Making Your Website An Effective Marketing Tool

There are two key elements to having an effective online marketing strategy. Firstly, a website that is suitable for its intended purpose and secondly driving the right quantity and quality of traffic to that website. In this article I will focus primarily on achieving the first of these two elements and therefore developing a website that is an effective marketing tool.

When planning a new website the main factors to consider are:

Get your domain name correct - Select the best domain name, this may be the company or brand name or something that describes what the website offers e.g. holidaystochina. Decide if your customer base is likely to be country specific or international - this will affect your selection of url i.e. http://.co.uk or .com, etc.

What do you want from your website - Decide what you hope to achieve with your new website, what is its function? Are you trying to sell direct from your website, use it to generate enquiries or will it be a place to refer your prospects to obtain more information about your products and services.

Get the navigation correct - Decide what information or features your website is required to offer then draw up a website map to include all that is necessary. When considering this it is important that website navigation is clear and easy i.e. that visitors to the website can get where they wish simply and easily. Most visitors are likely to arrive on your Home Page so make that a centre of navigation with direct click through to key pages and features in addition to the main menu and include calls to action. The website should also be quick to download as few people have time to wait while a website 'forms' - to this end avoid over complex flash intros.

Make sure you have quality website design - Professional website design is vital, so many online businesses will fail because of poor quality of design for the website itself. There are excellent low cost options out there for obtaining a quality website that will impress and captivate visitors from the second that they arrive on the website. With so many websites, so much competition it is vital to make your website a place that engages visitors as soon as they arrive on the website. To that end, as well as having a professional website it is also worth considering including a presentation or video feature to enhance the 'website experience' and help sell your services. This type of 'organic' content can also boost search engine position.

Good copy but not too much - Visitors are unlikely to spend long on your website so it is important that you get your key message across quickly and effectively. Keep your copy short and to the point, before you start writing think carefully about what the key points are to make on each page. A strong visual website with brief but informative copy is likely to be most effective.

Search Engine Optimisation - Of course the best website in the world is no use without any traffic! Ideally what you want is quality and quantity of traffic but given the choice the former is preferable. There are two key factors in driving traffic to your website. Firstly, keyword selection - the right keyword will be something that sufficient people will use so that there is traffic to be won and yet something that not too many sites are using so that you have a chance of reaching page 1. To get your keyword density correct check out websites at the top of page 1 for your keyword and see what keyword density they are using. Secondly, build links to your website, ideally one way links from directories and article directories but also exchange links with other suitable websites.

Building an effective online presence can be vital in the success of your business but it is a complex operation. The best way to succeed is to obtain professional help for the important stages in the development of your online presence. To that end, let the internet work for you, use the internet to source the best and most cost effective means of building your own online presence.