Crucial Elements Every Website Should Have People put their best foot forward during job interviews. They get fresh haircuts, don their best suits, make sure they don't have spinach stuck in their teeth -- long story short, they try to make the best first impression possible. Every time a new person lands on your website, your business goes through a "job interview" of sorts. People are critiquing what they see in detail, establishing an opinion of you, and determining if you're worth getting to know further, and doing business with. Is your website making the right first impression? Elements Every Website Homepage Should Have What exactly do you want to include on your website? That can vary from industry to industry, but there are several must-have elements that every website needs to have across the board: A Clear Value Proposition Tell your visitors exactly what you do with a clear, easy-to-find value proposition. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you would b...

  Things to keep in mind after your website is complete. 1. Updates & Maintenance: At some point you will probably want to update your website, or maybe even do a redesign to give it a fresh new look. Send your ideas or consult with me for ideas you haven’t thought about. I’d be happy to help you out to make your website grow with your business. 2. Adding Additional Features: Many times a client will just want a basic website to be found online, but after time goes by you may realize how much more could be added to make it better. Send us your needs and I’ll show you how they can be met by adding new features that you might not have even thought of. 3. Spammers love you: After a website is made the scammers come out to play. You might get all kinds of offers to improve or even pretend that you need to do a renewal to get money out of you. Tricking you into losing your domain name to a reseller or a even a competitor. Ignore and delete these emails ASAP. 4. Google Rankings: Reme...

  Online Directories Don’t get overlooked just because you're not on your local communities free online directories. Search online for them and request to include your business. It takes time, but it’s so worth it. Where else do you get free advertising 24 hours a day? Be sure to include every way possible for them to contact you in your listing. Your website, phone, email, Facebook etc… Here are a few search ideas to search for…City directories - County directories - Community directories - Local online classifieds - Chamber of Commerce - Business directories - Newspapers - White pages - Yellow pages. Be sure to include near-by communities that you service as well.

  Advertise locally for free on the Internet. Here are my favorite local links to advertise for free. Okoboji Classifieds, Explore Okokboji, CraigsList, KeloLand Classifieds,  Oodle.com , Minnesota Super Ads,  Classifieds.com  Do a Google search to find more of these websites in your area. There are so many Networking websites out there that can promote your website and business. Some are just a waste of time, but here are a few that I have found to be worth a couple of minutes to open an account and add your business details. This list might not look like it’s for business, but trust me you want to be seen where your customers already spend their time. Use these services to work with you for your advantage. LinkedIn, Alignable Facebook, Yelp, Google +, AngelList, Twitter, Instagram-, Foursquare, YouTube, and Snapchat. Make sure to request connections with businesses and potential customers to get noticed.

  The Competition is not your enemy. Seriously. In fact, they can help you!! WHAT! How can that be? Here’s a true story… I have a “friend” who was focused on a disgruntled relationship with a similar business in town. This person watched every move this other business did to “one-up” them. They had to be in every newspaper, fair and show the other one was in. I could go on and on with the conflicts they had with each other and in the end, it only brought hardship at every turn. As the years went on I encouraged them to focus on what they did well instead of what the “other business” was doing. Focus on your differences and not similarities, because it's what makes you different that makes you special. For example, my “friend’s business” had a reputation of being highly detailed and doing each job so well that it would last many years longer than what is normally expected. On-the-other-hand the “other business” had a reputation of bad workmanship and customer service. He wasn’t frie...

  Just a Reminder This may seem like a no-brainer, but ALWAYS remember to put your website address on your... 1. Business Cards & Fliers 2. Your business Facebook page (in the About section) 3. Newspaper & Radio Ads 4. Email signatures and other promotional items 5. Facebook business page about section 6. Your Google Business listing 7. LinkedIn account I often see client’s bran new splashy expensive advertisement out in the public somewhere, with no mention of their website to learn more. If you’re going to spend the money on a website (your best employee - see link here) Offer them as many ways as possible to contact you or save your information for when they are ready to be a valuable customer.

  Most of my client’s websites are for local small businesses. I am a huge supporter of small business because I know how rewarding it is to start your own business and serve those who share your same interests. If you have a website, it makes your small business look BIG! You need to be online, so you can be found before customers turn to someone else. All projects welcomed: Big or small. "Let's build something great together!"