This handy list will maximise your traffic and enquiries.
So you’ve just unleashed your brand spanking new website onto an unsuspecting public.
Congratulations! Most websites require a considerable investment of time and effort so it’s important that you stop to admire the handiwork of you and your web team.
But don’t stop too long because unlike times gone by, websites are no longer ‘set and forget’.
In fact the launch of your website is the very start of your website journey, not the conclusion.
It’s just like a newly landscaped garden. Looks impressive and beautiful now but unless you are prepared to invest in careful maintenance and upkeep, your Garden of Eden can soon look like a front yard on the Highway to Hell.
But we digress. The arrival of your new website represents a great opportunity to gather some promotion for your business and get back in touch with clients and prospects.
So here’s a handy checklist that will not only bring your website lots of traffic but go a long way to giving it an early return on investment!
No matter how many times you’ve proofed, re-proofed and checked your website, chances are that it contains some minor errors that you and your team managed to overlook, or even an up-sell or cross-sell opportunity you’ve missed. Before you launch the site to the wider public, conduct a test launch to a handful of allies that will give you honest feedback on the pros and cons of your new baby.
As any respectable Search Engine Optimiser will tell you, relevant incoming links are the online equivalent of ongoing free advertising in the local press. The more relevant links to your website Google’s (et al) ‘bots’ can find, the higher it will rank you. Here’s a quick but not exhaustive list of free directory sites you should provide a free profile for. Note that some of these may approach you to advertise, but this is not obligatory:
www.hotfrog.com.au
www.aussieweb.com.au
www.truelocal.com.au
www.bigroo.com.au
www.dmoz.org
If you are in Australia, you’re likely to find that your local council operates a free business directory too.
To maximise the chances of clients and prospects using the site, make sure you add your domain name to every promotional surface you can think of, from your business cards to your car signage and from your print advertisements to your email footer. In fact give your email footer an extra boost by adding a launch announcement above your contact details, such as:
Our New Website is Live! Visit us today at www.yourdomain
Co-ordinate an email shot to your list. Give it extra life by conducting a contest with a prize for entries which give answers to questions relating to the website, eg: What’s the name of our new product range (see What’s New)?
If you have a number of staff, gain their all important buy-in by announcing the website at the next staff meeting. You could even have a ‘new arrival’ cake with morning tea or ‘create’ a launch with a projector and large screen.
If you operate in an industry where you can get good media coverage, prepare a media release outlining the website’s interesting content and features.
Social networking sites you are a member of provide a great avenue for promoting your new site. You can make it more friendly and enticing by inviting feedback instead of a straight plug. Makes ideal Twitter fodder too.
Despite what you may have heard, search engines can take some time to crawl and index your site. A short term campaign of search engine pay per click advertising can fill the breach till your ‘organic’ listings kick in.
I just thought of this one but it’s yours! Buy some sweet cigars and give to your clients to celebrate the new arrival (or even real ones if your market will react to it) – ensuring they are packaged with your domain name. Taking the idea further why not take out an ad in a relevant magazine, design it like a ‘new arrivals’ classified and announce the birth of your new site.
While this list is far from exhaustive, it will give your new website an excellent chance of recouping some of your hard earned cash before you know it.
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Craig Reardon is a leading eBusiness educator and founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which provide the gamut of ‘pre-built’ website solutions, technologies and services to SMEs in
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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