Regardless of what kind of business you are operating, it is becoming increasingly important to have a presence online. Even if you are a “brick and mortar” business with a local clientele, marketing your goods and services online can cause growth like you may not have experienced with other methods. A key component of marketing your business in this way is the actual content on your site. You want to utilize this tool effectively, so take some advice here about what to focus on.
Content is king, no matter what your business is. How it is portrayed on a website will be the first impression that new clients get, and will likely be the only chance you get to win them over. For this reason, make sure your website is always current and is updated often with new information. Outdated content is a major red flag to anyone considering parting with their money, since it indicates a business that is not on the cutting edge, or one that is sloppy and lazy. Either of these things will cause you to lose business. Post new merchandise, specials and sales or just greetings and insights about what you have to offer.
Once you have the basic content posted on your website, review it often to make sure that it remains relative to how your business is progressing. If you sell products or services that are seasonal, make your website relative to the summer or winter, depending on what your clients may be searching for. If new trends in your field develop, update your business to include new ideas. Promote these on your website.
Though having advertising on your website can bring in some extra revenue, it can also clutter your site and be distracting from your main business focus. If you do include ads, make them clean and harmonious with the site’s overall design. Keep them on the peripheral, in columns on the right and left of the main center content sections. Readers will naturally let their eyes fall in the center, where you will convey the most important content. If they stay long enough, they will then let their eyes roam to the ads that will help your advertisers. The most important thing is to use your site for growing your business, so use advertising selectively.
Keywords are important and are crucial in getting you to the top of search engines so that clients can find you on the Internet. However, having articles formed around keywords can cause them to be worded awkwardly, creating a red flag to viewers. Creating content just for SEO purposes comes across as being manipulative and insincere. That is the last thing you want to convey to your customers. Limit keywords to less than five per article, and make sure they fit seamlessly into the paragraphs.
These are just a few things you can do to start using your website to market your business. Keep building on these principles as you grow, eventually exceeding all your expectations.