News From Flying Orange Tips, Tutorials, Marketing, Design and more for building a website.

Make Your Website Work For You

PLEASE don't expect that your website will immediately bring in traffic and revenue just by setting it up and publishing it. Your website needs to be worked on continuously to grow and gain steam on the Internet.

I've gone through the trials and tribulations of website building over the years. Areas that I personally see that need to be focused on over and over again are:

Content. Content. Content. 

• If you missed that, I said CONTENT. Good content on your website will be read by search engines. Pictures are great and will break up your text on the page but using only pictures will not benefit your website.  Good content utilizes your keywords in the text.
• Don't focus on the "pretty" look of your site. Make your site visually appealing but focus on what drives people there using the keywords and content.

Keyword research.

• What are the keywords that you want the search engines to pick up on? What are you competitors using for keywords? Are the terms you want generic or do they need fine tuning? A research tool I have used and recommend is Keyword Spy for researching what your competitors are using.

Title tags and meta tags.

• While I do not rely as heavy an importance on these as I do content with keywords, they are necessary. Use your keywords in your page titles and descriptions. If your business name utilizes keywords, GREAT! If not, save your business name for the end of the page title. Focus the keywords at the beginning of the page title so search engines see this information first.
• The descriptions are used in search engine results and may be the first thing a search engine user has to see about your site and what you have to offer. Be descriptive of the page! Use your keywords and focus on the information that individual pages has to offer.
• DO NOT duplicate your title tags, descriptions and keywords. It does not benefit you to use the same information over and over. Mix it up so it is unique to each and every page.

Advertising Do's and Don'ts

• Keep advertising for other companies to a minimum on your website unless that is your purpose. Advertising other companies and what they have to offer, especially if they are a competitor, will drive visitors AWAY from your website. You want visitors to stay and buy your product or service, not someone elses.

Marking your website doesn't have to break the bank. I am here to tell you that you do NOT need money to make your website work for you. There are times where funds will be involved of course but you don't have to break the bank. Utilize some of the following options to build traffic to your website:

• XML Sitemap (FREE) - A way for you to give search engines information about your website.
• Google Base (FREE) - Simply describe your items on Base to make them as easy as possible for people to find when they search.
• Newsletter/Mailing List (FREE/$$) - Start a newsletter with a service such as Mail Chimp or Constant Contact. Bring your visitors back on a regular basis to view your product or service. Draw them back to want to buy. Most companies offer a FREE option to get you started and the ability to move up to a Pay For service once needed.
• Blogging (FREE) - Utilize a blogging service such as WordPress or Blogger to write about your website and keep followers up to date with what your company is doing. A free service is an inexpensive way to get your feet wet and works!
• Twitter (FREE) - A free social messaging utility for staying connected with others in real time. Great for networking with like businesses but also attracting potential customers and clients.
• MySpace/Facebook (FREE) - Be sure to read the terms of service, but utilize options available to market your business on otherwise personal avenues.

Having a website is about trial and error and discovering what works for you. These are NOT the know all/end all solutions to a successful website. I've utilized these various options with success and hope they will help you build a successful website.