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If you’re setting up an online business enterprise, your website should have all of your attention for quite some time, as you painstakingly develop what is effectively your window into the world. If you don’t have a physical location for your business or a “bricks and mortar” operation, the appearance of your website will tell a lot about your organisation.

Ideally, you should post your entire website on your own server, so you don’t have to rely on the operating hours, rules or regulations of another entity. If you don’t have much experience with coding, choose one of the simplest platforms, allowing you to work on your site without this effort taking up all of your time. If you believe that certain changes to your website may represent an uphill struggle, you’re far less likely to stay on top of its development. Affordable online business providers like iCapitalise can quickly supply you with an extremely user-friendly option, using a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) system.

You need to understand how the Internet works and what it takes to achieve visibility for your site. You will want your website to appear within search results when your prospects search for something that you could provide. This is quite complex, as the search engines themselves utilise a variety of rules to determine what is appropriate and what isn’t. The process of “search engine optimisation” helps you to specify certain appropriate elements of code as well as the overall structure of your site. There are many experts in the prestigious field of website development, and you might want to check out the services of an expert virtual assistant to help you keep up with it. At the very minimum, you need to have an understanding of the basics, including what your favoured “keywords” are and how the content on your page should be written.

If you remember how you used to write an essay or a thesis in school or college, where you would design and map out your content to ensure a natural progression, then you should apply the same approach to website design. You’ll have a variety of different pages, with an array of separate topics covering products or services, each of which could easily result in additional pages of associated content. Within the home page you need to have a clear description of your business, with easy to find links giving a logical path of progression for visitors to follow as they seek out your information.

Visitors rarely take the time to read all the information on your page, and this is where the term “surfing” originated. It’s said that most people tend to look for “frequently asked questions” and other areas that they can scan through quickly to get the gist of what you’re offering. Therefore, always remember to set up a FAQ database and link to it very prominently.

A blog is a very important part of an online strategy initiative, and you would do well to include one within your website. Social media is becoming very important as we go on, and your blog represents an opportunity for you to update daily news and information for prospects and interested parties. You should make sure that you keep current with blog posting and establish a close bond between yourself and any visitors. If you’re clever about the type of content you include, you could end up creating your own social “buzz.”

Even though you may only have an online presence, visitors will be looking for reassurance before they do business with you, and because of this, you should include your contact details in a visible position for when this trust is established. Take a photograph or two of the owner and key staff, as this helps to add a human touch to your site. The customer service contact number is essential and a physical address is highly recommended.

Once your website is up-and-running, make sure that it’s maintained on a very regular basis. You should learn as much as you can about search engine optimisation, and get to know software packages that allow you to analyse your visitors. The analytics program accessed via the Google website is a great and free tool, enabling you to set up goals and events that can help you to see whether certain promotions are working for you.

Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, an accomplished Executive Virtual Assistant Service which helps companies of all sizes reach their commercial targets. Want to get more information about online business building success strategies that really work? Contact VMF today!

Filed under: Internet Marketing |