So you’ve got a new website…..now what?

by Anna Hahn

“If you build it they will come” may have worked in Field of Dreams, but it will not work for your website! Here are the best ways to keep your site from sputtering out:

• Keep the content FRESH! Nobody wants to revisit a website that has the same old stale content on every visit. Outdated prices, contact info, promotional offers, or product listings are a big turn-off and damage the credibility of your site. Regular site maintenance is essential for adding new content, removing old or expired content, checking for broken links, providing valuable statistics about your site, and showing customers that your business is alive and kicking.
• Your web address should be prominent on EVERYTHING related to your business – receipts, advertisements, flyers, radio/TV ads, print ads, business cards, letterhead, bags, faxes, mailings, coupons, yellow pages listing, promotional items that you give away, etc.
• Search engine submissions should be done for keyword optimized web pages with smart meta-tags. Resubmissions should be made on a periodic basis to keep your rankings as high as possible.
• Obtain an email list by providing an email newsletter that is of value to your customers. This could mean coupons or special discount offers only available via the newsletter, early notification of sales, recipes, how-to ideas that relate to your product or service, and so on. Encourage your subscribers to forward the newsletter to their family or friends, who may in turn also subscribe (using a subscription link that should be in every issue of the newsletter on the front page). Only send emails to customers who have opted in, otherwise you will be SPAMMING, which is a huge turn-off and can get you into trouble with your hosting company or ISP. Provide an in-store method of signing up for the newsletter as well as an online method so you can be sure to draw more visitors to your website. Also list your newsletter in ezine directories online. Never sell or share your email list with anyone! Be sure to provide your privacy policy statement and an opt-out method as well. Keep the frequency of emails to a minimum -- you will lose more subscribers by overloading their inboxes with “junk”.
• Promotion, promotion, promotion!!!! (Did I mention promotion?) Contests, email lists, local portal sites, incentives for referrals, and search engine inclusions are just some of the options. To realize a return on your investment, marketing your website should rank as high on your priority list as your other advertising methods, such as newspaper ads, yellow pages ads, etc. It should not be an afterthought.