Nowadays with so many templates, freelancers and stock photography available, it’s not hard to make a pretty website.
We wanted to write a post that talks about a pretty website vs website that gets business.
The fact is, it takes more than just a pretty website to get results.
Over the years, we’ve heard business owners say that they just want to get online and don’t care about marketing.
Often times, those who just want a pretty site don’t want to spend time:
Updating copy so it resonates with their audience
Optimizing the site for search engines and popular keywords
Creating & scheduling posts for social media
Setting up automated marketing campaigns to capture and nurture leads
Spending money on advertising to drive traffic to the site
Without Marketing, You’re Relying Solely on Organic & Referrals
That’s okay. We’re not here to force anyone to market their website, but it’s important to know that if you don’t have a marketing engine paired with your website, you’re relying solely on your organic rankings (your site has been optimized for popular search terms) and referrals.
In our experience, business owners who say this either don’t fully understand what’s involved with online marketing, OR they’ve spent time and money on marketing but didn’t see the results from their efforts.
Marketing Doesn’t Have to Be Overwhelming
We see it often where a business hasn’t done ANY marketing simply because it seemed like too much work.
It doesn’t have to be. If you start with the essentials, don’t overthink it and actually launch what you’ve built, you’re in a better place than you were when you weren’t doing anything.
Regular Social Media Posting – Pro Tip: Follow the 80/20 rule (80% of your content should be informative/valuable and NOT promoting you, the other 20% can highlight key services/products, case studies, your lead magnet, etc.)
Lead Capture Campaign – If you haven’t already, create some kind of offer (downloadable, webinar, or resource) that your audience can receive in exchange for their email address. Once they’ve received it, have at least one automatic email that is sent to them. This email should welcome them to your community, set expectations and share what you’re about.
Lead Nurture Campaign – Create at least one automatic email that gets sent to a prospect or client when they complete a specific action. Connect with them, set expectations and educate. Never emailing your list out of fear that you might have people unsubscribe is a sure way to let a list go stale and not market your business.
Optimize Content for Humans & Bots – Don’t get so focused on keyword rankings that you forget to create copy that actually resonates with your target audience. At the end of the day, it’s humans who buy, not robots.
Advertising on Google & Facebook – Think of advertising as fuel for a fire. If you haven’t built the fire yet, and don’t plan to tend to it, adding fuel isn’t going to automatically produce the results you want.
Why Your Data Matters
If you don’t have data on how your website is performing, you’re “flying blind.” Without data, it’s impossible to know if what you’re doing is working, or if you need to course correct.
Usually, business owners either don’t know their data, or they don’t understand what it means.
Before you get any other tool, make sure you’ve installed Google Analytics and setup Google Webmaster Tools.
Evaluate Your Data
Once you’ve established what your data is, you’ll want to evaluate it regularly.
Keep track of your marketing efforts so you know:
# of Visitors are coming to your site (pay attention to where they come from – organic, social, referrals, or paid ads)
# of people who are “bouncing” (leaving the site quickly)
# of conversions (reach out for more info, sign up for a newsletter, or make a purchase)
Wrapping It Up – Pretty Website vs Website That Gets Business
When it comes to a pretty website vs a website that gets business, it’s up to you to decide what’s important.
You can have the prettiest site in the world, but if it doesn’t convert traffic into sales, it’s a glorified business card.
But, don’t feel like you have to become a marketing expert in a day.
Start small, don’t overthink it, and evaluate your data. This way you know what’s working and what isn’t, and can create a plan to get where you want to be.
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