Build it and they won’t come?

Be honest: are you assuming that the people you want to see your sparkly new website, will do? It’s a common assumption, but unfortunately it’s not that simple. It’s cheaper and easier than ever for a business to have a website, which includes your competitors.

With more websites competing for the same visitors, you’ll have to do more than just have a website to get their attention. There are some simple actions that can make all the difference so your website is more likely to get found, and generate more leads.

The first step is featuring all the keywords that you want to be found for in search engines. What words do you think your ideal customer would use if searching for your service in Google?

Does this term feature heavily in your website on key pages? It’s common for businesses to use words that are quite formal, or professional jargon, which means they miss out on being listed in search engines for the words that their audience actually uses.

Test, tweak and test again – Website Analytic software like Google Analytics allows you to easily track how visitors are using your website and see if it’s contributing to your business goals. Insist that Analytic software is added to your website from the beginning and ask for access to reports on a regular basis. If you notice that people are leaving on a particular page, this could be a leak that you need to plug. I

f a blog post attracts a higher than normal amount of traffic, is there potential to develop the theme further?

With online marketing it’s much easier to track you return on investment and see what works than any other form of marketing or PR. It would be a shame not to.

If you’re reliant on your website to drive sales these steps can make a difference to how your website contributes to your business goals. Your website needn’t be a static online catalogue. It can be a real asset to your business.

Jessica Shailes is a proud supporter of the Spark Notts Business Support Initiative. Spark - which is funded by Nottinghamshire County Council - offers support, advice and opportunities for new and growing businesses.

Enter the business idea competition, with a prize fund worth over £30,000, at www.sparknotts.com