Design your website for your visitors

Your site needs to look professional and give your visitor confidence that you know what you’re doing.

Good design allows your web visitors to find what they want quickly

That’s why good website design is essential – not just how pretty it is but getting the right information to the visitor that they want immediately. Design is about functionality, logical navigation and useability. Make it easy for your visitors to see what they want from you. And it does need to look good and reflect your target market values.

Make sure your visitors know where they are

Consistency of content across your website is vital.

When your web visitors land on any page (and with great SEO, the first page is often a product or service page, blog article or other page), they need to know within seconds where they are and what that page is about.

For example, if you have product pages, they should all look like your product pages. You’d be surprised how many websites do not follow this rule – and pay the price with visitors going elsewhere.

Be specific with your call to action

If you want your web visitors to call, make it easy for them

What is it you want your web visitors to do? Buy your product, request a quote, call you, sign up for enews, request a brochure – these are just some of the calls to action that businesses need to include on their websites.

Sometimes it is strategic to give visitors options: ask for a brochure, request a quote, email or call. It can be beneficial to have your main call to action on your header so that no matter what page the visitor is on, they can easily find what you want them to do.

In the case of purchasing services or products online, the buy button needs to be on the product pages and be easily found.

Include secondary calls to action

This may be as simple as including ‘Request a quote’ or adding a Facebook ‘Like’ icon. In the case of ecommerce, a wish list button will enable visitors to come back and purchase items they like.

Make it easy to contact or buy

If the goal is for visitors to email you, give them the option on every page

Whether you have an ecommerce website and you want your visitors to buy product or you want your web visitors to take the next step and contact you, make it easy for them to do so.

Simple checkout systems with one page completion before buying is ideal. The checkout page has a high abandonment rate (this is known). Simplicity is the key as is security. Make sure your checkout is secure and give purchase options such as a credit card gateway and PayPal as the minimum.

Add a value proposition

What’s in it for the web visitor? This is a question that your website needs to address.

Get a free download of ‘something that your visitors want’. Test reducing the prices of your products. Add a free bonus gift with a purchase.

All these things can add value and help to convince your visitors that you are the business they want to use.

Give visitors something free such as a free download

Help, help, sell is a good proposition to keep in mind for your website. Don’t be afraid to give some things away.

It’s a moveable feast

Your website is never finished so be prepared to keep working at improving your website. Use Google Analytics to find out which pages are working. Find out how to write good quality, key word content to improve your search engine optimization. Add an interactive element. Change the homepage content.

Revise, refine and rewrite if you have to. Be patient and listen to your visitors/customers.

Last Tip:

Add Facebook's Like and other social icons on your website

Don’t forget social media that allows your web visitors to stay in contact with you even when they don’t come to your website. With millions of people using Facebook every day and checking in on their Facebook page, make sure they like your website so you can stay in touch with them and convert to your customers.

Follow these steps to successfully converting web visitors to web customers.

Bold Type can help design and develop a truly excellent website that will deliver more visitors and more conversions to customers.

We can also help build your search engine optimisation, write web copy and ensure your website is seen by your targeted audience.

Contact Bold Type today for a free quote.

Call Sue Stevens today on 0410 037 635.

Keep improving your website to maintain your success converting visitors to customers

Bold Type wishes all our clients a successful and prosperous 2011

It’s nearly 2011. Forget all the new year’s resolutions that you’ll make and break – it’s time to make the decision to do whatever it takes to make your website work at its maximum potential and earn you more money. To do that you need to aim for page one for Google searches for the goods and/or services you provide.

However, getting to and staying on page one of Google is an ongoing process. Savvy website owners know this and continually add content and update information on their websites and on related Internet directories and social media sites.

There is no doubt that the Internet has had a great impact on people’s lives. It’s how people find things – and with mobile devices such as the iPhone 4 providing super fast access, it’s easier than ever.

Because of this shift from analogue (phone books) to digital searches on the Internet, the Internet has the potential to significantly improve the bottom line for small business owners. In fact, the Internet allows small businesses to compete with larger companies for a bigger slice of the Internet customer pie.

Your business needs to have a strong Internet presence

Business owners who are continually improving their websites are getting a huge advantage over their competitors with this new growth market: the Internet shopper.

But just as every successful business has always had to keep up with advertising and marketing trends, Internet savvy business owners are modifying their websites regularly so that their website is accessed by Internet shoppers over their competitors.

‘We quadrupled the number of targeted visitors to our website with Bold Type’s support. And our enquiry rate has gone up substantially as have orders that have come from our website enquiries.’
Ben Beard, Captivations

Make your website improvement your no. 1 new year’s eve resolution

Smart business owners update, reskin or rebuild their websites at least every five years – at the very least. And with CMS-built websites built using programs such as WordPress, it’s easy to continually update websites to ensure a high Google ranking.

An outdated website (or worse, no website at all) is not going to be effective in today’s Google-centric Internet world. A business’s website needs to be the centerpiece of their online presence which incorporates effective Internet marketing strategies including free (and paid) search engine optimization (SEO).

Bold Type build websites for small and medium businesses using WordPress – voted no. 1 open-source website content management system in 2009. We also consult on search engine optimization, write content and news items for your website, can improve your overall Internet performance and help manage your email marketing – all of which help make your business more profitable.

Related website development articles

Websites need to capture the essence of your business

Read some articles on the importance of search engine optimization

Contact Bold Type today to find out how we can help you make more money from your website.

Make sure your website is on page one of Google for highly-ranked keywords

The benefits to your business for improving SEO – search engine optimisation – are all about getting more web visitors and making your business more profitable.

Helping people to find you on the Internet means more visitors, more potential clients, more conversions and increased profits.

One of our clients who has had his new website up and running for less than two months writes about the sensational results that we have delivered.

Our enquiries from our website is at an all time high. The big increase according to our web stats since the new website went live is the page loads. More people are going to more of our pages and staying longer on our site too. I’m sure this is because the site is so much easier to navigate.

October is a record month for first time visitors and unique visitors and we still have three days to go. The keywords has made all the difference.

Key stat comparison between Oct 09 and Oct 2010: Oct 09 had 2500 page loads, 908 unique visitors, 779 first time visitors and 129 returning visitors.

Oct 10 had 8855 (up 250%) page loads, 2414 (up 165%) unique visitors, 2047 (up 165%) first time visitors and 367 (up 178%) returning visitors.

If you want to get some impressive results from your website, have your website working 24/7 for you and generate strong leads and new customers, contact Bold Type for a free consultation about your website and SEO.

Colour graph showing business growth

Many business owners, small business owners included, want to grow their businesses but are not sure how.

In one-man bands, where your time is money, it’s a challenge to grow a business without an exponential hike in the number of hours you work. But there are ways and means!

Here are four ideas about how to increase the revenue and profit in your business.

1 Increase your prices

Are you too cheap? If you are a service provider, your quotes may be too cheap – you spend more time than anticipated in which case you end up working for peanuts. Under-quoting on time for work completed not only means less per contract, as you only have so many hours in a day to work, your overall ability to increase your income suffers as well.

If you are in the business of selling products, an increase in the price of your goods can have a real effect on your bottom line. Many people don’t mind paying more for the right quality product.

Here’s a strategy. Do an audit on what services or products are the most profitable and which are not. Ditch the unprofitable lines and focus on the 80 percent. Increase your prices for these services or products by 10 percent.

Develop a communications strategy that tells existing clients of the changes. Work out a script on what to say and collect supporting documentation such as testimonials that show you deliver quality products on time. One company that did just this increased their bottom line by over $100 000 and lost only three clients.

2. Develop a relationship with existing clients

This is an easy way to grow your business and yet it’s often overlooked completely. Keeping in touch – without becoming a pest – can grow your business without having to find new clients. Start an email marketing campaign to keep your clients informed about your industry, your business and other relevant information.

Do a survey of your clients. Use your email marketing to find out what your clients want. Ask some simple questions to get feedback from your clients.

• What did you like about the work we did for you?
• What could we do to improve our service?
• What are your plans for the coming year?
• How can we help?

You’ll find some survey programs on the Internet clients a survey – online products such as www.surveymonkey.com.

3. Find more customers

Firstly, determine which areas of your business are the most profitable. You might need to do an audit on costs verses income to see what is making you money and what is not. Streamline your marketing to focus on profitable areas.

A business without a functional, well-designed website in the 21 century is not a business!

Modify your website so that your best selling products are more prominent. Improve your website and make sure it is search engine optimised. Websites go in and out of fashion just like everything else so if your website is looking old and tired, it may need a makeover.

Use your analytics program on your website to assess your ratio between number of visitors, number of enquiries to actual sales ratio. Make changes to your website to improve

• the number of potential customers who are looking for your service or product
• to get people to trust your company
• to choose you over competitors.

More people use the Internet to find products and services than ever before and the numbers are going to continue to grow so having an effective website is essential for growing your business.

4. Increase your profit margin

What can you do to make your business more profitable? We’ve talked about increasing your prices. Consider also how you can reduce costs.

Speak to your suppliers. Discuss costs with them and see if you can strike a better deal.

Become an environmentally friendly office. Tell clients and potential clients that you are a business that wants to protect the environment. It’s a win/win situation. You can save money by turning off equipment when not in use and recycling what you can. And, many of your clients are keen to work with businesses who care about the environment so you’ll potentially increase your number of clients.

Read more about:

Search engine optimisation

Website makeovers

See our website portfolio

Visit Bold Type’s dedicated website for all things web, Balmain Website Designs.

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.

In today’s Internet savvy world, having a website that delivers great marketing results is a must. A website needs to help your existing clients find what they want; and it needs to bring in new clients which means it needs to be very visible on the Internet.

Want your website to look fantastic, perform well and get attention?

With Bold Type, your website will:

• make a great impression with clients and potential clients
• get potential clients to take action
• establish your credibility in the market
• give you control over your best marketing asset
• have fast loading pages
• be search engine friendly.

We can help you:

• discuss all the options in plain English, not computer speak!
• manage the process from conception to going live and beyond
• write keyword specific content that will improve SEO
• save you money on your web hosting
• create a website that individually designed to suit your business needs.

Get a free website appraisal

Contact us now for a free website appraisal on 0410 037 635 or by email.

Based in Balmain in Sydney, we can work with you wherever you are located.

Bold Type, based in Sydney Australia, is a web and print publishing business helping other businesses, authors, academics and students with their print and online communcations and publications.

For web publishing, Bold Type can improve their online content, develop websites that they can manage themselves (saving real $$$), maximise their web marketing results, and improve ROI.

Print publishing work is about helping organisations and people develop quality print publications. Extensive experience managing projects, editing, tutoring and supporting production of books, business reports, marketing documents or academic treatises.

Sue Stevens, Managing Director of Bold Type, has over 20 years experience in the publishing industry working as a publisher, web project manager, online content developer, senior editor, structural and copy editor and writer.

Whether editing, proofreading, managing the project, developing publishing standards or improving website search engine optimisation (SEO) – Bold Type has a proven record of success. See career highlights.

Bold Type has a network of web and print publishing professionals so, no matter what your publishing needs, Bold Type can bring together the right people to get the job done.

Contact Sue Stevens at Bold Type today to discuss your print and/or online publishing needs.