Too many businesses make the mistake of thinking, “All I need to do is build a fabulous website that looks amazing and throngs of people will flock to it.” Not true. The question is: How are people going to find it? Investing in creating the best website on the Internet will not make it be seen if you don’t also invest the same or greater amount in creating visibility for the website.

Visibility and design work hand in hand. Great design without targeted visibility is wasted because qualified visitors won’t find it to see it, and high levels of traffic with poor site design is wasted because no one will stay on the site long enough to take the action you want. Before you can design an effective website, you must determine:

1. How to drive targeted traffic to your website to get the most visibility, and
2. How to design an attractive website that appeals to the target audience and does the job it is intended to do.

Who Is “They” and How Will “They” Find You?

“They” is your target audience, the people who are looking for what you offer. To design a website that attracts and appeals to your target audience, you need to develop a target audience profile with information such as:

• Is your target audience consumers (B2C) or other businesses (B2B)?
• What would a person visiting your website be looking for?
• Are the people in your target audience computer savvy or are they computer novices?

Once you know who your target audience is, you can design a website and start marketing online and offline to drive people to your site. The fastest way to get people to your site is with pay-per-click advertising. You can also:

• Improve your search ranking by using SEO to optimize your website and providing relevant content.
• Build your social networking presence.
• Submit your site to all the major search engines.
• Put your web address on everything – business cards, letterhead, brochures, signs, fliers.
• Tell everyone you know about your website and ask them to visit.
• Issue press releases and announcements.

Build It So They Will Come and Take the Action You Desire

The average first-time visitor to a website spends just 40 seconds on the website. The longer a visitor stays on your site, the more likely they will take the action you desire. Usability is the key. To keep your visitors longer, consider the visual appeal (layout, graphics, colors, balance, fonts), functionality (navigation, call to action, email subscription, social media links), and relevant content (high quality writing, interesting, informative, no errors). In 2007, the Nielsen Norman Group found that designing a website for usability averaged an 83% ROI, a substantial return for online marketing efforts.

Without a design that incorporates these ideas, your website will confuse the visitors and fail to produce results. In the book, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, author Susan Weinschenk suggests that, “The shorter the distance to the goal, the more motivated people are to reach it. People are even more motivated when the end is in sight.” Make it easy for the visitor to find you and to know what you want them to do, and you’ll see your business grow.

A good internet marketing firm can do all this and more. The team of experts at seenBest Web Design in Phoenix, AZ, knows the latest trends in the Internet industry and has a solid background in user-centered design, programming, SEO, search engine marketing, social media marketing, testing, web analytics, content writing, and all of the tools necessary to design a website that will generate sales leads. Give us a call today at (602) 456-0150 to schedule your strategic internet marketing review and let us demonstrate ways we can help your business succeed in the digital age.

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Why is professional web design so important for the success of your business? It has a lot to do with packaging, which is one of the most important aspects of marketing. Imagine that you’re interviewing a dozen candidates for a new assistant position to work for you directly. Who are you more likely to hire: A candidate who shows up late in torn jeans, doesn’t seem interested in the job, and doesn’t speak to what you’re looking for? Or the well-polished candidate who is dressed nicely, friendly, knowledgeable about your company, and hits it off with you right from the start?

Packaging is the process of glamorizing your products or services in order to attract the customer’s attention. When there are hundreds or thousands of other websites offering the same products or services as your business, would you rather be the poorly dressed applicant with a communication problem or the sharply dressed and crisply spoken candidate that appeals to your customer’s needs? Most people on first glance will choose the business that presents the most pride in their company by exuding a professional image through their website.

A website makes a statement about your company. It is often the first and only impression potential clients have of your company. Attractive web design lends credibility to your business and leaves a positive impression on visitors. Researchers have found that people form an opinion of a website and the company it represents in less than one second. If that opinion is not positive, they will immediately click off your site to go to another site. With so many options available to the digital consumer, how do you create and design a successful website that sets you apart from the competition?

Designing a website that stands above the competition requires a combination of several unique talents that are often difficult or impossible to obtain in one place. There are a lot of ‘web designers’, ‘web design companies’, and ‘do it yourself website’ packages out there. Unfortunately, very few of these available options master the complex art of successful web design that will result in increased sales and business leads. Doing this correctly in a way that doesn’t waste your time or your money requires:

• A good understanding of web psychology
• Extensive experience with marketing technique
• Current knowledge of web usability issues
• The unique ability to position one company apart from and above all others
• A grasp of modern design standards and skills with the manipulation of digital imagery to tell a story

A professionally designed website will capture visitors in those crucial first seconds, stand out from the competition, build customer base and increase sales. Consider these elements when looking for help to design your next corporate website:

• Adoption of user experience conventions. Users expect to find certain things on every website, such as a clear to understand company logo and message, ease of navigation, and the ability to quickly find the information they are looking for.
• Principles of layout design and proximity. Design must consider the psychological effect of such elements and principles as graphics, white space, cleanliness, placement above and below “the fold,” and grouping like items.
• Valuable, quality content. Users want information about your company’s products and services. Quality content will improve your search engine rankings.
• Load time. Speed is key. Users will wait no more than 8-10 seconds for a page to load. And search engines will rank your site higher when pages load faster.
• Browser compatibility. Your website must follow standard protocols to open properly in any browser.
• Search engine optimization (SEO). Sites listed in the top half of the first page of search results capture 99% of all new business generated online. Keyword selection, localization, and constant updating of content are some of the elements necessary to get a high website ranking.

Today, over 86% of small businesses have a website. With so much competition, making your website stand out is challenging. A professionally-designed website will reach more people and give your company the image you want to portray. seenBest Web Design employ a team of online marketing experts with over a decade of experience designing successful websites that get results. Contact us today for more information (602) 456-0150.

Of all forms of marketing available to your business, effective SEO is the MOST effective and least costly method to keep you moving towards further growth, success, and profits. So many companies have struggled with growth in this economy. Yet, I have personally watched businesses reach record profits, even through a recession. The secret has been the same for all, strong online presence. It’s true that if you supply effective SEO your business website you will grow. The reason is simple. Most businesses, your competitors, do not yet grasp the importance of the internet on the mind and purchasing habits of their target clients. That makes it easy for the few that ‘get it’ to rake in record profits.

Linking your business sites to relevant areas where customers will be searching for your services is a difficult task. There are many factors involved, and an entire industry of specialists has been formed to make sure that your website beats out the competition. If growth is your goal, you should immediately seek out these experts and ask them to start marketing your business to your clients today. But the secret to selling online goes beyond just knowing where the customers are searching. Your website must become a digital handshake between you and your client. You need a compact, easy to use website that has been optimized for your target client and marketed to the right people.

So many website providers today focus on only one element of the process. They either design a website, or they market your website. Rarely do you find a company that does both, and does them both well. However, that’s exactly what you’ll need to be a success. It does little good if people find your website only to turn away because they aren’t getting the information they need from your pages. It also does little good if your website is perfect, but can’t be found by your customers.

It’s time to upgrade the techniques of your outsourced web team. Look for companies that utilize cutting-edge online marketing strategies, combined with effective page design, and are willing to sit down with you to understand your business and goals. These elements are crucial to making your efforts count. Year by year I have observed new trends in the website industry. Your website solutions provider must stay on top of the latest and greatest methods and incorporate new ideas when promoting your business.

Web Marketing Elements

After all, this is the future of your business on the line! If your website company cannot explain to you the benefits of SEO, blogging, tweets, social media, landing pages, click tracking, page speed, custom search, Google caffeine, article distribution, video linking, or PPC, it’s time to find another company. Further, if they can’t demonstrate to you effective past performance, you also need to move on. In today’s economy, time is too short and the risks are too large to play games with your ROI.

Once you find that company that is willing to sit down with you, work with your business, and knows all elements of the industry – both online marketing and page design, keep them. They will keep your business on the fast track to profits.