Austin Webpages

Category: Creating Your Website

  • Role of the Business Owner

    Role of the business owner when creating a new small business website

    Website companies get caught up in what they are going to do for you and what technologies they are going to use. But what about what the business owner is going to do? The business owner hears search engine this and social media that…it may be all new them. It can be overwhelming. While I don’t think the technology matters as much as it used to, some companies insist on showing off their expertise of technologies and coding languages. So before you get caught up in technology word vomit, here is a short list of what you, the business owner, will be accountable for and what to expect.

    Be part of the decision

    If this is the first website for your small business, be ready to discuss with your marketing company what your website address will be. They should have some great suggestions for you, but once you get started using that address, all marketing efforts will be aimed at that one address, so it is an important discussion. Not only that, but your business has to live with that address, so make sure you feel comfortable with it.

    Do you have a webpage already?

    Maybe you hired a web page design company to redo your existing site. Not a problem, that is fairly common. Dig through your old emails and find y0ur domain name registration information and your host information. This will include: Which company they each are with, login names and passwords.

    You will need these for a couple of reasons. First, just so we are on the same page, a domain name registrar handles your .com name, such as austin-webpages.com.

    Without getting too complicated, your domain registrar knows who your host is. Your host is simply a computer that is housing all the files that make your webpage work. So when someone goes to your website, your domain finds your host, your hosts handles showing the webpage to your visitor. (There is a networking expert ready to kill me for simplifying it that much)

    Now…why would you need to dig this up? We have had clients who, in the past, used certain services, like godaddy’s website tonight, that allowed for quick, cookie cutter webpage to be setup. Which is fine, except the small business then outgrew these sorts of websites. The problem is, these kinds of hosting services don’t allow for full blown, professional websites, until you call them up and switch to a more traditional host plan. Not a big deal, but you might need your account number or login credentials when you are on the phone with the hosting company.

    Once your web designer has your log-in info, they should be able to handle most if not all configurations from that point forward.

    Ok, you got all my log-in info…now what?

    For brand new small business websites, you are still going to play the crucial role of subject matter expert. Depending on what arrangement you have with your marketing company (SEO or other sort), you may play this role indefinitely. One of the pillars of creating a great website is to keep it constantly growing, constantly providing information for its customers and audience. That may be through a blog, via a video or with social media. Large firms are able to hire professional writers who cover your market and can provide this constant fresh content for you, and your role may be reduced, possibly at a premium cost. But remember, whatever is published on your site is absorbed by your customers, so it is not a bad idea to work with your marketing / SEO firm to provide that expertise from actual experts.

    A few other things to be prepared for

    You will be asked about approving some graphical designs and other things to see that they are your liking. But that should be exciting as you can see your brand begin to take shape and have its own personality.

    The goal of your marketing campaign is to make your phone ring off the hook. A small business with a small staff needs to be prepared to (hopefully) handle the increase of inbound communication. It can possibly come through a medium that is not the norm for a company, such as email or social media. As a company, your customer communication should be a high priority, and this could be a great time to look for some business process improvements to handle the extra communication.

     

    Contact us today to get your small business online and expand your customer base.

  • Why Your Small Business Needs a Website

    Why Your Small Business Needs a Website – Strong Internet Presence

    In today’s economy, there are many answers as to why your small business needs a website. It goes beyond just advertising, a website isn’t just a digital billboard in the cloud. Having a website can shrink the level of competition between a small business with few employees and those mid range size companies. Unfortunately, owners must overcome a few barriers to get a small business website. These usually are a lack of time or lack of know how.

    Every small business is going to have a goal in common – to get more customers. Today we will cover four reasons why your small business needs a website.

    Central Information about Your Product

    Your small business will have blogs, general content, online reviews and many more tools all centered around your website. This gives potential customers everything they need in a one stop shop.

    Why your small business needs a website - major components of a webpage

    • General Content – Visitors can learn about your products and what solutions are offered
    • Portfolio & Reviews – Potential customers can see your prior work and feel confident by reading previous customers’ experiences
    • Product Knowledge – You can show off your expertise on a subject on your blog or by posting short videos. This will further gain your customers’ trust about your product.
    • Communication – You can provide various ways for future customers to get in contact with your business. There can be contact info listed with your operational hours, a map to your business and online forms for customers to send messages to you directly.
    • Social Media – Put your customers to work by having them share your great product for you. Social Media is a great way to get the virtual word of mouth going. Using Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and all your social media accounts to drive future customers to your website

    These pillars are the core of a small business website. Your product will be known, communicated and searchable. And the best part yet… is that a website is affordable and very cost effective.

    Get More Customers

    A customer want to do business with people they can trust. How many times have you gone to amazon to buy a DVD player and sorted by most positive reviews? Businesses should already be monitoring product reviews that customers leave on their website or 3rd party websites like Yelp. But many small businesses stop there. Blogs, for example, are a way to grew trust with your customer base. Blogging shows off your product knowledge. Combining that with easy ways to contact  you will generate opportunities and leads. Your contact list will grow for use in newsletter and email campaigns. Remember, one of our goals is to get more customers.

    The technical side will also provide information about your customers. There are various internet analytic tools out there, such as Google Analytics. A customers interest in your products and services can be shown by the number of page views reported in the analytics tool on a specific page.  On the other hand, Google Analytics can also show you which specific pages are lacking visits or even being where customers exit your website.

    Expanding Your Services Online

    Once your business is online, your business is open 24 hours a day. People that were never exposed to your business due to location, time or any other barrier can now find you online. The goal is to get more customers by expanding the audience. Businesses that have been operating locally will expand their customer base to a larger area. More possible customers will lead to expanding your business.

    Customers can come to your website at any hour, read information about your products and services, engage in communication if need be, and finally get that order on the books. This is an affordable investment with little to no increase in staff and high ROI.

    Unique or niche markets benefit greatly from creating a website as they usually have low competition, so their benefits are multiplied.

    Credibility

    15 years ago, marketing a small business took a very different approach. Today, adding a website to a small business shows your small business has certain validity, establishment and the long term feel to it. Established businesses aren’t looking to take your money and run. A business webpage shows stability within the company and organization to maintain the page.

    A website for a small business shows that communicating to its customers is a priority. Being open to questions and feedback shows that the business has more interest that just getting the sale. These are all factors that build trust between the business and its customers, no matter if there is thousands of employees or a small handful. This is why your small business needs a website.

    Austin Webpages is a small Austin based company ready to take your small business online to maximize its marketing potential. Find a website you like the look and feel of, and contact us today!