5 Quick Tips for a Successful Small Business Website
1. Do Your Homework
Survey the terrain and stalk your prey. Research your industry, competition, and target audience. Along with understanding your business persona & goals, this will help determine site structure, features, branding & design style, calls to action, SEO strategy, etc. Do your research in the mindset of your model customer. Determine what your competitors are doing right, and plan to do it better. Determine what they’re missing, and plan to fill that need.
2. Content is King
Create content with intent! Keep it simple. Don’t overwhelm the user with long sections of wordy content if possible. Short paragraphs and point form lists with catchy relevant headings.
Use relevant keywords & phrases within your content, but don’t overdo it just for the sake of search engines. Remember that your audience is human. Humans have feelings, opinions, and a sense of humor. If you don’t connect with humans, they will simply move on to one of your competitors.
3. Call To Action (CTA)
Every page should have relevant and compelling calls to action. There is no point in having a website if it’s not going to generate sales, inquiries or leads.
An effective CTA should be visually obvious with clear intent. For example:
- Buy Now!
- Call Us for a Free Estimate!
Your CTA should also be preceded by clearly definitive and enticing content.
4. Website Health & SEO
No tricks. Page speed, clean coding, and general website health are key elements when it comes to page rankings. Relevant optimized content, functional site structure, and thoroughly planned organic SEO are critical for any commercial website.
Don’t forget to optimize and test mobile versions!
5. Google Business Profile
That map and “Businesses” section that you see when you search for any local product or service. This is not optional, just do it.