Why Do You Have Just One Website?

This is a question I get to ask a lot of clients. Let me give you a different take on the Internet and Internet Marketing than you may have heard before.

Many, many years ago in a galaxy far, far away, if you wanted to advertise your business, there was only print media, basically newspapers and bulletins.

Then Radio came along and at first advertisers stuck to print media rather than advertise on that newfangled radio. Soon they began to see the value of advertising on radio and all was good. They now had two ways to advertise.

Then the television hit the scene. But many saw this as a fad and stuck to their print and radio advertising until they saw everyone liked watching TV. SO advertisers had three choices and began to favor TV ads because it combined the voice that radio had with the visual elements that print media had, only better.

And Now Internet Marketing Changes Everything

Now we skip way ahead where the Internet and its wide commercial use came around in the 1990s. Again, companies believed it was a fad and stuck to other forms of media for their advertising.

Now most companies saw the error in that type of thinking and have shifted a good portion of their advertising and marketing budget to Internet Marketing. They learned that their company needed a website. They were told to think of it as their own home on the web, their online store, or their web address. And all was good as long as they had a website.

Many still believe all they need is a website. Build it and they will come. When they bought print ads, radio ads, and TV ads, they did not have to do anything but buy the ad and people saw it. The sellers of the ads took care of getting their ad in front of the public. So it stands to reason they would think the same about the Internet.

Most have learned that they have to do more than just build a website. That is where search engine optimization comes in. To get your website in front of your audience you need to rank well in the search engines or buy more ads about your website to get users to visit.

Your Website is just an AD

Think of your website as your Internet Ad the same as you think of a commercial as your TV Ad. Your website and the pages within are advertisements. They are not your home on the web, your online store, or some physical address in cyberspace. There is no such thing.

The Internet is just another form of media companies were slow to adopt. Then when they did adopt it they saw their website as some sort of store location or semi-physical space. Again, it isn't. It's just an ad.

Now that being said, when you buy an ad in print media like newspapers or magazines, do you buy just one ad and stop? How about on the radio? Do you buy one radio ad and stop? And with TV, one commercial and you're done?

If the answer is no to those questions, WHY DO YOU HAVE JUST ONE WEBSITE?

The smart way to use the Internet as a form of media is to build one website that is your corporate image online. It can have everything you sell there, company history, investor information, and more. It can be huge. It's still an ad, but it is your corporate identity ad.

Why You Need More Than One Website

Now, you can build campaign websites, satellite websites, mini-sites, or micro-sites, whichever you want to call them. They are really just smaller ads. Each one should be only about one product or one service or one campaign you are promoting. They do not have to be big. They do not need to be expensive.

These smaller ads are much easier to optimize because you are targeting only one topic, product, or service, while your main website has all of your products and services.

In print media, on radio, and on television, everyone knows repetition is the key. Everyone knows you have to keep advertising and keep creating new ads. On the web, people seem to throw that logic out the window and think they only need one website.

How many demographics do you target? If more than one, you need more than one website. If you sell to both senior citizens and to teens, would you design the same ad for AARP Magazine as you would for Teen Magazine? I doubt it. Those two ads would be nothing alike. SO WHY WOULD YOU BUILD JUST ONE WEBSITE?

The Internet has a huge advantage over other forms of media. Your magazine or newspaper ad is in one issue and it expires and you have to create a new one. Each radio or TV spot is heard or shown one time and it's gone. You have to buy more. Your website doesn't expire so when thinking of it as an ad, think of an ad that just keeps getting better with age and doesn't expire.

The more advertising you do in any form of media, the more business you bring in. The Internet is no different. Keep building websites. Doing so is no different than buying other forms of advertising in that you are using repetition, but your old ads/websites are still there earning money for you while you build your new moneymakers.

Another difference with the Internet is the ability to advertise your ads. Your website is an ad, then when you use PPC or buy ads on other websites, you are advertising to bring people in to read your bigger ad.

Now I doubt you would buy a radio ad and tell people to watch the TV commercial you have coming out. However, you do see the value in buying a short TV commercial or radio ad and telling people to visit your website right? Buying ads on the Internet that bring people to your website is no different.