 "Do I need a website at all?"
It seems as though it was a hundred years ago that companies, new or established, were asking that question when considering their digital options. These days businesses no longer need to be persuaded since they know that their “digital presence” is as essential as their need for computing power. That said, the conversation continues as to how best to use the available platforms. Social Marketing, Newsletters, Video, News feeds, and perhaps most importantly, Search all form part of a wider, more comprehensive approach to Online Marketing.
Every company, of any size and in every Industry sector, needs a web presence - it’s as simple as that. The important question is: how can a firm’s website best serve that business? Does that site rank highly on the search engines when a potential visitor enters a relevant search query (and are these searches translating into actual site visits)? And once visited, is information presented in a way that is easily understood?
The first question is far too easily ignored. Proprietors of new businesses can easily get carried away just seeing their shiny new logo online, sometimes forgetting that a site’s functionality, and the relevance of the content within it, are far more important than simply showing off your graphic designer’s skills. A site can be stunningly beautiful to behold, but if it doesn’t work, and if the information isn’t well written and relevant, then what’s the point? How many times have you left a site through boredom or frustration? If the content is good to look at, easy to read and the site is simple to navigate, users will not only remain engaged, they’ll also return.
The quality of this content directly affects the second point: search engine ranking. It is always recommended that a professional copywriter look over a new site’s content, ensuring that it is written in a consistent “house style”, free of spelling errors, and most importantly optimised for Search. It should be noted that writing for the web is a specialised discipline; users are far less inclined to read great passages of text than they might when presented with the printed equivalent. Furthermore presenting an entire firm’s ethos, culture, history and methodology in an easily digestible way is often no easy feat, and a third-person perspective is well worth the investment.
It is once these questions have been addressed that the real fun starts! Launching a website is always an exciting moment for any new company, but this is only the beginning of what should be an ongoing commitment to your web presence. The various and varied means by which a website must now be promoted form a web strategy that is invariably rewarding, fascinating, and ultimately fruitful.
Rewarding because measures put in place to drive traffic to the website should result in increased business, and by turns fascinating because when all these measures are properly “tracked” the resulting analytics provide invaluable reference material to present to investors, bank managers and advertisers. This data can then be embedded in business plans and relied upon for future web strategies.
All of the above matters aside, digital agencies do recognise that in many instances a new company’s most pressing consideration is likely to be cost. A good agency will take a long hard look at a “start-up’s” growth potential and long-term prospects when putting together a strategy and preparing costs - rather than “fleecing” a new company for as much of its investment pot as possible! The simple fact is that, as long as Scalability and Search are considered from the outset, an online strategy can be put into action for a relatively humble budget, and a fruitful long-term relationship with your agency can begin. Having an agency that truly understands your business model and can respond to or even pre-empt your specific market pressures will, over time, prove priceless.
Furthermore, I would personally counsel any start-up against “undervaluing” their chosen agency. Remember that you’re paying good money for their advice, and when businesses spend too much time agonising over design and style, rather than structure and form, they are effectively reducing the developers’ skills and experience to that of a humble data-inputter. Trust your agency to understand your needs and ambitions – particularly in relation to your actual website. Good developers know what works and their advice can save you a lot of money and aggravation. Once a site’s structure and management is sound the layout and style can be easily changed to suit the direction your company takes.
So how can a great agency best serve the start-up business community? A really well established agency, having served many new and growing businesses, will have become de facto “business consultants”; able to advise and guide on matters far beyond their original remit. The extraordinary access that digital agencies are afforded in their every-day dealings means that there is rarely a situation that they won’t have come across before with another client, and are often well placed to advise accordingly.
When this level of business expertise and experience is applied to a deep comprehension of the online marketing methods outlined above, extraordinary things can be achieved. Well managed Social Networking campaigns, Video Channels and Newsletters, when combined with a true understanding of Search Engine Optimisation, can expose and promote a brand in ways unimaginable just a decade ago. If I could proffer one golden piece of advice, it would be to seek out a digital agency that covers all disciplines rather than specialises in just one. The inclusive nature of such an agency means that they’ll understand you and your company better. The outcome of such a partnership is a more cohesive and comprehensible web presence that will work harder for you for less money.
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1"response"
on Thursday, 16 July 2009 14:35
I think the best way in which you can serve a start up is to give then a clear and realistic overview as what to expect from their new online venture.
In too many cases this is not done in the rush to land that contract.
Too many people believe that "if you build it they will come" or that websites just kind of garner the audience they merit immediately. This is patently not the case.
I would write more but I have no time.....
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