You just launched your website. Now what?
You've worked hard for weeks or months, gotten all the approvals, and the new website for your business is now live. Done. So why aren't people visiting?
A common misconception in website development is, "If I build it, they will come." Thousands of websites are launched every day and click competition is fierce. It can be challenging to get noticed, especially if you're a new business. If your website isn't generating a lot of user visits, a redesigned website - as beautiful and functional as it is -- isn't a slam dunk to get increase your users. The work has just begun.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to help your site be found more quickly, raise brand awareness to generate interest in your business services.
Professional web developers may offer services in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In brief, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint, to increase your website users and conversions. It's a mix of technical details, marketing strategy, and creative effort. While it takes time to earn SEO "juice:," the slow and steady efforts usually bring loyal users and longtime customers.
Brand-new businesses face a bigger battle. With little to no name recognition or brand awareness, it's a big lift to get noticed on the web.
We've compiled a list of ways for businesses, whether established or new, to promote themselves after a website launch.
Here are our tips to promote your new website:
1. Claim your Business Profiles on Google, Bing, and Yelp.
This allows you to earn what Google calls its "Knowledge Panel" allowing you to have some control over how your business information is presented online. Same goes for Bing. Yelp tends to favor paid reviews, but it still gives you the opportunity to manage your information.
2. Claim your location on Google Maps and Bing Maps.
Make sure the location is correct. For good measure, add your business address and phone number is on every page of the website so people can easily find you, especially on a mobile device.
3. Use Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to submit your sitemap
If you had your website professionally built, you likely have a sitemap. This is the list of urls that you want the search engines to index. Make sure your web team has submitted it to both Google and Bing, which are the two primary players for searches. Smaller browsers like Duck Duck Go and Yahoo use data from Google and Bing.
If you built the site on your own, sign into your google account and go to https://search.google.com/search-console/welcome. If you're using Google Analytics (and you should) link GSC to your analytics account to more easily see queries.
4. Review your website keywords and make sure that they are included naturally
What would you type into a search engine to find your site? Make sure they're included on the homepage and other pages in prominent positions like titles, headers, and links. You can also refer to your Google Analytics to see what words your customers are searching for on your website if you have on-site search capabilities. Use Google Search Console to see what queries are bringing up your site to web searchers.
5. If you're not on social media - get there!
Choose one or two platforms that align with your target audience. Post often and add links to specific pages on your webiste to get traffic. If you partner with other businesses, ask them to give you a shoutout on their social networks. Be sure to add links. Your friends can post about their great experiences, too.
6. Email existing customers
If you have a customer list, let them know about the new website. Consider offering a promotion or have an upcoming event and provide links to a landing page on your website with the details.
7. Add more content
The website is never "done." Have a plan for adding new content, whether it's services, blog posts, news stories, project summaries, white papers, photo galleries or videos. Then promote the content via other marketing channels.
8. Start a review campaign
Good reviews are a great way to get noticed. And bad reviews give you ways to improve your business. Request customers submit Google reviews. (You can get a link once you claim your Google Business Profile).
9. Advertise if budget allows
The previous tips are all free. But you also may want to devote some of your marketing budget to advertising. This could be digital ads on Google and/or Bing, social media, or print.
- Advertise on Google and/or Bing.
- Boost social media posts
- Advertise locally in print or radio to raise awareness.
10. Be Patient
According to Forbes, a new website is built every three seconds. So it can take time to be found online. If you're established business, you may lose some SEO but should recover in time. It's still a good idea to review these tips and repeat the actions as they make sense.
If yours is a brand new website, it may take some time for Google to find your site, particularly if it does not have a large amount of content. You also won't have any "domain authority," which is an indicator of how trustworthy and knowledgeable your site is considered. You won't rank for any keywords, which is the key to getting website visitors.
But be patient and diligent about promoting your website. Be skeptical of companies that promise you number one rankings.
Get your business noticed online
To be found in the internet, get clicks to the site and raise your visibilty. These tips will help you do that. Of course, it takes timeThe more people go to the site, the faster you can start building its reputation.
If you need help with any of these items, contact us.