As an Indianapolis Web Design  firm we spend a lot of  time talking to small business owners about web traffic. We discuss different strategies including pay per click, SEO and email marketing to drive prospective customers to your site.

But getting people to your website is only the first step.  To be an effective part of your marketing strategy, your web design must look good,  engage visitors and give them reasons to keep them coming back, again and again. Where do you start?   Here are a few ideas:

  1. Reduce Clutter – You do not need to tell prospects everything they need to know on the first page.    If your site is interesting , appealing and well organized, serious prospects will look at a second page.
  2. Make Navigation Intuitive – If you do take information off the home page, make sure it is easy to find.  The goal is to be no more than two clicks from the home page.  If you have a lot of content, consider a design which gives you two navigation panels.
  3. Make Site Relevant – This is especially true if you are spending money on Ad Words.   Be sure your landing page is NOT your home page, but a page which talks specifically about what you offered in the ad.   Also, relevant content, which includes the key words which you are competing for, will help you improve your position on search engines.
  4. Keep Content Current – Are you in an industry where trends and products change?  If so, your website needs to change as well.  What kind of message are you sending visitors if your content is several months old?   In addition to people, search engines reward new content.  If you want to stay on page one, you have to stay fresh.
  5. Interact With Users – I was blogging for six months before anyone took the time to comment.  It was hard to stay focused because I felt like I was talking to myself.  But I hung in there and the very first time someone made a comment I responded.  Social media is all about ego, so if someone makes a comment on y0ur blog, reward  them with a reply.  Once acknowledged, they are more likely to return.
  6. Make Sharing Easy – Add Facebook Like, twitter and LinkedIn buttons as well to encourage others to put your content into the social community.

Want some help with your website? Check out our free web analysis tool or register for one of our free workshops.

Roundpeg, an Indianapolis web design firm also offers social media, graphic design and marketing strategy services.