A good website helps, helps then sells. People want to trust your business. By giving them information, by making it easy to navigate and by explaining your points of difference from your competitors, you will get the business.

What are your most profitable lines. Create specific webpages about these products or services. Include genuine testimonials from real customers who love your work.

If you have good SEO (search engine optimization) working on every webpage, many visitors will come in on any number of your pages, however, your homepage is important too.

Is the message on your homepage selling your points of difference, why you are the best? The message might change over time which is why having a dynamic website with a content management system is important. It allows you to change your message (and other content) as you wish.

A website is like a shark – it needs to be constantly on the move to stay alive. Keep your message relevant and remember, help, help, sell wins the day!

And make sure you have excellent SEO working for you. If you can’t be found, you won’t get the business. It’s that simple.

2. How easy is it for web visitors to navigate your website?

Three clicks and you’re there. That’s the max. Does your website pass the test?

If you have lots of products in different categories (and many businesses do), list product or service types in these category names that mean something to your clients. List the products under these categories, again in product names that make sense to the web visitor – your potential clients. Whether you are a one product business or have 100s, make sure your website tells your visitors what they are looking for.

3. You need a call to action

What is it you want your customers or potential customers to do? Do you want them to ring you for a quote? Do you want them to ‘buy now’ if you have an ecommerce website?

A clear call to action can work by directing your potential clients to act. Every page needs a call to action. Does your website have this? If it doesn’t, it needs a revamp.

4. Can web visitors easily contact you?

In the iPhone era with unlimited call packages for mobile phones, people want to call and speak to someone – preferably a real person.

How easy is it for you to find your telephone number on your own website? Do the test from a potential customer’s point of view. Imagine you are a potential customer, you like what you see and you want to contact the business right now.

So where is your telephone number on your website? The key position is the top right banner for every webpage. This is the perfect position but don’t let that stop you putting it everywhere else too. In the footer, on pages where people will read about or see what they want. Make it easy for people to call you straight away.

Include a Contact Us link. Having a ‘contact us’ link to a contact form is also good as some people (like me) want to leave a message and let the company get back to me. But it is proven that talking with a potential customer can make all the difference between you getting the work or your competition.

But wait, there’s more …

Special offers such as ‘buy one get one free’, ‘bonus package with every sale’ – they work. Make sure your special offers are accessible. Using the middle of the top banner (so it appears on every page) is a great position. Offering a ‘free quote’ or some other special offer can get you that important lead.

Every webpage should work to sell your service or product. Linking pages within your website is one way to help web visitors to browse and investigate why you’re better than all the others.

Internal links provide ways for your potential customers to stay on your website and find what they want. Then they will call because they can find your telephone number easily. See no. 4.

Does the web design suit your business?

A very sophisticated web design will work for a very sophisticated business. A funky Newtown hairdresser will want something completely different. A lunchtime café and takeaway needs a completely different design from a 5-star restaurant.

Getting the right design that suits your business is important. Great web design is about finding the right balance for each individual business. The design also plays a vital role in functionality. There is no point having a great looking website that no one can navigate. And if any web designer suggests using Flash, go somewhere else. It is so last century!

7. Choose Bold Type for your money-making website

Making great looking websites that work for our clients 24/7 is what we do best. Best of all, our clients can manage it. As one of our customers said:

I can’t believe this is so easy. I can add new products, take down out of date content, upload images – it’s amazing as I have no computer skills.
Read some of our testimonials from clients.

Yes, your business will make more money. We’ve had great success in building visitor numbers. One company had a 3000% increase in the first year. Yes, 3000 per cent! If you want your website to start working for you, call us now on 0410 037 635. Sue will take your call and organise a free quote. Or fill in our contact form (if you are like me and prefer to get on with business!).

Written by Sue Stevens, Principal of Bold Type

Homepage of website for Liza McKilliam, real estate specialist

Bold Type has just completed the website for Liza McKilliam, real estate specialist for the western suburbs of Brisbane. Liza works under the RE/MAX brand but wanted her own presence on the web showing her properties for sale and giving her clients the information that is particular to the western suburbs of Brisbane.

See more websites developed by Bold Type.

Features of a great real estate website

A great real estate website needs to clearly present properties and present them in a way so that web visitors can find what they are looking for.

Liza’s new real estate website features everything to make her business stand out on the web.

Comprehensive homepage

Liza’s homepage prominently features rotating images of all properties for sale. It also allows web visitors to access selling tips, buying tips, latest news and a detailed list of all properties that are currently open for inspection.

Properties for sale listing pages

Each property for sale is shown in a ‘for sale’ list and has it’s own comprehensive listing page that includes images, a detailed description, Google map locator and contact form.

An additional ’sold’ list shows properties that have been recently sold, the price and location so that web visitors can get an idea of the current real estate market trends.

Real estate information pages

Providing information for clients and web visitors in a main feature of Liza McKilliams real estate website. There are information webpages for sellers, buyers and general real estate information that provide tips and advice

Latest real estate news

Things can change rapidly in the real estate market which is why web visitors to Liza McKilliam.com.au can find the latest real estate news articles that are of interest to real estate buyers and sellers – particularly those interested in what’s happening in the western suburbs of Brisbane.

Links lists of businesses

To help people to find suppliers in the property and real estate sector, Liza’s website includes links to businesses that vendors and buyers may need to access, for example, local tradespeople, conveyancing agents, and government departments

Google maps integration

Visitors can easily find the location of a property and print the page so that they will have no problem finding the place when heading to an open for inspection. Web visitors can also find the RE/MAX Kenmore office too using the Google maps integration system.

Send to a friend feature

Visitors can send a page to friends who are interested in the information on any webpage on www.lizamckilliam.com.au.

Search Engine Optimisation

Having a website that is prominent on the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN is vital to the success of a business. Liza’s website has SEO title tags for news posts and every webpage that are recognisable by search engines. With excellent content and well tagged webpages, Liza’s website is SEO friendly giving her website every advantage of being visible on page one for a key word search.

XML sitemap

The sitemap on Liza’s website not only helps visitors to find what they want easily, but it also helps with SEO. The sitemap is  important as search engines can easily crawl to identify every webpage on the site: great for SEO.

Google Analytics

Liza’s website, as with all Bold Type websites, has Google Analytics installed so that Liza’s team can analyse search trends and make adjustments to the website so that it better suits web visitors’ needs.

Wordpress editable webpages

Liza’s website has been built using Wordpress, an open source software application that was voted no. 1 in 2009.

It’s a dynamic program that works beautifully and it’s easy to use so that Liza’s support team can add properties, make minor or major text changes, add pages, images, videos or other files to any page at any time with the click of a few key strokes.

Bold Type can build your website to your particular requirements

Whatever you need to make your website work for your business, Bold Type can design it and build it.

And you (or one of your team) will have full control over your best marketing tool ever.

Contact Bold Type for a free consultation on revamping or developing your website.

Go to www.lizamckilliam.com.au.

Since Bold Type started developing a complete web presence for Glitterbox, business has tripled. To get things going during the website build, we created a Glitterbox video for YouTube and started work on the social networking across the web. And we designed a special placeholder page for www.glitterbox.com.au until their new website was taken live on the net.

The team at Glitterbox love their website (it’s so them, they tell us), the clients love it and so do the people searching for a hairdresser in Newtown.

Check out the entire website at www.glitterbox.com.au. They are great hairdressers, so make an appointment while you’re at it.