Keyword research and implementation Optimal website code Fast loading speed Being secure and having an SSL certificate installed; SSL is the standard security technology that ensures data passed between web servers and browsers remains private Having a mobile-friendly site Existence of high-quality backlinks (links on external websites with related content) that lead to your site Having lots of positive reviews online (Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc.) Using internal links throughout your site to keep people clicking and reading Using social media to link to your site (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) SEO is an extremely important ongoing process that can mean the difference between showing up on the first page of search engine results pages (resulting in large amounts of free traffic to your website) or page 300 (resulting in no traffic).
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Regularly create and publish quality content Both content quantity and freshness are important to search engines, so it’s important that you create a plan to publish quality articles and/or blog posts on your site and on external sites that link to your site. If you want to rank highly in search engine results and encourage people to return to your site again and again, you will have to update your website with new and relevant content as frequently as possible. In addition to static page content and articles, a great form of content to post on your website is testimonials. Asking for testimonials from your customers and then publishing them on your website is a great way to post fresh, high-quality content on your site that makes your small business more attractive. Make sure your content uses an appropriate, on-brand tone that people will enjoy reading. Install webmaster tools Make use of vital data to help you analyze traffic and site performance by installing Google Analytics and Google Search Console (both preferably via Google Tag Manager), and Bing Webmaster Tools. These tools can be used to track the following types of information:
Daily, weekly, and monthly visitors to your site Number of views on each page of your site “Bounce rate”—the percentage of users who come to your site and leave after having only viewed one page (Google algorithms give higher rankings to websites that have a low bounce rate, on the theory that visitors are spending more time on the site and find it valuable.) Average time spent on site by visitors Crawl errors on your site (errors that the search engines found on your site in crawling its content) Broken links on the site Keywords that lead users to your site Backlinks to your site Web page download time Other information that can help you enhance your SEO Implement a website maintenance plan A website shouldn’t be created and then allowed to grow stale. In order to have a successful website that ranks well in search engines and doesn't get hacked, you need to make sure it is properly maintained. Here are some tips to create a small business website maintenance plan:
Check Webmaster Tools data at least once a month and have any vital errors emailed to you in real time. Use traffic data to learn more about your audience so you can better cater to them. Use performance data to optimize and fix warnings and errors. Make sure all software is always up to date. Run security scans so you know your website is clean of malware and hasn’t been hacked. Use “split testing” to see if certain variations of your website help performance; for example, if you are selling a product, you might have two versions of a particular landing page with different images and wording—the split testing allows you to see which version has a higher conversion rate. Follow my advice about SEO (see point #7), and continually publish quality content (see point #8). Find on-trend and effective ways to market your business online. Allow website users to provide you with feedback about your site. Continue to check out your competition from time to time to see what they are doing with their online presence and see if what they’ve done can work for you as well. Make sure your website is backed up in multiple ways at least once a day and at least 10 days back. Conclusion As you can tell after reading this article, creating a great small business website may not be as simple as you first thought. However, if you follow the steps set forth in this article, your small business will have an excellent chance at succeeding in the online marketplace.
When you consider this in the context of how to make a website or making a blog, it’s much the same. You spend days, weeks, even months working to build your perfect website. You utilize a chunk of your business budget to create this incredible user experience, hoping it leads to customer satisfaction and increased consumers or visitors. When creating a website or undergoing a site redesign, there shouldn’t be any pieces left behind. The various aspects should fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, eventually compiling the perfect picture. When learning how to design a website, you want to create the optimal user experience. To do so, go through your site piece by piece and make sure you have these key elements. The following features are purposeful elements of a website that users have come to expect and will leave a lasting and positive impression on all those who navigate your way. Home Page Features for Your Website The home page is where most first impressions are made. It’s a user’s first look at who you are and what you’re about. Don’t mince words here. Be concise and effective with your communications, and make it a quick place for users to understand your business. website-features Domain Name The URL for your website that appears in the navigation bar. This is the address where visitors are able to find you, or the address they are taken to after search leads them to your site. Domain name creation is one of the first steps to website creation, and you cannot have a functioning site without one. Make the domain simple and easy to spell so visitors may find you without trouble. If your ideal domain name is taken, think outside the box and get creative. Domain names are registered for brands, so you will either need to find an unregistered domain or acquire a domain that is owned by someone else.
WIX templatesCompany Name Your company’s name should appear pretty high up somewhere on the homepage, reassuring visitors they’ve come to the website they were looking for. Users should not have to scroll to find your company name. Search Bar Some users know exactly what they want from your site, and just need help navigating to that page. Including a search bar on your homepage, and every other site page, allows visitors to take control of their site experience. Logo Logos should also appear high up on the homepage. Logos are small, easy-to-remember graphics that create a link in a customer’s brain between your company and that image. While they may not always remember your company name, they may recognize you by logo.
Description A short description or company tagline should appear somewhere near the company name or logo. This is especially true of smaller businesses whose work is not so easily understood. A short phrase that outlines who you are and what you do will set the scene quickly for first-time visitors. Navigation Bar Whether to the side or across the top of the page, a navigation bar should be positioned to empower users to explore your site and find their desired products or information. CTAs A CTA, or call to action, can be anything from “create a login,” to “book a demo,” to “get on our mailing list.” It’s a convincing plea to users, begging they take some kind of action on your site that would involve later contact, and it is often coupled with some sort of incentive. Images Your website should be accompanied by some sort of header image or body image to provide visitors with a visual. These visuals can be ads for your new spring line, or a graphic designed specifically for your site. Images help retain attention as they are easier to process than an overwhelming amount of text. Images can be a slideshow or video; any visual media is better than a page of plain text. Related: Learn how to pick the best images for your website.