6 Questions to ask yourself before you set up a business website ...

Drum roll please?.. I?d like to introduce you to my friend Nick from Onvizi who has kindly agreed to guest blog today.? He works with Jon and they have just produced a brilliant and easy to understand and use Search Engine Optimisation package for WordPress.?? Smart Web Formula comes highly recommended by moi!

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When it comes to getting yourself online these days there are plenty of choices. Just three years ago only 50% of small businesses had a website and recent research suggests this number has now leapt closer to 80%. This encouraging increase shows how much the internet and online marketing is being embraced but it doesn?t tell the story of just how ineffective many of these small business websites are. There?s no point in rushing online and spending your hard earned cash on something that?s not going to be working hard for you. It would be like entering a VW Beetle in a Formula 1 Grand Prix ? you?ve got the right basic tool but with a little thought and research ahead of time you could have something that is actually going to win. So before you go ahead and set up a business website here are a few things you should consider.

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Why does your business need a website?

While this may seem like a pretty simple question, the answer isn?t always obvious. If you?ve already got more business that you can handle then taking on more employees is likely more of a priority than building a website. For the rest of us though, whether you are showcasing your products, offering training courses or selling online, having a website these days just makes good business sense.

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Who are you targeting with your website?

Knowing who you want to attract to your website will have a bearing on everything from design to the content you write. If you don?t know who your specific target market is then spend a little time thinking about your potential customer profiles. Are they young or old, home owners or students, vegetarians or burger lovers?

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What do you want them to do on your website?

This is the most important question and probably the one that people give the least consideration to. If you don?t know what you want visitors to do once they arrive on your site it?s going to be difficult to convert them into customers. For example, if you want them to pick up the phone and call you it?s generally a good idea to put your phone number top right on your home page ? you?ll be amazed at the number of local websites with no phone number or contact details anywhere on their website.

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How are people going to find your website?

It?s not enough to just have a website, you have to market it so that people actually come and visit. There are plenty of strategies that you can use for this and you need to consider which of them will work best for your particular business. SEO, pay per click and social media are among the most popular marketing methods but there are many other online and offline ways to drive traffic to your website.

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What platform is right for your website?

This is one of the most important decisions you?ll need to make as it will affect everything else you do. Out of all the options available we recommend using WordPress as your content management system. It?s simple to use and lets you make your own changes to content as and when you like. That means that you don?t have to rely on having someone else doing it for you and paying them for every minor update you do.

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Do it yourself or pay someone else?

Is it possible to build yourself a professional looking website without spending a fortune? Well, you have a few options but the answer is yes you can. You can choose to spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds using a web designer or you can spend hours upon frustrated hours trying to figure out how to do it yourself. The best and most cost effective option is to use a video series such as the Smart Web Formula, which basically takes you step by step through the process of how to set up a business website from scratch. The best thing about using an easy to follow video training series is that you won?t blow your whole budget on building the website so you?ll have plenty available to invest in marketing it as well.

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Whether you already have a website or are thinking about getting one, investing in a programme that shows you not only how to build your business website but also to market it correctly is only going to benefit your business. If a website is truly going to be a reflection of you and your business then who better to build it than yourself.

Source: http://brandyoubrilliant.com/internet-marketing/6-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-you-set-up-a-business-website/

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