Why You Should Use A Web Design Company To Build Your Website...
Now more than ever, having a website that generates inquiries is an absolute must for all businesses. With most of the country in lockdown or in restrictive measures, peoples’ spending habits are changing, with the vast majority of commerce now taking place online.
People don’t particularly enjoy phoning each other anymore! We order our takeaways through apps, we contact companies by live chat and messenger services and we email businesses for quotes in batches to avoid the “rigmarole” of having to call multiple people one after the other.
As a result, more and more businesses are flocking to the internet to ensure they have an online presence to capture the enquiries from people looking for their products and services.
To meet this heightened demand, a large number of DIY website builders have now flooded the market, eager to sign-up local business owners and tradespeople with promises of “easy to use” drag and drop software, professionally designed templates, email services, domain management and marketing support, all for an incredibly low and affordable price.
The Problem With DIY Site Builders…
In reality, most people using these DIY website builders fail to publish their own websites due to a lack of written text content, an inability to source professional images and a general confusion about email accounts and domain name registrations.
Those websites that are published are often done so with little thought towards SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), online advertising, pay-per-click or social media marketing. As a result, few of these DIY websites rank on the first page of Google for the keywords that matter, leaving their owners tired and increasingly frustrated.
Time For A Reality Check…
Simply building a website does not mean you will be found in Google by your customers, let alone that you’ll be able to generate a consistent stream of enquiries that you’re becoming increasingly reliant upon.
When you’re thinking about developing a website to represent your business and to promote your products and services, you must ensure you’re building the website on the right foundations to begin with. For this reason, commissioning a professional web design company to build your website will almost always prove more successful.
Benefits Of Using A Web Design Company…
A professional web design company should always take the time to understand your business and the products or services you want to promote. After listening closely to your requirements and agreeing the objectives of the proposed website, a specific and tailored development plan will be created to use moving forward. An agency that’s worth its salt will provide a number of additional services that you just won’t find on the cheap DIY site building platforms.
Keyword Research
Before commissioning the build of a new website, it is important to identify which keywords are being searched for in Google by your target audience. This will provide a clear “blueprint” around which you should build your website.
Carrying out keyword research will highlight the potential profitability of certain keywords, providing valuable information about which of your products and services should take precedence on your website, and more importantly, how these should be grouped and subsequently structured to maximise conversions.
Competitor Analysis
Identifying and researching your main competitors will provide additional keyword ideas and further insight into the market you wish to enter. Analysis of any paid advertising and social media activity will also prove valuable during this process.
Website Structure & Prospect Conversion
Having identified the most profitable keywords and key phrases (achieved using the methods above), a justified website structure can be formulated, complete with the necessary page content required.
Each page should be designed to obtain conversions by mirroring the search terms used by the visitor.
It is vital that the chosen keywords for each page form the nature of the content served, to help maximise the conversion rate of visits to enquiries. The inclusion of YouTube video(s) and lead magnets (such as special offers, discount for sign-ups and helpful guides in exchange for email addresses) can further aid in the conversion process.
Marketing & Traffic Generation
Once you have a website “reverse engineered” around profitable keywords, the proactive marketing of your website can begin.
Firstly, the addition of fresh content to your site on a regular basis will contribute towards the organic ranking of your website in the search engines. This content may take the form of “case studies”, “company news” or “blog articles” relating to your products and services. Your chosen web design company should provide an easy to use and intuitive platform for you to update as and when required.
Secondly, publishing content on social media networks will increase your online presence that not only helps to drive referral traffic to your website, but also increases your “perceived value” and market influence by Google and the other search engines.
Thirdly, a Google Ads campaign can provide your company with prominent rankings instantly. This is a great way to drive traffic to your website quickly, whilst tracking the performance of each keyword within your campaign.
In Summary...
Whether you choose to build your own website or commission a professional company to do it for you, it’s important to have a clear plan before making a start.
I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a reputable company and asking them for some additional advice before making your decision. You shouldn’t be obligated to make a purchase and it’s a great way to assess the professionalism and nature of the company you’re talking to.
If you have a project in mind or would like some free, friendly advice regarding web design and online promotion, please feel free to contact our Customer Account Managers today at hello@getyouonline.co.uk or call: 01159 722 050 at your nearest convenience.
