ensure that it can be found in the SERP (search engine results page). Is your business visible to people looking for your services or products? This handy checklist is a great start.
The 6 point website plan for business success below will help you get your business found online so that you can turn those crickets into cash.
6 Point Website Plan for Business Success
1. Google Business Profile
If you haven’t claimed your Google My Business Listing not only is it crucial to your success but it’s super easy! All you need is a gmail account to get started. Make sure to fill your profile out completely, including the Covid-19 section as Google likes when you do that.
2. Google Maps, Apple Maps
Google Maps makes it easy for customers to find you if you run your business from a location. With over 25 million updates daily and 1 billion active users you can’t afford not to list your business on Google Maps. Customize maps for your business locations, embed them on your website, and get more traction to your site and enjoy the benefit of more contacts and more cash.
If you serve customers face to face you need to claim your Apple Maps listing for your business. Now, I know that Apple Maps hasn’t been a great experience in the past but it is getting better. It’s also the default map app on IPhone and all Apple products so it’s not going away anytime soon. If your customers are using Siri to find a local business, the results of their search come from Apple Maps, not Google Maps.
It’s easy to set up your Apple Maps listing too, just go to https://mapsconnect.apple.com/. If you haven’t claimed your listing chances are it’s there but the information contained within may not be accurate so it is a good idea to grab control.
3. Bing and Bing Places for Business
Bing is not the preferred search engine for most people these days, in fact they only account for 2.78% of the worldwide market share. But that number is still massive in terms of the number of people.
17% of users who use Bing are in Canada and the United States accounts for 33% of users. A quick search and calculation tells me that equates to about 100 million US users on desktop! And if you’re a PC user you may not even know that you’re using Bing. Have you ever used the search bar or clicked onto a word in a email to search for a keyword? You are using Bing! Xbox, Skype, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Word, Excel and more also use Bing.
In short, your website plan must include getting your business listed on Bing Places for Business to tap into that ‘small’ market share.
4. Reviews
Websites like Foursquare or Angie’s List curate business reviews, directions and more and provide a wealth of information about your business to potential customers. It can sometimes be a lengthy process to sign up for some of these free or paid services but don’t let that deter you! They are well worth the effort to get your profile listed.
You can also ask customers to write reviews by sending them a link from your Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, Upcity, TrustPilot and Clutch, for example. You can embed badges on your website so people can find your profile and link to you.
It’s not recommended to offer incentives to get reviews as it violates guidelines for Google and Yelp, for example. The last thing you want is to be banned from Google. There are some great resources to help generate ideas for your business and how to ask for reviews.
Google Business Profile Reviews
It’s super easy to grab your Google Business Profile review link to then send to customers or embed in your website. Check out the video.
5. Target Market
Probably the most important point in your website planis knowing who your target market is? Who are the people you want to attract? Where are they? Are they under 30? Over 55? Somewhere in between?
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest are trusted websites with high domain authority that attract a wide range of age groups with Facebook leaning more towards the 40+ and Instagram attracting a much younger demographic or those who want to stay young (wink) .
If you are a photographer for example, your target market will be found on social media platforms or websites that place importance on images. If you’re a videographer or host online cooking classes then the best use of your marketing efforts may be directing traffic from your website to YouTube. You’ll need to do your research to find out where they are, and focus on one or two platforms to start. Just don’t overwhelm yourself.
There are plenty of social media experts for hire out there that can lend a hand if you don’t have the time. But read this first before you do!
Google Analytics will help you discover where your visitors are coming from but of course if you have no traffic, there won’t be much information available. Google Ads are helpful to get you started but without a solid SEO strategy in place the crickets will still find you.
When people are searching for businesses like yours on Google or Bing your social media profile will appear in the SERP, often above your own site! This is obviously not ideal as you want to drive traffic to your business website not theirs. Therefore it is important to focus your marketing efforts on your own website as all original content on your website is owned by you.
If Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or other social platforms you use go belly up your content would disappear along with it. So take control of your business and publish all your content on your website first, then push it out to social media platforms that best represent your customer base.
6. Website Health
Does your website load quickly? Are there elements that are buggy, broken or in need of a design update? Or maybe you don’t have the time to keep on top of all of it because you need to focus on your business? In order to get the most out of your website and to hit the mark on all the topics discussed in this 6 point website plan, contact us today!
