1. Trying To Do Everything On The Cheap Is A Big No No!

With running a business comes a lot of expense, money can sometimes be tight and this can tempt people to cut corners and choose the cheapest option. This can save you money, yes, however you could be damaging your business for the future. Cheap web designers or SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) agencies advertise appealing prices, however the saying ‘You get what you pay for’ can become all too true in situations like this. In order to build your business you have to sometimes be prepared to spend that extra bit of money to ensure your website is good quality and looks professional. Investing in your business the high majority of the time means you benefit from it in the future.

2. Building A DIY Website

Trusting a cheap company with your website design and build is just as bad as taking on the task yourself! Too many small businesses think it’s a good idea to save money by building their own website. However it will in-fact just waste your time, bring on stress and create more damage than good! It’s really not worth the hassle! Let professionals build your website for you, that way if you ever have any problems you can ring the company you chose to use and let them handle it! After all, it is their job!

3. Website Optimisation

Internet Marketing strategies may encourage potential clients to visit your website, however this doesn’t always mean you’ll get sales or enquiries from it. The most important thing is that your website is designed and optimised for conversions and that your contact details stand out. Another good method is to display offers or discounts on your homepage to encourage clients to look further into your website, if people who are looking to save money happen to find your website they will always be drawn into a good discount meaning they save their money but use a good company!

4. Is Having A Mobile-Friendly Website Worth It?

It’s important for websites to look aesthetically pleasing but also function well on computers so that they are simple and easy to use. Another important aspect of having a good website is for it to be mobile-friendly too. A good website is usually designed to adapt to suit the electronic device that it is being viewed on, whether this is a laptop, a mobile phone, a tablet etc.

Google’s latest update means that your website is ranked higher if it is a mobile-friendly design. They have also introduced mobile-friendly labelling in search results which will put websites without a mobile-friendly version at a disadvantage. You can check if your website is mobile-friendly using Google’s own mobile-friendly test! Go ahead and try it, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you do need an update for your website to make it mobile-friendly!

5. ‘About’ Or ‘Contact’ Pages

When the public visit your website they expect to be able to find information about your company effortlessly. Usually this sort of information is located on the pages ‘About us’ or Contact’. If the information isn’t clear on your website about your business then they may assume you aren’t professional.

Less isn’t always necessarily more, always include contact details and vital information that will reassure your clients that you’re professional and trustworthy. Never miss out this information from your website! You may think that they’ll contact you if they want to know more… however the majority of the time they won’t! They’ll move onto a website which is clearer and easier to use! Often this means your competitors benefit from your mistakes!

6. Balance Of Content

It used to be the more keywords you could fit into your website content the better. However, over the last few years Google has become more and more sophisticated to the stage where it can now identify if you’re trying to force in too many keywords! This means Google will penalise you for trying to cheat the system. If you want to win Google’s support you should write high quality, relevant content for your website. This will be more beneficial to your search engine ranking!

7. SEO Strategy

Another mistake is to not have an SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) strategy. When you first set up a website you should think about what keywords/phrases are most relevant to your business. These keywords should be used when you first start getting your website and the website’s content built. SEO isn’t a success if you use it just on your website it’s more effective to include the same keywords in social media blogs that you write etc. The more places you use them the better!

8. Social Media Presence

Social Media is used by billions of people every day! This is potentially one of the best places to market and advertise your business… for free! You may not think spending a few hours promoting your business on Social Media is a productive use of time, however, having one or two active social media accounts is a really good way to help promote your business for free. It also helps to strengthen your online presence.

You can choose from many different sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+ etc. It’s really worth signing up to any one of these sites with a business account and start posting today! You could even sign up to them all! We can help you if you feel you want someone to manage your social media accounts for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

9. Know Your Competition

The best way to success is to learn from someone with more experience than you. Knowing who your competition are and keeping an eye on them not only allows you to stay ahead of the game, but also means you can learn what works and what doesn’t. If your competitors’ marketing campaigns are successful or unsuccessful learn from it and reflect what they’ve used in your own strategies.

10. Regular Updates

Good quality website content is vital to a good online reputation and presence. It is important to ensure all content is regularly updated and kept relevant. This keeps clients and potential clients interested in your company by having new information and posts to read every time they visit your website or social media page. It also means search engines pick up that your website is active and up-to-date.

An amazing way to achieve this is by installing a blog on your website. You can update it with recent news and information to help gain yourself a more authoritative voice in your industry.