Build Your Business with a Better Website

When the web was young you could put up your site and forget it. Today you need to update your site at least every two years just to keep it working efficiently. A website can easily be the best marketing tool for a business. A less than polished site will be passed over, especially if there are plenty of competitors. With a few changes and some user friendly tools your site can get noticed and bring in the sales your business is looking for. In this new digital age the internet is the best way to promote your products and/or services and your advertising dollars are best spent here.

If you have an older website that you would like to update but you're not so sure just what to do, here are some ideas to use or to ask your web designer to implement on your website.

1. Get some good pictures, or update your old ones. People like to "be there" so you NEED to get some good pictures of your business and or your product(s), and maybe a picture of you. Hire a photographer if you need to.

2. Add some Flash. Flash ads are the difference between a mediocre website and a really sharp looking one. More and more people are on high speed connections so flash ads are okay and are in most all updated good looking websites. Do be careful not to have too large of a flash file even with high speed they can bog down and take too long to load. Use this rule 2 seconds 2 long 2 many leave.

3. Add a shopping cart. If you have a product; you need to offer it online for purchase. It is simple with pay pal and shopping cart software and not very expensive either.

4. Get an E-Commerce Site. Do you have a lot of products? Take pictures of them and get set up with an E-Commerce site. You can change your inventory with the click of a mouse, and that's how easy it is for customers to purchase your products.

5. Make it Search Friendly. A Website named heavensanswer.com will not be picked up in the search engines when someone searches for baby clothes. All sites swimming in the internets ocean need SEO (Search Engine Optimization). All it takes is the right words in the right places and you will come to the surface in the search engines.

6. Make it user friendly. Are you still making your customers download and print out a form, and then they have to spend $.42 to send it to you. Update everything regularly. Online forms, online surveys, e-signatures, faster downloads, and by all means update those links. Also check your e-mail and get an automatic response for any one who inquires on your site.

7. Be Found. Advertise your website. There are many new and evolving ways to advertise your website. Adwords, Adsense, Pay Per Click, Directory Listings, and paid Advertisements. Once you tweak up your web presence, then it's time to send your site out to be noticed. However like spam once had its day, you should be careful how you spend and hire a professional if you need to. Keep your site fresh, user friendly and using the correct words to be noticed in the search engines and you will find the internet to be one of the best places to promote your business.