In today’s world, if you are in business, and you want people to take you seriously, then you need a website. The common response to needing a web site is to just throw up a couple of pages about who you are and what you do and then hope for the best. Unfortunately, because everyone and their aunt does that, your website tends to look and feel like everyone else’s, and your results end up being less than stellar in their performance. Before you put your first page out on the Internet, it is important to have a well-planned Internet Business Strategy. To improve your chances of receiving more exposure and business for your website, you should know these 5 important things before you ever begin to design your first web page.

1) Who is your target audience?
This isn’t just the generic term like "my target audience is people with money to spend", but who is your target audience really? What are their likes and dislikes? What kind of words and phrases are their “hot buttons”? What are their fears, and what kinds of problems do they have? What services to they require in addition to yours? If you don’t have an answer to any one of these questions, then you don’t really know your target audience enough to target your website specifically to them.

2) What makes you different than anyone else in your field?
You are a unique individual and have your own special way of serving your clients. Why would someone want to do business with you instead of your competition? Remember, people buy experiences along with the product or service. What is unique about your customer’s experiences with you? Can you articulate that? If not, you need to be able to do this because you will need to put this on your website.

3) How do you want people to find you?
This can be a 2-part question. If you want people to find you through the Internet, and via search engines, then you need to know what search terms your audience is using. Not what you THINK they are using, but what they are ACTUALLY using. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received a list of search terms from clients that they want to optimize their website only to later discover that their target market doesn’t even search for the terms they optimized their site for. Sure, the terms may sound reasonable off the top you your head, but that may not be where their target market is coming from. Investing in a decent keyword research tool will pay for itself within the first year.

4) What do you want people to do once they get on your website?
This is the biggest and most important thing that you will want to have clarity about. It doesn’t matter how many people come to your website. If they don’t take the action you want them to take, then all of your efforts are lost. You will need to be clear about what action you want them to take and when. Make it as easy as possible for them to take that action and don’t make them work for it, or you will lose them. You should limit the number of things people can do on your website if you are using your website as a lead-generator, or to sell something from. The more choices you give them, the higher the chance that they will do nothing. People can’t be inundated with choices or they will just leave your site.

5) How do you want to lead people through your website?
There is a flow that you may want to take people through when they get to your website. What is the flow? You will want to understand and know what that flow is, and what to do when people come to your website in the middle of the flow. How will you guide the through in that case? Once you have your flow, you will know how to set up your website and where to place your navigation links, and call to action.

Understanding and getting clear on the things you need to know before you begin designing your first web page will save you time and money in the long run. Time from having to redo things and money in losing out on sales you could have made if you had set your website up to maximize returns in the first place. If you haven’t done these things yet, it is never too late to start.

Here is a guest article from a client. He is a big advocate of content management systems and his company is great for Denver video production

Most Biotech firms have an existing website often used to share their mission statement, investment goals and unique research opportunities and technologies. Unfortunately websites often become outdated, irrelevant, or out of touch with current technologies. Many times it takes only small text changes to update and keep a website relevant. Often this means requesting changes to be made by your website designer, web development firm or in-house IT department. In many cases, although the request for these kind of changes seem simple, web professionals are usually scheduled on other imminent tasks and small changes cannot be a top priority on their list.

That's where the beauty of a Content Management System comes into play. Almost any website, even those using technologies like interactive Flash components can be integrated into a Content Management System often referred to as a CMS. Having a website with a CMS makes keeping your website up-to-date a snap! By accessing the website with a secure username and password, any designated employee can log into the administrative area of the website. The administrative area of the website allows you to add, remove and edit pages, as well as the ability to add and remove photos. Changes made to the website are instant and live on the Internet after saving. The entire experience is easy and graphical; any user who is familiar with Microsoft Word can update your new website!

Conversion to a CMS takes approximately 60-90 days depending on the complexity of a website. Although conversion to a CMS may incur some expense—most businesses find that they will not need to touch the layout and design of their website for a several years, until a major overhaul is needed or rebranding. In the meantime, you will be in complete control of all your content changes—with no delays or challenges. For more information email: daniel@gomoso.com or call 303 910-0456.