Business mentor: Seven low-cost ways to make websites work

Q. With the high dollar and talk of an economic slowdown, I am looking at any cost-effective ways I can promote and grow my business. I have had a website for some time, but how can I get it in front of new customers and improve my bottom line?

Small business specialist Sarah Trotman spoke to Roy Bowers, of website marketing company Online Advantage, for some advice.

A. Two key areas that business websites should focus on are being found by more potential customers (search-engine marketing), then converting their interest into inquiries or sales (improving website usability).

Seven low-cost ways to gain more business from your website are:

* Provide more keywords on your homepage. The homepage is your most important page. Search engines such as Google feed on words but many homepages are sadly lacking. Provide 150 words stating what you offer, who you are and why you are better or different. This will "feed" the search engines and be helpful to customers.

* Get other sites linking to you. When assessing the value of your website, search engines look at how many other quality websites think yours is worth linking to. Contact all your suppliers, distributors, customers and industry groups and ensure they are linking to your website.

* Prioritise information on each page. Search engines and website users scan the content on a web page from the top down. Don't have long-winded introductions but put the important information at the top of each page. Potential customers will find the information they want more easily and search engines will index your site more accurately.

* Provide a special page for distributors. If you are looking for representatives in new markets then provide a "Become a Distributor" page. If you are worried about "tyre-kickers" make them complete an online form. This can be a low-cost way to open new markets.

* Create a sitemap. Search engines use sitemaps to index your website, but many sites still don't have them. Creating a sitemap is usually straightforward and shouldn't incur a large fee from your designer. Potential customers will also find it helpful when navigating your website.

* Provide a "Call to Action" on all pages. Although web users can click around your website in any sequence, it is more effective if you can guide them from one page to the next. Providing instructions with links at the start or end of paragraphs, such as "For more information, contact us" will help guide users to the outcomes you want, such as making inquiries.

* Remove the use of frames. The technique of splitting the navigation of a website into frames is, unfortunately, still common. This technique hinders the search engines and confuses potential customers. Your web designer can remove frames and it should only take a couple of hours' work at the most.

People who can change content on their website can make many usability improvements themselves for no cost. Initial search engine optimisation may cost about $1300. Annual search engine marketing budgets are often much lower than print.

When it comes to Google, MSN and Yahoo!, $3000 to $4000 can increase your website visits dramatically.

Having your website highly ranked and better than those of your competitors can bring in new customers and broaden your market coverage in difficult times.

* For more information on how to gain more business through your website or maximise search engine marketing, contact Roy Bowers at Online Advantage on (07) 376-9398 or roy@onlineadvantage.co.nz