Browse by Category
Internet
Remember When It Was Just the Yellow Pages? Well, Not Anymore.
By jusBurbank.com | March,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 BurbankBooks.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 www.justBurbank.com collaborates on our articles. Each employee, contributes, then Kate edits for business-appropriateness, and Libby edits to make sure the article is funny and juicy. Our aim is to write helpful & entertaining articles.
