10 Things You Should Do To Your Website To Kickstart Your Online Marketing Campaign

As you may have noticed from my previous blog posts, I am a big fan of online marketing and a firm believer in its power to help grow your business.  If you want to do business online, the first step you should take is to prepare your website – a well-planned website is the foundation of any good online marketing campaign.

Things To Do To Your Website To Get Ready For Digital Marketing

Here are the top 10 things you should do to your website to get it ready for digital marketing.

Invest in a Great Website

If you’re selling a product or service online, then your website will be your shop window – especially if you don’t have an offline presence. Take the time and effort to invest in a website that represents your business well.

Choose a Popular Platform to Build Your Website On

WordPress is awesome as many developers can use it. You don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a website which isn’t portable between different web developers. It’s also easy to make small changes and edit content yourself when you feel confident with the system.

Do Some Basic Keyword Searches Using Keywords Everywhere

Think about the keywords that are most relevant to your business – they need to be targeted and specific. For example, if you are a tree lopper in Sydney you need to use keywords such as ‘Tree Lopper Sydney’ or ‘Tree Lopping Sydney’, not just ‘Trees Sydney’. Also, check that there are searches for these words. Write title tags that include these keywords for every page of your website and make sure you include different keywords on each page (so don’t use the same keyword on every page).

Write Content About the Keywords You Want to Rank For

If you don’t feature your chosen keywords on your website then you have little chance of ranking well for them – especially if there is any sort of competition. However, ALWAYS keep in mind that you should write for your users and not for search engines.

For Good SEO Results, Write Good Content for Your Website

Google aims to rank the best quality results for each search term and if you have content on your website then you are starting off well. (Although content alone won’t get you at the top of the results page.)This is especially important on your home page where you shouldn’t have just one big image, as search engines can’t read images as well as text, especially if they aren’t optimised. You can find more great info on creating a content plan here.

Set-up a Google Business Profile Account if You Have a Bricks and Mortar Location, or service area business

This will give you the opportunity to rank in Google Maps results for relevant keyword searches and make sure potential clients can easiyl find you when searching for your brand. Click here to sign up for your Google Business Profile account.

Set-up a Google Analytics Account

This is a free service which helps you track all your website visitors. Google Analytics lets you see how many visitors you’ve had, how long they are spending on your website, which pages they visit and exactly where they are coming from. Click here to set up a Google Analytics account.

Make Sure Your Website Is Mobile-Friendly

More than 50% of visitors to many websites are coming from mobile devices and your website should pass the mobile test. If you are building a new website from scratch, make this a top priority. Google has a great tool to help you see if your existing website is mobile-friendly.

Have Clear Calls to Action on Your Website

Consider how people will contact you and make it as easy as possible for them to do it. If they are likely to call then make your number really prominent, or if they should contact you by filling a form, then make the form easy to find and complete.

Give Your Website Visitors a Great Experience

Always design and write for your website visitors. Not for search engines. User experience is crucial when it comes to building loyal customers who also want to recommend you.

Learn how to do your own SEO

My self-managed SEO course, The SEO School, which takes you through all the key tools and techniques of a successful SEO strategy.  The course is great for business owners, website managers and anyone who wants hands-on learning about all the essentials of SEO from an industry expert.

Find out more about The SEO School here

Karen Dauncey

Karen Dauncey has been working in SEO since 2003. She specialises in helping businesses get found online through Google using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) She is the founder and creator of The SEO School an online SEO Course to help teach business owners how to do their own SEO. She regularly delivers educational programs for both Local, State and Federal Government and is an advisor for the ASBAS Digital Solutions Program. Karen’s passion and commitment to help small business owners get found online is the driving force behind her online school, making SEO advice accessible to all with free resources and online courses.

Karen's wealth of SEO knowledge and practical digital marketing experience comes from running her own SEO and Google Ads agency, Blue Cherry Online Marketing since 2008. Karen has optimised over 1000 websites, managed millions of dollars' worth of spend on Google Ads and has a solid understanding of the constantly shifting industry of digital marketing and SEO. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. She was recently recognised as an SEO Expert for the popular course creation platform, Kajabi as well as appearing on ABC Radio
for her expert opinion on the ACCC's investigation into search engines.

Karen has attended search engine conferences in London, Stockholm, Adelaide and Sydney, and was also invited to attend a pilot Business Coaching Course at Google’s Head Office. She has a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK.

She is also the co-owner of the Digital Experts Directory, an online directory for female serviced-based businesses to promote their business (with a great backlink for SEO).

To keep up to date with the latest in SEO, join her Facebook group The SEO School Community or follow her on Facebook or LinkedIn.