In the highly competitive world of online business, your website is one among hundreds of thousands all vying for the attention of surfing consumers from all four corners of the globe.
When building your website you may have read books, gone to classes and even sought the services of a professional organisation but there will always be something you have not considered.
Here are some common things overlooked by small businesses: Languages By giving your customers the option of reading your website in a variety of languages you open up your products to thousands more people around the world and in your own country.
This does not necessarily mean that you have to re-write all your content via a professional translator though; there are online services which can provide this on site and things like Google Translate which can perform translations in a number of languages.
Fresh Content Even if your website is selling shoes and hats, and your merchandise does not change that often, you still need to provide fresh content as often as possible.
Not only for search engine optimisation reasons, but for your returning customers who will be more inclined to buy based on your informative blog or articles.
Revisions Even the best online business website needs to be reviewed regularly.
By looking at your site from a fresh perspective, and by using Google Analytics, you can see where your visitors are being put off by confusing or less attractive parts of your site.
Tracking user drop off points on your site and acting on them can vastly improve your success.
Google Places By adding your business to Google Places you open yourself up to a host of new customers.
A Google places listing pops up on a map at the top of Google search results.
This is especially important if your business serves local customers, so that when they search for your business category you will appear on the map.
You can even get listed if you don't have a website yet.
Offline Marketing Don't forget about offline advertising.
You can have a great website with good search results, but by not doing any offline advertising and relying purely on online marketing you will be missing out on a chunk of business from people who don't live by the search engines.
Basically, don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Once your site is up and running you will simply have to ensure that your payment service provider has created a secure payment gateway for your customers.
Trust in a sites security is a very important factor in deciding to make a purchase.
An Internet merchant account can be set up quickly and effectively with minimal fuss.
The end result of these little tips is that you will be able to connect with your customers in a variety of new ways opening your business up to a whole realm of new possibilities.
When building your website you may have read books, gone to classes and even sought the services of a professional organisation but there will always be something you have not considered.
Here are some common things overlooked by small businesses: Languages By giving your customers the option of reading your website in a variety of languages you open up your products to thousands more people around the world and in your own country.
This does not necessarily mean that you have to re-write all your content via a professional translator though; there are online services which can provide this on site and things like Google Translate which can perform translations in a number of languages.
Fresh Content Even if your website is selling shoes and hats, and your merchandise does not change that often, you still need to provide fresh content as often as possible.
Not only for search engine optimisation reasons, but for your returning customers who will be more inclined to buy based on your informative blog or articles.
Revisions Even the best online business website needs to be reviewed regularly.
By looking at your site from a fresh perspective, and by using Google Analytics, you can see where your visitors are being put off by confusing or less attractive parts of your site.
Tracking user drop off points on your site and acting on them can vastly improve your success.
Google Places By adding your business to Google Places you open yourself up to a host of new customers.
A Google places listing pops up on a map at the top of Google search results.
This is especially important if your business serves local customers, so that when they search for your business category you will appear on the map.
You can even get listed if you don't have a website yet.
Offline Marketing Don't forget about offline advertising.
You can have a great website with good search results, but by not doing any offline advertising and relying purely on online marketing you will be missing out on a chunk of business from people who don't live by the search engines.
Basically, don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Once your site is up and running you will simply have to ensure that your payment service provider has created a secure payment gateway for your customers.
Trust in a sites security is a very important factor in deciding to make a purchase.
An Internet merchant account can be set up quickly and effectively with minimal fuss.
The end result of these little tips is that you will be able to connect with your customers in a variety of new ways opening your business up to a whole realm of new possibilities.