Think web presence not just website

Most organisations approach web marketing the wrong way. For years the conventional wisdom was to get a cool URL and build a hot site in the hope that potential customers will flock to them online. Unfortunately we still see this thinking every time we sit down to design a website for a client. Too much time is spent on the colour, the font, the logo or some very random but apparently “cool” idea.

As inbound marketers we believe that websites should be treated very differently. Yes, its important to get the layout, look and feel right…but its more important to get the content and conversion right. And above all, its important to get the INBOUND part of your web presence right. This is what will bring visitors to your site, not the hot graphics and Flash animations.

Start thinking about your total web presence and think of your website as the landing pages. If you want to attract qualified traffic to your site you need to start spending time where your prospects are: social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, industry blogs and networks like LinkedIn and Foursquare. Crucially, you need to be found on the first page of Google, Bing and Yahoo for relevant searches.

Finally, you need to start producing compelling content for your organisation. It could be distributed via YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr or numerous other outlets, even your website or blog. Great content has a multiplier effect because it attracts people and will be shared with others. A simple re-tweet by someone with a decent number of Twitter followers could generate a lot more traffic for your website than that hot graphic you’re trying to agree on.

Spend less time on the web design process and more time generating content, joining conversations and participating where your customers are.

If you’d like to find out how Inbound Marketing capable your website is, submit it for a free report at NLYZR

Build a web strategy to turbocharge your business

By the end of the 1990’s most businesses had a Web 1.0 website. They were basically glorified brochures and they cost a lot. Then in the mid 00’s Web 2.0 begin to emerge. Sites were more interactive, linking and sharing became de rigueur and the power of the Internet took on a whole new meaning amongst the smart online operators.

However, for much of the business world Web 1.0 sites are still being pumped out at an alarming rate. The boss realises he needs a website, or a new site, and then either the company IT person or contracted web designer dutifully bangs out a digital brochure. Build it and fill it with every detail about the company’s products or services and they will come.

No they won’t.

Your company doesn’t need a new website, it needs a great web strategy. Done well, businesses can derive an amazing number of benefits from its online presence. In fact, it’s arguable that you could build your entire marketing strategy around your web presence.

How? Let me explain.

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Newcastle business Dolphcom dives into search engine success

Dolphcom was the very first website we built using the principles that have since become the GetSticky system.

Dolphcom owner Andrew Parker asked Sticky to design a new website for him to facilitate the growth of his business. The site had to be able to facilitate online inquiries, be easy to upload video to and perform substantially better in online searches.

We were excited when the Newcastle-based whale and dolphin swimming adventure company Dolphcom achieved immediate SEO success with the launch of their new website.

Dolphcom’s previous website, while visually attractive, was difficult to update and performed woefully in Google and Yahoo organic searches. Analysis of all key search terms revealed that Dolphcom did no better than the fourth page in most searches, and much lower in others.

Sticky designed a completely new website to suit Dolphcom’s criteria and then applied our search engine optimisation process to the site. Within 2 weeks of launching the new website, Dolphcom was ranking on the first page of Google and Yahoo searches for relevant search terms and web traffic had doubled.

Andrew’s recent trip to swim with the whales in Tonga can now be viewed on Dolphcom and plenty more sensational content is continually being added to the site.