Our job is to create a website that will increase the reach of your business and increase your revenue. Businesses don’t all have the same needs. Below are various ways that we can help.
Restaurants are a natural for making money online. When someone is looking to go out for a meal with their family, they are looking for a few things: Specials, menu, hours of operation, and location.
- Put your specials on the Home page for customers to find them easily. If you keep specials up to date it gives people a reason to visit your website on a regular basis.
- Post your menu. A budget site can get away with a pdf version, but if possible, post your menu on a separate page, as text. This makes it easy for customers to see it, and the menu’s contents will be seen by search engines.
- Post your hours prominently on every page of your site. Make sure that your phone number is also on every page as TEXT. That way it can be clicked on with a smart phone, making it easy to call you.
- Post a BIG map showing your location. Include door to door driving directions. This should be on a separate page, not a little map on your Contact page. If possible, link to the map on the sidebar of your site.
- If you do banquets and events, dedicate a page to them. If you offer special event menus, include them. Include an Event form, where people can let you know the details of their event and ask questions about your services.
- Link to your social media. Also include a “Like” button, so people can post your Facebook page on their own timeline for their friends to see.
- Make a special effort to get site visitors to contact you with an online form (this is important for ANY kind of business). Research shows that when you respond to a contact form, it increases the likelihood of that person doing business with you. We recommend a “Quick Contact” form on your sidebar, so people can contact you from any page of your website.
This industry uses a website primarily as an online brochure, and a way for potential clients to ask questions and communicate with you. This is important for potential clients that cannot contact you during business hours.
- Use high-resolution graphics to show your work in the best possible light. Image galleries and before and after slideshows can show site visitors what you can do for them. Here is an example of a broadband slideshow.
- Create a Testimonials page. This will show potential clients that people like your work.
- Include links to any organizations in your field you belong to.
- Have a page that walks potential clients through the process of your work, so they know exactly how you do business and perform services.
- Make a special effort to get site visitors to contact you with an online form (this is important for ANY kind of business). Research shows that when you respond to a contact form, it increases the likelihood of that person doing business with you. We recommend a “Quick Contact” form on your sidebar, so people can contact you from any page of your website.
A successful e-commerce website is very difficult to establish. Your product niche is the most important factor in your ability to succeed. Niche products are by far the easiest to make profitable. If your products are in the mainstream market, you will likely need a significant budget if you want to attract traffic away from the “big boys”. We will give you honest advice. If we see difficulties in achieving profitability, we will tell you.
- Make sure that your SEO takes your niche into account. Selling products that are widely available is MUCH more difficult than selling products that are meant for a smaller audience. Your strategy will vary wildly depending upon the market you are reaching for. Click here for details.
- If you have a budget e-commerce website, marketing is essential. Using Google Ad Words can help. If you are a reseller, your product manufacturer might list their vendors on their website. Contact them and make sure that your site is included in those listings.
- One way to attract sales (after you get traffic to your site) is by offering discounts. An easy way to do that is to offer free shipping over a certain amount of purchase.
- Make sure that your products and product categories are easy to navigate.
- If you are using PayPal, you need to get a Merchant or Business account. This allows customers to pay without having a PayPal account.
- Make a special effort to get site visitors to contact you with an online form (this is important for ANY kind of business). Research shows that when you respond to a contact form, it increases the likelihood of that person doing business with you. We recommend a “Quick Contact” form on your sidebar, so people can contact you from any page of your website.
B2B sites don’t generally get a lot of traffic, they exist mainly for establishing your brand, streamlining communication between you and your customers, and showing clients that you are serious about your business.
- Put effort into promoting your website to existing clients. Once clients know that communicating by using your website is easy, it can reduce the phone workload from your office staff.
- Encourage clients to use your website instead of email. If your forms allow clients to attach files, it will eliminate the size limits on email attachments.
- Depending upon your industry, password protected client pages can be very useful when working with clients on projects. Again, this will allow clients to send you files much larger than can be sent by email.
- Since you don’t have to worry very much about SEO, put money into your branding and the quality of the site’s appearance. Let clients know that you are serious about what you do.
On this kind of website, media delivery, social media and information are critical. This industry is filled with amateurs. If your business is professional, make sure that your website lets people know that.
- If you have video, make sure that it is as slick and professional as possible. Embed from YouTube or Vimeo, talking care to configure the videos so that they can be expanded to full screen, and that competing videos aren’t shown on screen at the end.
- If you use audio, present it in a dedicated audio player. Putting up an MP3 file by itself will open in a new blank window, which will look unprofessional. Click here for a great example.
- Make your site as social media intensive as possible. Anything involving the arts is reliant upon a fan base, and while Facebook is a horrible thing to rely upon as your only online strategy, it is very useful in partnership with a great website.
- If you make public appearances, a Schedule page is essential for letting people know where and when your events take place. You can use an embedded Google Calendar. We can style it to fit with your website’s branding.
- Interacting with your site visitors is important. Just as with most categories here, encourage people to contact you with online forms. A Quick Contact form lets people contact you without having to fill in a lot of information. When you get a submitted form, respond to it every time. This will help create a following for you.
Below are some useful links to information about various types of business sites, and how to make them profitable.
Should Your Business Website Use Facebook?
Business to Business Websites are Different