Goals of Your Site

Just as your offline marketing will evolve to meet certain benchmarks, so should your online marketing. While initially you’ll be creating a portal meant to spread information and attract new customers and clients, you’ll likely aim higher soon enough. If e-commerce is part of your plan, your developer should ensure that you can take new orders online. Your ultimate goal is to create a one-stop-shop for your business: a site that has all the information you need to convert prospects and gives them an easy way to buy your services or products. Just as you wouldn’t market a product to people in one location then ask the customer to go buy it in another, the most successful online marketing hubs house everything under one virtual roof.

Even if e-commerce is not part of your plan, your website should be more than just a place to broadcast information. The more interactive the experience, the more likely visitors are to stick around, play along, and eventually come back on a regular basis. Creating a customer service link where you can receive input is critical to interactivity, provided you’re ready to respond in a timely manner. A blog with an enabled comment feature is another good way to encourage a two-way conversation. The more you make people a part of your business, the more likely they are to become customers.

Finally, once your site grows into a force in the online world, a destination that claims traffic upwards of 50,000 page views each month, you may want to consider selling ad space on your site. By giving other companies and brands a place to sell their wares, you can effectively create not just an online headquarters, but a community—not simply a place to “check something out,” but a broader, all-encompassing web experience that can benefit you and your business.

Click on any of the links below to find out more about building your business's virtual headquarters.