Part 6: Promoting Your Website
If you’ve been reading this article since part 1 when we started with gathering data, then setting goals, designing to those goals, optimizing for search engines and launching the new website, you’re probably wondering, “why do I need to promote it?”
Fair question. If your designer did his or her job well, your website should be at the top of the page if anyone searches on your company name. If it’s not there yet, it should be soon once Google updates its datacenters. BUT what if I’m a potential customer and I don’t know your company name? All I know is that I need a company that does exactly what you do. So I’m going to search for companies by the service I need.
Your website is most likely going to be among the thousands if not millions of websites worldwide that can offer me what I’m looking for. How can I narrow that search?
Simple, all those companies who are using Paid Placement Campaigns are going to specify what geographical area they serve, what services they offer and where they’re located. These will show up at the top of the search results page – the top 4 or 5 with more ads at the bottom of the search results.
As a consumer, I know that these ads are offering me the services or products I’m seeking because they are paying to advertise here. The sites below these ads are not paying and could be “informational only” sites – great if I’m doing a school paper, not so great if I’m looking for a service provider.
You want to be one of those ads at the top of the page on the exact terms that you want for services or products you offer. A knowledgeable Digital Marketer will know how to get the most out of your budget so that you aren’t showing your ads to unqualified buyers. He or she is an expert in getting you targeted traffic that is most likely to convert to a sale.
I look at it this way: Use natural organic results for broad phrases because you’re not paying for each and every visitor that finds your website organically. Use paid ads for specific terms that are most likely going to attract the exact type of buyer you want to get the best Return on Investment.
Done right, your ad campaign should pay for itself within a year, depending on how long a sales cycle you have.