{"id":6652,"date":"2014-01-03T10:14:26","date_gmt":"2014-01-03T17:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/?p=6652"},"modified":"2014-01-03T10:14:26","modified_gmt":"2014-01-03T17:14:26","slug":"is-your-small-business-website-on-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/is-your-small-business-website-on-target\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Your Small Business Website On Target?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Article written by Megan Totka, Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not hard to find a good-looking site.<\/p>\n<p>Just look around. The plethora of talent out there in terms of web design is absolutely astounding. The wealth of knowledge we have, thanks to today\u2019s lightning fast-web, makes for great content that we\u2019re dying to digest. Both big and small, there are many sites we see that look to be on point on the surface, and it\u2019s hard not to want such a site.<\/p>\n<p>Yet looks can be deceiving when it comes to the modern website. Today\u2019s businesses must both look and play the part when it comes to our sites and audiences.<\/p>\n<p>Even with the best designers and content writers at your disposal, it\u2019s easy to drive your site and its potential success into the ground without a decent sense of direction. As <a title=\"BBC News | Turning into digital goldfish\" href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/science\/nature\/1834682.stm\" target=\"_blank\">users are spending less and less time actually <em>visiting<\/em> sites<\/a>, it\u2019s clear that many businesses are missing <em>something<\/em> when it comes to retaining their traffic once it has arrived. So, what is it that their sites are lacking?<\/p>\n<p>Their websites are off-target and they don\u2019t have a plan to fix it.<\/p>\n<p>What do we mean by that? What <em>makes<\/em> a successful website that will attract traffic, retain visitors and welcome them to buy what we\u2019re selling? Ultimately, users are looking for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A site that <em>understands<\/em> its audience and <em>exactly<\/em> what they want<\/li>\n<li>A site that <em>looks<\/em> and <em>feels<\/em> in touch with that audience<\/li>\n<li>A site that establishes <em>trust<\/em> and effectively invites users into their funnel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Does your business\u2019 site fit the bill? Is your small business site on target?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6653\" alt=\"on target\" src=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.yola.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Bullseye.png\" width=\"336\" height=\"252\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Catering to an Audience<\/strong><br \/>\nWith so many moving pieces when it comes to our sites, it\u2019s easy to overlook the concept of <em>audience<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on our industries, our audiences come in many shapes and sizes. While some of us may be going after a relatively niche market, others might be shooting for a much larger demographic. Regardless of who you\u2019re looking to draw to your site, it\u2019s crucial that you understand the intricacies of your audience, what they\u2019re looking for and what they <em>expect<\/em> from a site in their industry.<\/p>\n<p>For example, let\u2019s say you have a business that targets stay-at-home parents. The scope of a site catering to stay-at-home moms may be much different in terms of imagery, design, and content versus a site directed toward stay-at-home dads. While some stay-at-home parent content would work interchangeably between audiences, it\u2019s important to further focus on specific sects within that audience (moms\/dads, parents with sons\/daughters, parents with one child\/multiple children, single parents, etc.). There\u2019s a lot to consider when it comes to targeting our content; however, it\u2019s most important to note how crafting such content <a title=\"How to Make Your Small Site Look Bigger to Google\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/how-to-make-your-small-site-look-bigger-to-google\/\" target=\"_blank\">makes our businesses look good for Google<\/a>. The more focused our content is, the more likely our visitors will stick around.<\/p>\n<p>To give another example of sectioning off an audience, let\u2019s say your business targets buyers looking for a product (we\u2019ll go with dessert) in a specific area (let\u2019s say New York). Yet, a business that sells ice cream in New York would market itself much differently in terms of imagery and content than that of a bakery in the same city. While both businesses may be selling desserts, their sites and marketing strategies are not interchangeable.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, the keyword strategies of such businesses would be different. While yes, we want everyone who\u2019s interested in dessert in New York to come to our site, it\u2019s much more prudent to focus on <a title=\"How to Drive Profitable Traffic to Your Website with Long Tail SEO\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/how-to-drive-profitable-traffic-to-your-website-with-long-tail-seo\/\" target=\"_blank\">long-tail keywords<\/a> to get people into our funnel. Consider that \u201cNew York French bakery\u201d and \u201cNew York frozen yogurt\u201d are much less competitive in terms of keywords versus \u201cbakery\u201d or \u201cice cream\u201d and will ultimately provide more targeted traffic.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to written content, businesses should put emphasis on their visuals as well. Something as simple as your <a title=\"Picking the Right Brand Colors for Your Website\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/picking-the-right-brand-colors-for-your-website\/\" target=\"_blank\">color scheme<\/a> has an impact on what sort of tone you set for your visitors. Always include imagery that fits with the scope of your business and, if possible, include your own images of your product or business to give your site a personal feel.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who Do You Trust?<\/strong><br \/>\nTo bring everything together, an effective website establishes trust. This trust is formed through knowledgeable, unique content, a smart site design and architecture, and a bit of personal touch. What exactly do we mean?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Users are interested in unique, original content that tells them something new about your industry and product<\/li>\n<li>Users want a site that looks clean and professional (not sketchy or incomplete) and they should be able to navigate that site with ease<\/li>\n<li>Users want to identify with the imagery and tone of the sites they visit\u00a0 in order to feel like they\u2019re in the right place<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Does your business look like spam? - ChamberofCommerce.com\" href=\"http:\/\/www.chamberofcommerce.com\/business-advice\/marketing\/does-your-business-look-like-spam-4234\/\" target=\"_blank\">Users don\u2019t want to face businesses that seem cold or fake<\/a>; they want to see your business\u2019 personality shine throughout your site<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Is your website hitting all of the buttons above?<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bottom Line<\/strong><br \/>\nEngaging your audience in terms of content and design are absolutely crucial when it comes to establishing trust and ensuring you\u2019re giving them what they want. Based on what you know now, ask yourself: is your site on target for its traffic?<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p><em>Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for <a title=\"ChamberofCommerce.com\" href=\"http:\/\/www.chamberofcommerce.com\" target=\"_blank\">ChamberofCommerce.com<\/a>. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article written by Megan Totka, Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com It\u2019s not hard to find a good-looking site. Just look around. The plethora of talent out there in terms of web design is absolutely astounding. The wealth of knowledge we have, thanks to today\u2019s lightning fast-web, makes for great content that we\u2019re dying to digest. Both&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/is-your-small-business-website-on-target\/\" class=\"\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Is Your Small Business Website On Target?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false},"categories":[119],"tags":[572,348,570,571,297],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6652"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6652"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6655,"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6652\/revisions\/6655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yola.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}