Don’t miss out on valuable branding opportunities by using third party email addresses, such as, Gmail, Hotmail, BTConnect, Virgin etc. Have your own Domain Name email accounts created i.e. , instead.

Everytime you send an email using your own Domain Name, you are branding your business and encouraging more people to remember and visit your website. If your existing Hosting Supplier charges too much money for Email accounts, as many do, then change to a supplier where Email is part of your basic Hosting Plan. For example, our Website Hosting Plans are only £78 per year and includes 50 Email Accounts!

If it is your first website, upgrade to an existing website, or a new service or product being launched, write to your client base and tell them about it. Ask clients what information they would like to see on your website. Update your site with weekly or monthly blog articles that will be of interest to clients. Write to clients and encourage them to visit your site to read the article in full.

Keep giving them reasons to visit your website. For example, why not create a competition page on your Website for a free/discounted service or product and invite clients to visit the page to register their interest. Remember, your website is there to also serve existing clients and help create stronger relationships. It is not merely a tool for generating new business.

Apart from making your website much more attractive to Search Engines, a Blog allows you to write articles that will, ultimately, be indexed by Search engines and, therefore, will be found by visitors, looking for advice on the subject you specialise in. The more resource you have, the more people will want to visit your website again and again.

If you want to appear near the top of Search Engine results, such as, Google, then you must carefully optimise your Website for your key search phrases. If your web pages are not properly optimised, then you are making it difficult for those people who do not know you, to find your website. Why not read our How to optimise your website post to learn more.

If someone searching for the services/products you offer, uses industry specific Directories as their first point of contact, then be sure to have a listing (if hard copy) with an obvious link to your website for more detailed information. If it is an online Industry specific Directory, then only purchase a listing if the Directory appears in the top five results in Search Engines. This is a fool-proof way to determine if a Directory is worth investing in.

For example, if the Directory does not appear in the top five or ten search results in say, Google, for your key search phrase, then what is the point in investing in them if the directory is not appearing high enough in the results? There are many free Directories you can also list your business in, so, make sure to Google “business directories” or “accountant directories” etc, to find the ones suitable to you.

If it is your first Website, then we strongly recommend registering for a Google Ads account. This will allow you to reach the top of Google for your key search phrases, literally, within hours of creating your account. It can take many months/years to gain high rankings in Search Engines for new Websites via the normal listings (SERPS), so Google Ads is an excellent interim measure to ensure your Website is attracting visitors.

It is also ideal if you are launching a new product or service and want to give it as much immediate exposure as possible. If you would prefer us to create a Google Ads campaign for you, then we can do this for you for a one-off cost of £295 + VAT. Facebook also offer advertising facilities and you can continue to show adverts to those people who have already visited your website, allowing you to extend your reach, even when people leave your website.

The whole world appears to be using Social media in one shape or form, therefore, ignoring it as a possible, lucrative marketing channel, really does not make much sense. However, be warned. To make it work, requires an on-going time commitment of a minimum of six hours per week.

Make sure to include Social Sharing icons on all your web pages to make it easier for visitors to share your pages with friends, colleagues and family. By registering with the leading Social Media platforms and including content that compliments your website, you are giving people more options on how they would prefer to communicate with you and learn of your business activities.

When someone visits your website, it is because you offer something that is of interest to them. In which case, help them to learn of new developments at your business by encouraging them to register for your weekly, monthly Newsletter. Why wait for people to visit your website again, when you can be much more proactive by emailing them and giving them reasons to visit your site again, sooner rather than later.

It is important to keep doing the traditional forms of advertising. Try and extend the impact of your Flyers by encouraging readers to visit a particular page on your website for more details, or even better, to register their details to gain something in return. If you own an Online shop, then most Website Shopping systems have facilities to create Vouchers or Coupons, that can be redeemed on your Website.

Why not include a Voucher/Coupon code on your Flyers or advertisements, encouraging people to visit your website and make a purchase. Even better, make it for the first xx number of buyers only. If you have a traditional shop front, make sure to have your web address prominently displayed on your signage. If you have an Online Shop, make sure the signage states that you can order online. Save your customers the time of having to visit your shop each time they wish to make a purchase. Not only does it take time, there are also additional issues, such as, parking etc. Give them incentives to order more, by including free delivery over a certain amount.

If you employ lead generation facilities, why not measure the success of the campaign by sending potential customers to a specific page on your website for more details relating to the call they just had. These types of visits could then be easily analysed by traditional Website Statistics. Perhaps you could even make your Lead Generation suppliers day by including a page on your website, offering something free in return for them doing something for you i.e. Newsletter registration, Facebook Likes, Retweets etc.

By far the best way to help make your website a success and, therefore, attract more visitors, is to try and use it as an everyday, proactive business tool. Some examples of how you can do this have already been mentioned, above i.e. encourage clients and repeat visits by running a blog of useful articles.

Instead of having thousands of expensive, printed Brochures, why not direct potential new customers to a PDF download on your website, where they can then download as many documents as they wish and even share the link with other people. If your Sales force is trying to sell a particular product or service, include full details of these on your website to help re-emphasis particular key selling points or just, simply, as a place to visit, long after they have finished speaking with one of your Sales Team.

Including Online Surveys on your website gives you a great excuse to contact people and ask them for their opinion. Encourage potential customers and clients to use an Online Helpdesk system, to streamline how you monitor and respond to enquiries coming into the business. Have a Frequently Asked Question section on your Website to answer those time consuming and, therefore, costly repetitive questions.

Have a prominent link to your FAQ section on your Homepage, since, if you think about it, quick answers to questions is exactly what most of your visitors will want when they visit your website. Thinking more “outside the box”, why not include a Yellow Pages type Directory on your Website and encourage all local businesses to register their business details. Or what is to stop you running your own Website Forum?

This may appear, ridiculously, obvious, but we have seen it overlooked. Update all your business stationery to include your website address and business email address. If your business has vans, make sure your web address is large and prominent to maximise the opportunity of passing trade.