There are a lot of different things you need to run a small business, but one of the most important tools you can have in your arsenal is a good website. As a small business owner, you can use your website to provide information about your business, display and sell products online and engage with your customers.
As is the case with any website, starting a small business website from scratch isn’t easy. You have to start the process with a precise goal in mind and work to achieve that. Plus, it’s important to make sure your website plays nice with search engines. If you’re looking to start a website for your small business, take a look at these tips before you get started.
Plan Ahead
No matter what type of business you own, it’s important to have a thorough plan in mind before you pay somebody hard-earned money for a website and search engine optimization. Websites can be used for all sorts of different purposes, and you might find a creative way to integrate your website with your business if you give it time.
A good way to figure out what you want in your website is to look at other small business websites and see what kind of content they have. Typically, a small business website will have a home page, contact page, services page, and about page, at the very least. However, if you don’t provide any services but you happen to sell a product, you can create a shopping page where people can buy things from you. Having a good plan ensures your website does everything you want it to.
Design and Feel
One thing many first-time website owners don’t take into account is the overall design of their website. You may have even created a website before by simply using a website builder with a premade template. While many people know how to design a good website, it’s up to you to determine how you want your website to feel so it can be designed to have that feel.
Think of it this way: What do you expect to see when you open a lawyer’s website? Most would probably expect to see a fairly basic website with a professional aesthetic. If you were looking at a music news website, chances are you’d see something a little bit more colorful and casual. This is something you want to keep in mind no matter what industry you’re in because a website that doesn’t match your brand can throw off the whole experience for your customers.
SEO
Driving traffic is one of the main purposes of creating a website for your small business, and you can’t drive traffic unless your website is properly optimized for search engines. Hiring a Calgary SEO service can help you rank higher in search engine results and keep your website current with the latest SEO standards. Not only does this help drive traffic to your website, but it also helps prevent you from plummeting in the rankings as search engine algorithms change.
SEO does more than just drive traffic by putting you higher on search engine results pages, though. When you build up backlinks on other websites, you’re also receiving traffic from people who click those links.
In addition to all this, one of the best ways to make sure your website ranks high in search engine results is to create high-quality content. In the process of doing this, you’re also filling your website with engaging content for your visitors to enjoy. This means that people are more likely to share stuff from your website on social media, plus it lowers your bounce rate since people will be engaged with your content.
