Most content creators for small businesses don’t realize that just having a website isn’t going to get them the clicks or exposure they want. Just having an online presence won’t make you stand out from your competition. What goes into getting the views or clicks you want, takes careful consideration of different SEO components.

If users only go to the homepage, are they seeing everything your site has to offer? Can users see all your latest blog posts on the front page? If they decide to venture off to another page that sparks their interest are they easily able to go back to the page you need them to be on? No matter what kind of website you run people need to be able to access different content on your page. The following list gives great examples of what should be done to ensure that users find the content that is most important to you.

1. Search Engine (Keywords)

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is fundamental to the success of your website. When any of us search for something on Google or Bing we type in “keywords”. For example, if I am looking for a dog groomer in Homestead I would most likely type “dog groomers in Homestead”. The websites that are most likely to pop up will have the words dog, groomers, and Homestead embedded in the SEO on the back-end of the site. Google knows where I am based on my previous searches so having the location of the business referenced on the back-end of the site helps visitors find the site.
The same SEO setup within your site helps visitors know what they’re looking for and will lead them to click on what you want them to see. Use keywords to lead them to an event, a purchase or engagement on your website.

2. Social Media

Social media connections on your site will help SEO, traffic, engagement, branding and mobile customers. Marketing has been forever changed with the introduction of social media. It is a powerful tool that is easy to use and can reach more potential customers than print or even television advertisements. We will reference back to the importance of SEO in the quest to get your content discovered on your site. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+ are becoming their own kind of search engines. You want your content to be searchable on these social networks as well as an average Google or Bing search.

3. Backlinking

A backlink is simply an incoming hyperlink from one page to another, links directed back into your website. The more backlinks you have that point users in the direction of your website the more traffic you’ll have for our site. Backlinks are the building blocks to good SEO (search engine optimization). Search engines, like Google, give more attention to websites that have a good number of quality backlinks.

Backlinks also encourage visitors to come to your website. Simply building a website and publishing it is not enough, it’s existence alone will encourage visitors to find it. Getting the word out there takes more than just telling friends and family. You need to be able to get visitors to your site without having to go out physically and ask people to visit the site. Reciprocal linking helps get the word out to a great number of people in your area, not just a few people you tell in person to visit the site.

4. Internal Links(sidebars, bottom scroller, pop-ups)

An internal link is similar to a backlink, but this involves links back to your website within your website. This allows visitors to navigate easily through your website. Internal linking also creates a hierarchy for your website, whichever page you want visitors to go to the most should be referenced multiple times throughout your website. This strategy also increases your ranking power with search engines, like Google.

Search engines need to see content on an individual page. The need to have access to a “crawlable link structure” that lets search engines browse the pathways of a website, this helps the search engine find all the pages on the website.

5. Ads (using online marketing off your site)

Having ads on websites that work in collaboration with your business will lead visitors back to your site. This is a more cost-efficient way to reach your target audience and have them make their way back to an important page on your site. There is an easy result measurement for this method; you know how to click on your ads and where they found the link. Knowing these details will help you with your future advertising ventures.

6. Print Campaigns

Print campaigns can work in tandem with your website audience numbers. Things like QR codes, can lead mobile visitors back into your site to whichever page you feel holds a good amount of importance. “Cross-Pollination” advertising helps expand your reach and combining print with online advertising, will boost your reach and influence exponentially. This drives back traffic to your website and makes your brand more tangible.
Print campaigning can be customized to mirror your online presence, so visitors know where to look for the content. You can encourage them to sign up for free merchandise or get engaged in deals. Use print to engage people on social media and lead them back into your site to find out about the next special offer or event. Have a small amount of information on your print version; that will make potential customers want to know more and go to your site. When you fuse online and offline together, you get a chance to market to users in unique ways and get them to become familiar with your business.

7. Video Content

Video content has several different benefits for your site. The more content you have, the better, visual engagement makes visitors stay longer. The longer visitors stay, the higher your ranking with Google will be. Videos shouldn’t be too long but should be able to capture the attention of visitors long enough for them to want to know more about your business. This engagement will lead them to other pages on your site. With video content you get to showcase your business’s personality, this will get you the audience you desire.

With more well produced content you stand out from the competition, only half of businesses currently use video in their marketing. Of course the number of businesses using this approach of video marketing/content will rise but you have a chance now to make an impression. This type of content helps include mobile users and increase traffic on this website.

Conclusion:

That’s all for now, we hope these examples and techniques help make your site easier to navigate for users.. As always if you have any questions or need help schedule a focus chat with Kenny to help firm up your website design structure.