Successful entrepreneurs acknowledge the importance of a strong web presence for their business. They know a brand new website is the first big step. They also want their new website to be launched with a bang, but they also want it to lead to increased exposure online over time. 

Understanding prospect user experience on a website and how to grow traffic must be priorities for any business owner looking for a higher conversion rate and increased sales.

What is YOUR launching plan ? 

It’s important to think out a strategy well before launching time if you want  to generate web traffic at an early stage. Ask yourself first: what specific clientele needs will my new website meet? Research your customers online to identify needs and expectations. You will then know how to enhance your website content and launch plan. Following-up with marketing initiatives, you will help build your long term digital presence.

Step 1 - Your website usability 

Test it out! 

Don’t wait until your website is online to test its usability. Find out browsing issues now so you can avoid problems later. The ideal way to know what the user experience is like is to test it with users. Ask 5 impartial persons to surf on your website in front of you. Note how they browse and get them to perform specific tasks like subscribing to your newsletter, finding a product or service, contacting you, etc. This will shed light on how your website will be used by prospects and how you can improve it.

Speed and responsive

One must consider loading page speed. Internet users are impatient by nature, they will shy away from a slow website, or at the very least dramatically reduce the time spent on your pages. There are free online tools that easily test your loading speed, such as PageSpeed Insights. If loading time is too long, reduce images file size and content.

Is your site responsive with mobile devices? More people will be browsing websites on phones and tablets in the next years, and content needs to adapt seamlessly on all screen sizes. Website responsiveness can be measured using Google Mobile Test.

Step 2 - Boost your social media profile

If you are not actively using social media, start by getting to know your propects’ social media habits. Are they Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn regular users? If you haven’t already signed up, start following people and social media pages related to your field. To get their attention, determine what type of content will be interesting and relevant to them. Finally, liven up your stay online by posting, sharing, liking and commenting!

Don’t hesitate to talk about your new website. Announce its launch date with enthousiasm and tell your contacts that they will get to explore it soon. If you already have social media pages, make a big deal out of your launch date and be more active in the weeks leading up to it. Ask your closest contacts to share the news with their own followers.

Strapped for time? We’ll make it happen with our Social Media Packages. 

 

Step 3 - Email marketing

Congratulations! The big day has finally arrived and your website is now online. Your next step will to send a breif email to friends and contacts to introduce your business vision and your new website. To lure people to visit your site in numbers, describe how unique and useful your site content is to potential customers.

Here’s how to do it

Spend time to hone an exciting and attention grabbing title, as this determines who opens emails or not. Your content needs to catch their eye right away. Try using humour and a surprising visual element. End your message with a call to action that includes a link to a landing page with more content: an advice, a tip or a relevant news. Once your message is ready, shoot it to your friends and contacts list, and prospects email addresses you’ve collected over time.

Tip - Ask for an opinion

If you’re not afraid of criticism and you want people to stretch their visit on your site, ask them on your email message what they would improve on the site. After a few weeks, if you still haven’t gotten many responses or more traffic, send a follow-up email - but make sure it includes new original content.

Press release

Get maximum exposure by emailing a press release on the very first day of your website online. Go through your professional networks and identify the contacts that could be the most effective distribution channels for your exciting news, such as clubs, business organizations, Facebook groups, local media, etc.

 

 

 

 

Step 4 - Paid advertisement

To get regular traffic from new prospects on your website, you might want to consider buying ad space on a social network. Facebook ads are a good option as they can be tailored to your goals and budget. They are known to be quite efficient to call out specific potential consumers who can react to your ad directly on their newsfeed.

Facebook ad or contest?

If you combine paid advertisement with a Facebook contest, you have the perfect recipe to increase traffic on your website. To boost a contest participation rate, choose a prize your public wants dearly. Collect participants’ Likes, draw a name and announce the winner with his picture on your timeline and your friends’ various social networks.

Google ads  

A worthy option, if your budget allows it, is buying visibility ads on Google results pages. Go to Google Adwords and purchase keywords that are related to your products or services. Your paid ad - with a link to your website - will then appear at the top of the Google search results when people search for these specific words. You could collect new prospects searching for your type of service.

Step 5 – Never let go and succeed!

With your site finally up online, see how you can bring the project to full speed. You’ve managed to have your site mentioned and relayed by several of your contacts and the traffic to the site has increased. However, your work is far from over. 

Networking is key!

Never hesitate to talk about your web project during your networking and to solicit friends and influencers in your business sector. You’ll be surprised how many of them will be delighted to give you a hand and spread the good news on their social media. 

Seize all opportunities to increase your website’s exposure and credibility. It’s vital that you remain active and build up. If you don’t, all your previous hard work will have gone to waste. 

 

 

 

Anything else?

• Make sure your social media icons are visible, also include Social Media Share buttons on the pages
• Interact with friends and prospects on social media, respond to comments and beef up your company profile on your networks
• Install a traffic measurement tool on the site like Google Analytics to determine which of your pages perform best
• Make sure your website is positioned favourably on search engines results by using strategic key phrases on your web pages
• Constantly add to your contacts list and send news to people who can help spread the word about your brand.

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Article by Philippe Sigouin, Presence Gatineau CEO