If you’re building a business in today’s media-influenced culture, you may have realized that a robust online presence can provide you with more significant opportunities for growth. Whether your business interacts with the public in real-time or solely exists online, increasing your website traffic will attract customers from a broader range of communities.
The contemporary idea of a workday has shifted over the years and many modern adults don’t want to drink K-cup coffee at a nine to five job. Today’s entrepreneurs are their own bosses and plan their business ventures on their own terms, all while enjoying an oat milk latte in their neighborhood coffee shop.
Search engines like Google and Bing have allowed for a new kind of control over a business owner’s daily routine and means of bringing in revenue. By creating a user-friendly website layout, making smart graphic design choices, and learning more about SEO, you can take substantial steps toward achieving your career goals.
1. Graphic Design: Own Your Brand
If you’ve spent time on an influencer’s Instagram page, you’ve come across the phenomenon known as “having a brand.” We’ve all heard it before, but what does it really mean? In the context of your website, a brand simply means maintaining a cohesive aesthetic.
You can begin building your brand with a logo. Perhaps your logo features clean lines and a black and white color scheme with pops of pink. Your graphic design choices should reflect these stylistic details. Additionally, if your business uses social media, the editing choices of your content can reflect your website’s aesthetic, further supporting your brand.
Quick Tip: If you have the means and interest in supporting other small businesses and freelance artists, hire a local graphic designer to contribute to your website and social media pages.
2. Website Layout: Keep it Simple
Have you ever visited a website and felt completely confused by its layout? Disorganization and a lack of clarity in the content have a significant effect on your viewers. Simplicity and specificity are essential when building a website.
Think about the products and services that you want your potential customer to see first. For example, if you design and sell jewelry, perhaps you want to highlight your best sellers on your home page. Once you have made decisions like these, take simple steps to ensure that your site is easy to navigate. You can declutter your website’s menu, for example, by consolidating the different pages offered. Assume that if your customer needs to spend a long time navigating your site, they will move on.
Quick Tip: If you are feeling unsure about your viewers’ experience of your website, create an anonymous online survey for your customers to fill out.
3. SEO: Do the Research
SEO, or search engine optimization, helps a company to increase its online visibility and website traffic. In other words, SEO is the reason your site pops up in a Google search when someone types specific keywords or phrases. Let’s say the above jewelry company is based in Philadelphia and specializes in incorporating natural gemstones into their pieces. When someone types in “Philadelphia, local jeweler” or “jewelry with natural stones,” you want your website to be one of the first listed in the search engine results.
Terms like SEO or search engine algorithms may be new to you, and that’s okay! Have a little patience with yourself as you learn because this information can only help you expand your business.
Quick Tip: Get a sense of where you stand on search engine results by searching your keywords.
