How to benefit from a clever online strategy

Having a website is just the first step in sharing your message online. A website is an ongoing commitment – one that can really increase lead generation and business success if done properly.

As a business in the franchise sector, a website is the best place for you to showcase what you can do, what is happening in your business, and any case studies or client testimonials you have.

A website is also a great way to interact with your customers, or potential customers, through an interactive blog, feedback forms, or social media links.

Listed below are a few online strategies that can be used to further benefit your business.

Mix it up with your website’s content

The number one reason to design and build a website is to attract visitors and potential customers from your target market. Once they have landed on your website they will hopefully find the information that they are looking for and ultimately make a purchase or at least an inquiry.

To fully engage visitors to your website, it is essential to invest in:

• An attractive website that reflects your brand, product, and services
• A strong hierarchy of pages that are simple to navigate through
• Interesting, relevant, and helpful content that is engaging

This final point is where different types of content come into play. You will have a whole variety of visitors, with varying needs, explore your website.

We’ve all heard the saying a “picture is worth a thousand words” – if that’s a picture then what is a video clip worth? A short, well-thought-out video clip can easily demonstrate products and services much more rapidly and succinctly than a written description. They are also engaging and entertaining; and if you can engage your visitors with interesting and helpful content, you’re one step closer to a sale.

Know your SEO

At least 80 percent of visitors to your website will have found it by using a search engine, such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo. There is absolutely no point in building a beautiful website if these search engines can’t find you. 

SEO strategy is all about making sure that search engines do locate you, and preferably place you at the top of the first page of search results for keywords typed in the search box.

Search engines crawl the web using complex algorithms that have been designed to help searchers to find the information that they are looking for simply and easily. These algorithms use a variety of factors to locate the best-suited websites that will deliver both content and user experience.

As using varied types of content on a website enhances user experience and leads them to spend more time exploring the site, this is one of the things that the search engines factor into their algorithms. When search engines find varied content on your website, this works to raise its ranking in search results.

Get (social) networking

It is estimated that, on average, every user of social media sites has 130 friends, each of whom also has 130 friends. These friends form a network of like-minded people with similar interests. If you can interest one of these in your product or service enough for them to post about it or link to you on their page, blog, or site, then it has the potential to be viewed by a much larger number of people.

Sign up to social media sites, build a blog, create an account or a page and make your presence known. Build your own network by making friends with those in your industry, online publications, and specialist online directories such as FranchiseBusiness.com.au and, overall, give users a reason to interact with you. All these things help to advertise your website and your brand.

In the end, it’s about engaging with your audience and never leaving your website or web presence in a static state.

Raffael Fernandes is the sales manager at FranchiseBusiness.com.au, the official online business directory of the Franchise Council of Australia.