If you are looking to go beyond merely being online and are instead looking to dominate your area of the Internet, you need to do more than simply create a website.  The Internet isn’t as simple as it was ten years ago.  During that time it has gone from being a text-driven marketplace to a multi-media juggernaut that offers everything from audio and videocasting to social networking.  In order for you to get your share of the Web 2.0 pie, you need to provide viewers with something more than a static website.  What you need is to embrace the ABC’s of creating and maintaining a dynamic web presence.

A = Acquire the tools of the trade that will put your business on the map

Let me ask you, when was the last time you updated your website.  If the answer is two or more years ago, it’s high time you gave your site an extreme makeover.  What I mean by that is  you need to update your site’s technology by including such things as a blog, podcasting and video.  Sorry to say this but for the most part, today’s audience isn’t going to take the time to go beyond your homepage, unless you hit them right between the eyes with a reason to do so.  Industry statistics show that most people who click over to your site will in all likelihood not go below the fold on the homepage.  That being said, what you need to do is stop wasting all the valuable real estate above the fold with meaningless graphics and instead plug in your most dynamic information where your audience can’t miss it, at the top of the homepage.

Look at it this way, if the first contact that a client has with you is via the Internet, they don’t know who you are, they don’t know what kind of experience you have and they don’t have a reason to contact you. They sure as hell aren’t going to click through a dozen or more pages on your site to find out.  This is where online video works like a charm. 

What I refer to as the “elevator pitch,” this video provides a viewer with the opportunity to get to know a little bit about you and your business.  You can show them your facilities, introduce them to your staff, and you can tell them what makes your business special.  You can even provide video testimonials that allow your clients to tell prospects what you have done for them and why someone should consider doing business with you.  Best of all, you can also hit the prospect right between the eyes with an inducement to contact you NOW!

Granted, your website is only the tip of the iceberg today when it comes to your web presence.  However, for many prospects, this will be the first brush they have with your business, so it is vital that you not waste this opportunity to provide them with a reason to do business with you.  You should also provide links to your blog, along with quick connections to your social media conduits.

B = Be where your audience searches

Ten years ago when people wanted to find an accountant, a plumber, or a roofer, they thumbed through the Yellow Pages.  Today, they use search engines like Google to search for vendors and contractors, or they peruse sites such as Craigslist and Angie’s List.  There are also other specialized portals and social networks that are set up to assist the buying public in their search for reliable firms with which to do business.  You need to Google these portals and social networks in order to add them to your marketing mix.  Best of all, these sites charge little or in some cases nothing at all to add your business to their site.

Speaking of Google, if you want to effectively employ this online juggernaut as part of your advertising mix, you need to get page 1 results. Being on page 2 is going to mean that your competitors are going to continue to eat your lunch online.  Industry statistics show that 97% of searchers limit their searches to page 1.  It also means that you will be sure to get your share of the more than 90 billion searches performed on Google every single month. 

C = Convert traffic to sales

Understand going in that the average web browser will spend less than a minute on any given site.  That being said, what you need to do is hit them right between the eyes with an offer or inducement as soon as possible. Your offer or inducement should be tailored to get the prospect to either call, walk into your business, or fill out a short form that will provide them with a coupon or intangible item of value.  By intangible, I am referring to an ebook, prerecorded webinar, or something else of perceived value.  Either way, this generates a lead complete with email address and phone number on which you can follow up.  (In a future blog, I will show you how to convert these leads into an automated drip marketing program.)

If all of the above sounds like a full time job to accomplish, bear in mind that companies like Access JAX are ready, willing and able to jump into the fray and help you create and manage a web presence that generates both traffic and leads.  When you consider that in the next 5 years it is predicted that 42% of the $155 Billion that was spent by local vendors in 2009 is expected to be spent online, this isn’t an advertising venue that you can afford to ignore.

Access JAX offers a no-cost, no obligation top to bottom analysis of your online presence.  To take advantage of this offer, call us at 904-234-6007.