How To Make the Most of Your Website Through Advance Planning
Probably the most critical part of Internet marketing for your business is organizing your website so it will achieve your overall goals. Yet, most people completely bypass this important step or, worse, just turn the whole project over to a website designer to handle.
When you take the time to strategically plan the outline of your new website or an upgrade of your current one, not only will you achieve a website that will show off your business in the best way, but one you will be able to add and edit content easily, and probably most important will help to achieve your overall business goals. Here are a few steps to use in the planning process:
1. Create a list of anything your website visitors will want to know about the product or service you are offering. For example, visitors to a school’s website would probably want to know the attendance levels, size of the classrooms, information on staff members and what sports they can participate in. Brainstorm every possible topic someone might want to know related to the industry, product or service your website will be offering.
2. Imagine for a short time that you are a potential website customer. Visit and review some websites similar to the one you will offer as if you were a potential customer. As a visitor who is genuinely interested in your product or service, what are the good things and bad things about each site you visit? Are you inspired to take action from the website? Are you able to find what you are looking for quickly and easily? How many different pages do you have to click through to find what you want? Note all this data down with the intent of making your new website as easy for your visitors to use as possible.
3. Research to find out what keywords your visitors might search for. You don’t need to invest in expensive search tools, Google has a free keyword tool that is adequate for this purpose. Type in a general phrase such as “high school” and see what other keywords come up. These are the things your visitors already have questions about. By arming yourself with this information, you will be able to plan your website to answer their questions right away.
4. Make sure to plan your website to grow. Avoid websites that can’t be easily expanded to add more pages or products. A good website is a constant work in process.
5. Finally, make sure your website is easy to control, so you don’t have to rely on your website designer to make even the smallest changes. Today’s dynamic Internet marketing environment demands new and fresh content added to your website often, and the old fashioned sites that rely on a web developer to make changes just won’t work anymore. Your new website should be on a platform that lets you add content quickly and easily.
Your website is most often one of the biggest marketing expenses your business will encounter. It is critical to take the time to plan a new website that is compatible with your business goals.
Marty Dickinson is the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for over 10 years. His specialty is Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors. Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.
Tags: 
