by Diana Ratliff
Congratulations! Your new (or redesigned) Web site is done. All that time and effort you spent choosing the perfect online showcase for your product or service is finally over. Now, you can kick back, relax and wait for that flood of Web site visitors. Right?
Not so fast. I wish it were that easy, but you still have work to do!
As I mentioned in a previous column, “If you build it, they will come” is a myth when it comes to the Internet. You have to spread the word about your new site in as many ways as possible. The search engines are one method, and next time I’ll explain what they look for.
Just as important, especially for businesses that market locally, is publicizing your new Web site in offline, traditional ways.
Before you do that, however, I suggest you have a few friends or colleagues take a thorough look at your Web site. Ask them to test forms and videos and any other interactive features. Have them look for typos, misspellings, broken links and other mistakes that might have gotten past you and your Web designer.
It does happen. I just found references to a competitor in the links on a Realtor friend’s Web site. It turns out these two Realtors used the same local Web design company. Somehow, data from one site was copied to the other during the design process. Oops!
And if you’re not absolutely certain that some sort of tracking software was installed (I recommend Google Analytics), ask your Web designer to add it.
You want to know right from the start how many people visit your site, what pages they find interesting and how they find you to begin with.
Once you’ve made these checks and are certain your site is ready to go, it’s time to start telling people!
Make sure your new Web site address is on all of your promotional material, including business cards, brochures, catalogs, signs, packaging, invoices and letterhead. Add it to your e-mail signature as well. You can even mention it on your voice mail greeting, perhaps ending your message by saying “Sign up for our Preferred Customer Discount Club at our new Web site, www.MyCoolNewSite.com.”
You can create promotional items such as pens, magnets, bookmarks and other goodies to give away for the sole purpose of promoting your new site. Make these freely available at the office, or hand them out at conferences, networking events and exhibitions.
Make sure past and current clients know about your new site. Send out a special e-mail, perhaps with an offer that’s only available to people who click on your Web site’s link within that message.
If direct mail is part of your marketing strategy, send out a custom postcard, perhaps with a screenshot of your Web site’s home page and an incentive to visit the site.
Don’t forget that donors, vendors, business partners and industry associations will be interested in your new Web site, too. Update your contact information at the chamber of commerce, the Yellow Pages, alumni associations and in online directories.
If you can persuade them to do so, have owners of complementary businesses make the announcement to their clients and contacts. Ask them to link from their Web site to yours if they have not done so already.
Use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to share the news. And again, encourage your friends to tell their friends, especially if you’re offering some sort of discount or deal for a limited time.
If your new site is a redesign of an existing site, say so on the home page. Tell people right upfront what changes you’ve made, how it’s more user-friendly and what helpful new tools are available. And put your Web site address in your print ads! It amazes me how many people spend the money to advertise in Doormail, the Tribune or Inside Columbia and fail to include their Web address in the ad.
Your Web site is an extremely valuable complement to your print advertising. You can say much more on your Web site than you ever can in a print ad. Plus, you can use audio and video to make your product more enticing and capture people’s contact information so you can market to them over and over again.
A print ad that encourages people to visit a Web site for more information or a special offer maximizes the profit potential of both advertising media.
This article is republished with permission from The Columbia Daily Tribune of Columbia, Missouri, and can be found in its original form here, and is written by Diana Ratliff, who can be contacted at diana@yourfriendontheweb.com
