tips and tricks for an effective business website 2014 YP Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. YP, the YP logo and all other YP marks contained herein are trademarks of YP Intellectual Property and/or YP Holdings LLC affiliated
Welcome! Make sure your sound is not muted If you have any issues during the webinar, please contact: tstock@yp.com We will have time for questions! Tweet using #practicalmarketing Available on demand within minutes 2 2013 YP Intellectual Property LLC. All rights reserved. YP,
meet your presenters. Tina Stock YP Executive Director, Marketing tinastock.com @tinadstock. About YP YP is North America s largest local search, media and advertising company Our mission is to help local businesses and communities grow We generate 40 billion annual impressions on the YP Local Ad Network and have 3,000 marketing consultants helping over 570,000 businesses get, and keep customers
meet your presenters. Judi Knight New Tricks Owner newtricks.com @judiknight. About Judi Judi has helped hundreds of businesses build and maintain a professional and easy to manage online presence New Tricks services include branding, graphic design, website development, email marketing, social media and training to use these tools
tips and tricks for an effective business website Does a small biz REALLY need a website? Does yours?
tips and tricks Shift in the market from selling to buying. Customers do their research: 2010 5.3 sources 2014 10.4 sources
tips and tricks
tips and tricks You need more than a Facebook page. Own your space.
tips and tricks Rules can and do change. Fall 2013: 10 12% reach April 2014: 1 2% reach The lifespan of a FB post: ½ total reach within 30 minutes of posting
tips and tricks The question isn t whether you need a website, but what kind of website your business needs.
tips and tricks Quick DIY brochure style websites Weebly Wix SquareSpace Caveat: serious businesses need more than a brochure style website.
serious about your business?
serious about your business? Small businesses need a website to be hub of marketing.
serious about your business? Robust content management that you can maintain yourself.
serious about marketing?
serious about marketing? Why WordPress? Lots of different platforms WordPress probably most well-known It is open source software Huge community develop it, create themes and plugins, and teach people about it through Meetups and WordCamps Once customized, it is very easy to add content and functionality 1000s of themes free or premium 1000s of plugins, which add functionality WordPress powers 22% of all websites
WordPress in two flavors 1. Wordpress.com WordPress.com for free, but hosted for you by Automattic. Good for blogging. Has limitations for businesses.
WordPress in two flavors 2. Wordpress.org WordPress.org, the full free version, but you need hosting and a domain. Easy to install free through hosting company.
Do It Yourself? Learn to fish
do it yourself? learn to fish
do it yourself? learn to fish companies. 2014 YP Intellectual All other marks Property contained LLC. All herein rights are reserved. the property YP, the of their YP logo respective and all owners. other YP marks contained herein are trademarks of YP Intellectual Property LLC and/or YP affiliated
do it yourself? learn to fish
do it yourself? learn to fish DIY Pros: You only need a simple site You have more time than money You have someone or a WordPress Meet-up group to guide you You are technical with design skills You read a great deal and know a lot You have great marketing chops
do it yourself? learn to fish DIY Cons: Complicated Site: Real Estate, Membership, ecommerce or Event Poor design skills Not technical Don t understand today s SEO Not a good copywriter You do not know how to set up the site to get new customers
do it yourself? learn to fish Be Careful Hiring Not all WordPress developers are equal Call references and see examples
do it yourself? learn to fish What do you need to create a website that brings in business?
do it yourself? learn to fish The Secret Sauce 1. Good, clean design that reflects your brand for desktop and mobile 2. Create great, helpful and interesting content 3. Share your posts and engage with your audience on the right social media sites 4. Build your list and send out an email newsletter 5. Optimize pages and posts for keyword phrases
do it yourself? learn to fish Just a few seconds to appeal to your right clients. Site must depict your brand in design, style and content.
do it yourself? learn to fish Make your site responsive. Optimized for mobile and tablets.
do it yourself? learn to fish Create Know, Like and Trust Be authentic People do business with people Let them know who you are Don t use bad stock images
do it yourself? learn to fish Make home page content customer-centric. Regular headline Unexpected approach
do it yourself? learn to fish Online marketing has changed Don t sell on site, customers buy They will search you out
how do people make decisions about choosing a business?
choosing a business 70% of the way to making a decision by the time they contact a vendor Establish your expertise with the content on your site Need clear information about what you do and how to work with you
choosing a business 58% of all businesses add blogs to their websites. Builds authority, expertise and connection.
choosing a business Give people a way to get to know you Put an email newsletter opt-in form (call to action) in a prominent place on your website Develop an email content strategy Send out the email newsletter on a regular basis
choosing a business Social Media Follow Buttons on each page Share Buttons after all of your posts Content
choosing a business Facebook Like Box increases FB page likes
whole different world Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO - whole different world Google rewards companies who provide the best information online with higher ranked search results.
SEO - whole different world Create useful content and give information away.
blog content One topic may be in multiple forms that benefit your audience: video, blog, images, white papers, webinars, presentations, and infographics.
blog content No one cares about your news. Don t disguise your blog in the navigation as company news. They want to know the answers to their questions. Then they may want to know you.
blog content Using social media channels, create networks of people who will help distribute your content and get it read and shared.
blog content More views = more shares = more authority and credibility = greater search visibility
blog content A great WordPress website it is like having a Ferrari. You can park it in the driveway where maybe someone will happen to drive by and see it. But when you put gas in the tank, oil in the car, air in the tires and you learn how to drive it around, many people will see it. So it is not enough to have a WordPress site. If you work it, you will have traffic and convert the visitors to clients.
questions? Thank You Judi Knight New Tricks Owner www.newtricks.com @judiknight
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