Website Content + Chicken Wings?

“Where’s the nearest place for Wings tonight?” What does Wing Night have to do with website content ? Well everything - if your business is a restaurant and you feature a Wing Night. Potential customers are looking for your business. When you set out to write content for your small business website you need to consider the questions and the words that your potential customers might use to find you.

A few weeks ago I was sitting beside friends as we watched our sons play hockey. The game was at 6:30pm across town, which meant that most of us hadn’t had a chance to eat dinner. Halfway through the game my friend pulled out his Blackberry and tried to find the nearest place that had a special on chicken wings that night. Believe it or not he was able to come up with a choice of restaurants! Wow!

It turns out that the website ottawafood.com realized that there are customers in Ottawa who needed answers to that very same question. If you push a little further and visit the websites of the individual restaurants very few of them even mentioned a wing night. Hmmmmm.

So let’s recap what happened :

1. Potential customer has a problem - he’s hungry and he wants a good deal on chicken wings.
2. He goes to the internet as the first step in solving the problem - find out where the best deal on chicken wings is nearby.
3. First step solved - he has found a listing of restaurants in Ottawa that have Wing Nights.
4. Success.

Well success as long as he doesn’t decide to search further and visit the website of the restaurant to help him decide if that’s the one he’d like to go to. What he finds there are pictures of the restaurant (great) and some text but nothing about Wing Night. Then the questions start to come - do they have a Wing Night or not? Why don’t they mention it? Off he goes to another restaurant web site - to see if they mention anything about Wing Night.

What is important for content on a website?

Answers. What questions could your potential customers be asking? Make a list of all the questions that your customers ask you now. Add any questions new and potential customers ask. Do you have answers to these questions on your website?

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YellowPages Ads

Let’s face it, advertising in the YellowPages is expensive enough and now, with the online version, YellowPages Online has become more visible to search engines. Add to that the other web-based directories that offer to display your business listing, include the hours, map of your location and let you write a paragraph or two about your business - all for free or a minimal charge. So… if your business is well listed on the internet - do you really need a website?

I can think of at least one terrific reason to have your own website - to distinguish yourself from other similar businesses.

Think of it, the YellowPages does a terrific job of listing local businesses under categories that we look for when we need to solve a problem.  We all know that all it takes is money (not customer service)  to get a business name and phone number listed in the YellowPages. When you’re looking at the YellowPages,  confronted with several businesses that can solve your problem (broken dishwasher, need a sign, etc.) how do you decide who can solve the problem the best for you? A simple name and number gives you little to go on. The larger ads help somewhat because they have more space to persuade you to choose them. Reality is that larger ads cost a lot more. If you’re looking for the best value for your dollar (when getting your problem solved), will the larger ads lead you to the right people?

A website that features your business breaks away from the restrictions of the Yellow Pages. The website allows you to distinguish your business from the other listings with not only pictures but also with well worded descriptions of services.  Since you no longer get billed by the number of words you use a website can gives you a chance to answer those questions that you know are in your customers minds (because you hear them regularly).

Advertising in the YellowPages can make a lot of sense but don’t miss out on the opportunity to attract your type of customers - those who call because of the uniqueness of your business - those who find you on the web.

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AV Artisan Productions Web Site

A friend of mine told me recently that he has never had anyone contact him from his website. I was surprised. With no marketing budget and a business he was funding himself with a part time job; he had built his website himself.

He recently revised his website with a new logo and a new layout. My friend is a videographer - with lots of talent. He has put great examples of his work on his website, and some great testimonials. His site is http://hdvap.com/. Check it out and tell me why he isn’t getting any traffic from search engines. You can check it out now if you like and when you come back I’ll tell you if your guess is right. I’ll wait.

Back now? Did you check out his videos - my favourite one is the Toastmasters one - where Mark Brown says Ya Man. What is missing (at least until I show him this post)? You got it - Content baby Content.

As my friend and professional copywriter Kristina of DigitalWord puts it:

Unlike a brochure, web content serves two distinct purposes:

1. To communicate with your target audience
2. As a content relevance guide for search engines to deliver search results (rankings) to said target audience

Let’s take her first point - His home page makes a great fact page but it doesn’t speak to you. - the cost is there but focus should be on how video can help a business - and specifically how he can make that happen.

Her second point directly affects search engine traffic - you’ve got to use words in your content that match what your potential clients are typing into the search engines. For example if lots of potential customers are typing in “video production ottawa” they will never find his business. If he wants those potential customers to find him then my videographer friend should be working that phrase in his content.

But my friend’s lack of visibility in search engines - is it his fault? Well no. He has a choice - spending his time on his business, developing his talents or spend the time on learning about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how that relates to content. What he needs is the services of someone with copywriting/marketing skills - or to at least read this post.

Moral of the story - a fresh redesign is not going to bring in more search engine traffic if your content doesn’t match the exact words that people are using to try to find you. A web designer can help you improve this - or at least refer you to someone who excels at this.

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1. Have a consistent web site layout. Why? Inconsistent site layout confuses readers and makes it hard to navigate. Ideally your small business web site should have a horizontal menu bar and/or a vertical menu bar. Using this familiar standard makes readers feel comfortable because they know what to look for and roughly where to look for it. Uniform layout will boost readability and improve the perception of your business.
2. On your website pages use words that your customer would use to find your business. For example if your business sells sales training and potential customers are searching for you by using the words “sales training courses” then use those words on your pages – in the page title, headings and text. A word of caution - don’t get carried away, if the pages start to read like a bad sales letter copy you’ve used the phrase too often. A good rule of thumb is to use the phrase 3 or 4 times on a page.
3. Make your web site pages easy to scan. You have about 3 seconds to grab the reader’s attention. Help your readers by organizing the information in a way that makes it easy to scan. Use the following elements to facilitate scanning:
   • Headlines and Sub-Headlines should contain key words that potentially carry information that the reader is looking for. Use a larger font size to make the headlines visually stand out.
   • Use subtitles every few paragraphs. In a study conducted by Jakob Nielsen, using eye tracking software, he had this suggestion: “Start subheads, paragraphs, and bullet points with information-carrying words that users will notice when scanning down the left side of your content. … They’ll read the third word on a line much less often than the first two words.”
   • Break up large paragraphs – 3 - 5 lines make it easier for readers to read quickly.
   • Use bullets to make features and benefits stand out visually.
   • Include pictures that support your key message. If you’re selling beauty products use pictures of beautiful people or pictures of your product or both. This is not the place to include your favourite outdoor nature picture (unless it features beautiful people using your product). Pictures that are inconsistent with your message can often distract the reader, moving their thoughts away from your product or business.
   • Group similar information together. For example group an email address and phone number together. Grouping makes it easier for readers to find what they’re looking for with a minimum effort.
4. Use a bold contrast between the text and the background on your website. Text that stands out clearly is easier on the eyes to read. Don’t get carried away using a soft grey for the text on an off-white background. In my experience “mature” eyes often seek greater contrast as reader skims the text. Make it easy for your reader to read the text quickly.
5. Include your business’s features and benefits. Features are the key aspects of your business. Benefits are the problems your customer can solve with your product or business.
   eg. Eco friendly fitted yoga top.
   Features:
   • It is fitted.
   • It is for yoga.
   • It is eco friendly.

   Benefits:

   • It doesn’t fall down when you’re doing a headstand.
   • You move easily without being restricted.
   • You feel happy about lowering your impact on the environment.

Contact us today. Let us help you build a successful web marketing strategy.

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Yes people still read email – when it is from a retail or online store or people they know and like. Despite the challenges of spam and legitimate emails trapped by spam filters, companies manage to generate millions of dollars of profit every year using email marketing software. In a recent study conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada, email has seen an 80% increase in ad revenue over the past year!

eMarketer reports that email generates a much higher return on spending than methods such as direct mail and newspaper and radio advertising.

If you think that email marketing is dead, think again.

Your challenge is to send out relevant emails that people will open without hesitating. As you build lists of email addresses segment the names into areas of interest. Ensure that the emails you send target those specific interests. How do you know that you’ve done this successfully? Check the detailed statistics that your email package maintains – how many people opened your email, how many people clicked on your link to a coupon, clicked on your “hot items” list and of course – did your sales improve? If your results are lower than average, think of how you could improve one thing. Improve it for the next email. Watch the results. Are your click-through results higher? Tweek another aspect of the email. Watch the results. Do these things right and you’ll be able to profit from email marketing.

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Staying on top of your “subscribe” and “unsubscribe” lists may seem like a time-consuming task but with the right email package this function is almost completely automated.

Spend your valuable time on providing content that your customers are looking for.

As a business you provide a solution and reasons why your solution works. Seth Godin (bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change) said in a recent interview ”… what works is helping people market to each other and getting out of the way.” He goes on to elaborate “Make it easy for consumers to spread the ideavirus by providing a multitude of tell-a-friend tools, as well as overt rewards for spreading the word.”

Focus your email/newsletter content on describing the solutions you offer your customers – unique gift ideas, high quality and innovative furnishings, ideas for entertaining, balanced lifestyle, etc. Let your customers spread the word to their friends.

Remember this tip from Seth: “There are three things that great marketing always is. It’s anticipated, it’s personal, and it’s relevant.”

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