So it is at the end of Q2 and spring is in the air, are you looking to freshen up your wellness clinic to keep those patients rolling into the spring and summer months. Or to change your Storefront retail display to indicate the coming of spring and for people to get active and outside in summer? A new seasonal menu for your bustling restaurant perhaps?
All of the above is great but please DO NOT FORGET to think about your Web Site as a key channel to generating revenue for your business – whether it is for your clinic patient base, restaurant patrons or specialty store clients. The incoming traffic of potential customers online is critical to the success of your business since your competitor is literally one click away. And in most cases an online customer can be converted into a bricks and mortar customer in a matter of seconds upon landing on your web sites home page.
In some cases having a basic web site that is indexed by Google and all business listing directories can be more of a priority than updating the selection of products and services you provide.
In most cases the products will sell themselves, as it is really about being available and accessible to the right clientele or customer base when they are seeking your product, researching your competitors and shopping around for the best value and/or customer service. If you do not currently get listed in their pursuit for a product or service within a 10 km radius of your location – then it’s time to rethink your Web Site Strategy.
So now you are convinced that you need a new web design created to ensure your web presence, it’s time to be very strategic in your web design.
Either you plan to design your own web site using one of the off-the-shelf web-based page builders or you would rather outsource this creative and technical task to a web designer or Internet Expert like Liapros.
Whichever the case may be, here are 3 tips to be Strategic in your next Web Design phase:
STRATEGIC TIP #1. INCLUDE THESE 3 MUST HAVE CONTENT ELEMENTS across your site wherever possible so that your business can be properly indexed and searched by the search engines, as well as any other cross referencing location-based directories such as GPS finders, Business/Restaurant Review sites and other Business Partners in your network.
- BUSINESS NAME AND FULL ADDRESS – most likely on an About or Contact page. For an extra boost in getting ranked in organic search results, include the address across all pages in a footer if possible.
- OPENING HOURS – this is a MUST HAVE that many businesses overlook. Opening hours, business hours or operating hours are critical to your business, since many customers research online before actually going to the store to purchase the product or to eat at the restaurant. Checking to see that the business is open determines whether the client will make the drive over to your business or your competitor.
- UNIQUE SELLING FEATURES OF YOUR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES – showcase your unique selling feature or value proposition on your home page, in a main banner, across the sidebar as a permanent call to action. This would separate your business among the pack and make your business stand out. Allowing the consumer to make an educated decision to choose you over your local competitor. For example: open late during the week so that you can make it to the clinic after work, open Saturday mornings for the convenience of your clients or baked fresh on-site, etc.
STRATEGIC TIP #2. BUILD YOUR SEO STRATEGY INTO YOUR NEW DESIGN so that you can save money on paying online advertising keywords and ad campaigns with Google, Yahoo or Bing. Having a SEO strategy allows you to leverage organic search engine results so that your business can ALWAYS be ranked, indexed and listed appropriately from the ground-up.
Being strategic about SEO rather than treating it as an after thought and tweaking it as needed will yield better results. Taking a patched fix approach is not as effective since the SEO ranking gets better over time due to site page propagation, the level of activity of the site and keeping the site updated, performing and evolving.
STRATEGIC TIP #3. FUTURE PROOF WITH A RESPONSIVE DESIGN FOR AT LEAST 1 YEAR AHEAD to accommodate the most common used smartphones, mobile handheld devices, tablets, laptops and wide screen desktops/TVs in the consumer market today, tomorrow and for the next 365 days.
Yes that would mean to plan and design your new site to support the new iPhone 8 coming out in August or the PS5 coming out next year. It’s very important to support mobile and smartphones because your potential clients are always on the move, hence the need for location-based services such as GPS point of interest listings, business directories and business review sites of your business within 5KM, 15KM or 50 KM of your clinic, store or restaurant.