December 29, 2020

James Thomas

Online PresenceWeb DesignWebsites

8 Things Every Business Website Needs

8 Things Every Business Website Needs 0

Business Website | Homepage

Starting a business is a long journey by itself.  It involves hard work, dedication, and a commitment that requires an entrepreneur to do what is necessary to build the business.  Creating a business website has become a vital step for any entrepreneur. The business website is the cornerstone of your online presence.  Your ability to construct a business website while adhering to search engine guidelines will give your business the online presence it needs to grow. The idea is to gain the attention of the algorithm and attract customers to your business website.

The experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta have put together a list of recommendations to help small businesses understand what to include in a business website. A Strategic Business website should include a Homepage, Service page, About Us page, Contact Us page, Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions page, Partners & Affiliates page, Blog Page, and a Testimonial | Review page. Our team of experts can not only build your business website, but we can manage the process while allowing you to work in your business. We will make updates, changes you request and monitor your website regularly.

A business website’s home page is a grand introduction to your business. It determines the direction of a potential customer and whether or not they will do business with you. You only have one chance to put your best foot forward. The business homepage is your opportunity to showcase professional stock pictures that relate to your business. Capturing the customer’s attention is the result and using your business website is the perfect opportunity.

A business website should consist of sufficient information, starting with your homepage. The first initial paragraph should be a grand introduction and welcome to your business. You should also use this opportunity to explain what your business does in some form or fashion, in 30 words or less. The customer should understand what your business does instantly, and the pictures should be extremely engaging. The team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommends a minimum of 500 words listed throughout the business homepage. This allows the algorithm to review your website and provide your business information to users of a search engine.

Another aspect of a business website’s homepage is the usage of Videos and podcasts. These elements connect your business to platforms on the world wide web. For instance, a podcast has the potential to connect your business to Alexa, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcast, TuneIn Radio, Podbean, and much more. This shows the search engine that you are connected and engaged to the worldwide web. It also increases your chances of appearing you a customer search.

What More?

Adding videos to your business website’s homepage will provide potential customers the opportunity to experience the business differently. The visual and motion picture aspect can connect with customers and provide experiences that can increase the likelihood of gaining them as a customer. Websites allow you to use videos posted on YouTube or Vimeo, or you can directly upload the video. The videos can be a short clip of anything that reflects your business. It does not have to belong; it can be as short as 15 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 minute. The goal is to create a compelling homepage that follows the Search engine guidelines and connects with a customer.

 

Business Websites | Services Page

A business website is less productive if you cannot explain your services clearly—what better way to describe what your business has to offer than on a Services page. Customers want information without having to search for it. Our team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommends a minimum of 500 words directly describing what your business has to offer. A great way to achieve this recommendation is by writing a detailed business model or developing a business concept.

Our team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta provides podcast training with a study guide to help create both documents.  Creating your Business Model Study Guide &  Developing your Business Concept study guide.  The podcast can be found at Podbean or wherever you listen to your podcast stations. Look for The Business Startup Journey by Professor T. We can also help you create either document for use in your business or website.

Including professional stock photos specific to your industry is a great way to connect your Business website services page with a potential customer. Photos, audio, and motion pictures are also a great way to connect different aspects of the worldwide web to your business. Using as many techniques as possible to relate and connect with a customer is the name of the game. Add your YouTube videos to your services pages. Create a 15 to 30-second video that briefly explains what your business has to offer. Your business website is your opportunity to introduce a customer to your business, and you only have one chance to get it right.

 

Business Website | About Us Page

Customers rely on a variety of factors that help influence their decision of who to do business with. Understanding the business back story is a contributing factor, so the About Us page of a business website is crucial. Conveying how the business began, where it is located, and what you have to offer is the best way to structure your About Us page. The team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommends a minimum of 500 written words on the About Us page.

The About Us page is a great place to list your team members, positions, or responsibilities. Using a professional photo is a great way of humanizing the page experience. Customers want to see who they are working with and what experience they bring to your business. In many cases, small businesses only have one or two people who are a part of their team. Some of them are not even being paid, but that is ok. The experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommends listing one to three people on your website even if they are not being paid. Highlight what they did or are doing for the business and give them a title that fits their skillset or contribution. You can even list them as a founding member or an advisor.

A business website’s About Us page is the best place to list your company’s core values. The core values are specific attributes that you hold important in your life. These values can be the foundation of your business and the standards for how you perform your work. These core values are the practices we should be using every day in everything we do. Examples of core values can be dependability, reliability, loyalty, commitment, and efficiency. The core values you choose for your business should reflect what you would like your business to be.

Furthermore

Another aspect of the About Us page that the experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommends is the mission and vision statement. So, the mission statement defines the business, its objectives, and how it will reach these objectives. The objectives describe the actions required to accomplish the business’s intent. Once you understand how to define your business and its objectives, you will write a business mission statement. Moreover, we recommend using a minimum of 30 words or less.

A business vision statement is another attribute that the team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommends for a business website. The vision statement describes the desired future position of your business. First, imagine what your business will be like in five to ten years. Then, decide what the purpose would be and what success looks like in the business operations. So, you can go as far as imagining what the business structure would evolve to or describe a measurable goal. Once all these variables are met, we recommend using a minimum of 30 words or less to create a vision statement for your business.

 

Business Website | Contact Us Page

It is crucial and highly recommended that all businesses, especially small businesses, create a Contact Us page. The Contact Us page should list your business name, address, and phone (NAP). Moreover, we recommend listing a business email that includes your domain name, for example, Jthomas@montfichet.com. Montfichet would be considered the business name. It is essential to have a local phone number connected to your business. The NAP information tells the algorithm that you are a local business, and this helps your business appear more frequently in local search engines and mobile device map searches.

 

Business Website | Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Our team of experts at Montfichet & Company highly recommends that all business websites, including small businesses, have two separate pages outlining the companies Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.  The Privacy Policy is a legal document that informs the user that the website owner gathers, users, discloses, and manages a user’s data. So, creating this page fulfills the business’s legal requirement to protect the privacy of anyone on the business website. The Terms and Conditions operate as a legally binding contract between the business and anyone who uses their website.  However, this page outlines the rules and guidelines that visitors must agree to follow to use your website.

 

Partners & Affiliates

Creating a page on your business website to list your partners and affiliates is a method that servers several purposes.  The expert at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommends that businesses create a page that links to the partner’s website and displays that business logo. So, the Partners page is a key strategy that helps your business appear in local search engines.  It meets the search engine guidelines, helps rank the business, and develops connections in the community. In addition, adding a Partners & Affiliates page to your website shows customers that you are connected to other businesses and professionals.

 

Business Website | Blog 

Adding a Blog to your business website is crucial for any small business. This strategy is crucial for search engine optimization (SEO) or building an online presence. The effectiveness of SEO depends on consistently producing organic content for the business. So, the experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommends a minimum of one blog a month consisting of a 2,000-word minimum. Add a blog to your business website positions the business owner as an industry leader.

A business website’s blog should provide unique information that the reader can rely on. The goal is to emerge as an industry leader. They are innovators, pioneers, and visionaries. They bring change, providing a high quality of services and products to the market. Moreover, these methods can also generate customers for your business.

 

Testimonials & Reviews

The team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta highly recommends creating a testimonial page and reviews page on all small business websites. Creating a page for testimonials is a great way to connect potential customers with previous customers. Potential customers have the opportunity to observe the experience through the eyes of another. Moreover, providing a testimonial page on your website makes it easy for customers while taking the guesswork out of locating this information online.

Adding a separate page to your business website will allow customers to leave reviews on external platforms such as Google My Business, Facebook, and Yelp. A review page is the best way to increase your chances of obtaining feedback. The process is simple and accessible while removing the frustration that comes with the hunt. Our experts recommend connecting to as many online sources to increase your visibility. Choose platforms that are specific to your industry and gains lots of traffic.

 

Conclusion 

A Professional business website is not exclusive to midsize and large businesses. Small businesses have the same opportunities and access to compete effectively. The process involves hard work, dedication, and a commitment that requires an entrepreneur to do what is necessary to build the business. Creating an online presence begins with your business website.

Your ability to construct a business website while adhering to search engine guidelines will give your business the online presence it needs to grow. The idea is to gain the attention of the algorithm and attract customers to your business website. Search engines look for specific guidelines to provide businesses the visibility it needs to grow. So, the experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta have put together a list of recommendations to help small businesses understand what to include in a business website. Therefore, a Strategic Business website should include a Homepage, Service page, About Us page, Contact Us page, Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions page, Partners & Affiliates page, Blog Page, and a Testimonial | Review page.   

What will we do for you!

Our team of experts can not only build your business website, but we can manage the process while allowing you to work in your business. We construct an effective Footer and header that complies with local search engine guidelines. So, your business website will be created to follow the SEO requirements. We provide our clients with 15 professional stock photos that reflect your market and direct links to all social media accounts. We also provide a professional business email account with your business name listed in the domain name. Clients will shop for a website template from our library of over 5,000 prototypes. Our team of experts can provide Industry research & market analysis to provide efficient content for the Website. Therefore, depending on your needs, we can complete your website within 7-10 business days.

So, if you found this blog article beneficial, feel free to leave a comment below. We are located at 3343 Peachtree Road Ste. 180-581 in Atlanta, Georgia. You can also email our team of experts directly at Atlanta@montfichet.com or contact us at 404-900-9814. For hands-on training visit our sister company The Trusted Automation.

This is Professor Approved!

December 18, 2020

James Thomas

Online PresenceWebsites

7 Strategies to Increase your Online Presence

7 Strategies to Increase your Online Presence 0

Online Presence – Where do I begin?

I have decided to start a clothing business, and I want to sell online. Where do I start? How do I build an online presence? Who will help me through the process? Things have changed since the year 2000, and for my business to achieve a long-term growth rate, I must position myself effectively online.

Business sustainability measured by a five-year benchmark is a rule of thumb. This is the ability to maintain a level of success that keeps your business alive and well. Our team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta has concluded that you are more likely to close your business if you avoid creating an online presence for your business.

 Effectively creating a strategy to increase your online presence can grow your business 30% faster than the standards set in the year 2000. Entrepreneurs who plan objectives, test the market, and learn the customers’ needs drastically reduce the business failure rate. The 2020 population in the United States is 331 million, and 293 million Americans are online. That is 89% of the population actively using the internet as a source of information. In addition, 93% of online experiences begin with search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and Facebook.    

 

The four main directories

To be effective online, it is important to be listed on Facebook, Linked In, Yelp, and Google my Businesses. These platforms will provide small businesses an opportunity to showcase what they have to offer and provide content and marketing consistently. In addition, Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to register a personal account and a business account. 

It is important to know that the information must be consistent across the board when you create your business account. I would highly recommend that you post on your business account a minimum of three times a week. Posting must remain consistent with being recognized by the algorithm. The algorithm responds to engagement on your business account. The best way to increase engagement is by obtaining a minimum of 5,000 follows. 

Some services can help you reach the minimum required to conduct business. For example, Yelp and Google My Business provide a platform for customers and business owners to engage through reviews. You must obtain reviews from clients and respond to all reviews. Remember, engagement shows the algorithm that you are serious about your business and using the tools they provide.

When you establish your account on Yelp and Google my Business, it is important to remain consistent with the content you provide. Fill in all the required areas and provide them with pictures and social media postings. Google my Business allows you to post regularly to the platform. Use this opportunity to provide promotional material by using AdWords in the ads. The google post will stay live for 7 days, so it’s important to post several times a week.

 

Online Business Directories

Twenty years ago, the Yellow Pages and the White Pages were the primary way to list your business publicly. Customers relied on the legitimacy of the White Pages and the Yellow Pages when deciding to hire a professional from all ways of life. Today, we rely on online sources such as Google my Business, Yelp, Facebook, and LinkedIn to prove the legitimacy of a business.  

There are approximately 300 hundred business directories where entrepreneurs can list their business without paying a fee. Citations are another name for directory listings, and I advise all business owners to understand the terminology as they build their business. In addition, the internet is filled with companies willing to manage the process by listing your business in the directories. Some of these companies list your business and require a monthly fee, but they remove your listing from the online directories the moment you choose to cancel your monthly subscription.

Montfichet & Company – Atlanta manages your online presence by manually registering your business into each directory. If a business owner changes their business phone, fax, email, or address, they will need to change all their directory listings. All listings must be consistent in verbiage and explain your services in detail. Every month algorithms will analyze the directories data (written content, images, videos, keywords), and report back to Google, YouTube, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and many other search engines.

 

Local Search Ranking

The number one goal for any business owner is to show up locally in a google search. Using local search ranking to grow your business is another strategy to build your online presence. Google uses several techniques to determine how your business shows up. Entrepreneurs should first build a website to house their business’s existence. Next, business owners should create a list of local business partners and affiliates.

Finally, please create a page on your website, list the business names and logos, and link it back to their website. Using local links is extremely powerful in Google’s local algorithm. This strategy is different from traditional SEO. Since most local business operates on a smaller scale, google requires links from local businesses or websites.

To improve your visibility in local search rankings, businesses should create content and share it regularly. This can be done through a blog post stored on your website. I recommend creating a minimum of one blog post per month consisting of 2,000 words. A business owner can also list their business in online business directories. Earlier in this blog, I mention the specifics and how to go about executing this process.

Establishing an active presence on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Google My Busines, YouTube, and Yelp will help build your foundation. I understand that this is a lot to do at one time. However, I would recommend that you do as much as possible and include a Social Media Management team to help. Earlier in the blog, I listed a strategy to develop these platforms. The influence Google has in the online market is powerful.

 

Importance of NAP (Name, Address, & Phone Number)

One of the easiest ways a small business can begin building an online presence is by strategically listing and distributing the business name, address & phone number. This information is referred to as your business NAP information or Citations. When you list your business NAP information strategically, the existence of your business takes form. Start by listing your NAP information on every page of your business website, preferably in the footer. As I mentioned before, your NAP information must be consistently listed all over the Worldwide web.

When creating a blog, include your NAP information (Name, Address, & Phone Number) somewhere in the body of the text. Please place it in Articles, Media Press Releases, Blogs, Vlogs, YouTube, Social Media, Service Brochures, Business Proposals, Classified Ads, etc.? This process is called unstructured citations, and it shows the algorithm that you are actively distributing your information on the worldwide web. The bottom line for any small business owner is to give your business NAP information as much exposure as possible.  

All social media platforms should have your business NAP information (Name, Address, & Phone Number) listed in the sections. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube are not only social media platforms, but they are also leading factors of online directories. When you use these platforms for business, you also list your business in the top online directories. Give your business the exposure it needs to survive by taking the time to complete the information properly.   

Google My Business & Yelp are key factors for listing your NAP information (Name, Address, & Phone Number). There are also over 300 online directories that should list your business to grow your online presence. Listing your business on online business directories and online directories is call structured citations. This process shows the Algorithm that your business is highly connected to the world wide web.

 

Social Media

Social media is a key strategy to increase your online business presence. The eight largest social media platforms in 2020 are Facebook with 2.45 billion monthly active users, YouTube with 2 billion users, Instagram with 1 billion active users, Twitter with 330 million monthly active users, Snapchat with 360 million users, Pinterest with 322 million active users, LinkedIn with 310 million monthly active users, and Reddit with 430 million monthly active users.

Our team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommends small businesses use one or two social media platforms and expanding to other platforms as their business grows. Providing information that is unique in nature and specific to your niche is the most important attribute. This information is made available on the world wide web and supports all your efforts in building your online business presence.  

It’s not enough to create a social media account to grow your online business presence. Still, it becomes necessary to share and post unique information a minimum of two or three times a week on all platforms. Another rule of thumb is to fill out all account information, upload any requested account pictures, and grow your network. In addition, there are strategic methods small businesses can use to increase their followers, automate the posting process, and monitor growth and development on social media. At Montfichet & Company – Atlanta, we provide Social Media Management strategies to develop a personalized plan to grow your online business presence.   

 

Website Search Engine Optimization

 This is one of the most important strategies for increasing your online presence. Before using this method, you must first build a website that serves as your business storefront. It’s not enough to list everywhere online without a website. Having one key location will provide a central existence for your business. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a long-term investment that will change the scale of your business.

The result will increase your online presence by configuring the back office of your website so that it follows search engine guidelines. Search engines will review (crawl) your website monthly for unique information and configuration compliance. 

Google is the largest search engine that determines how your business website should be configured. Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com, and Facebook are other major players that influence standards. If you are deciding to include SEO as part of a marketing tool, it can be expensive. The long-term reward will change the direction of your business entirely. Creating a monthly budget to support these efforts will be your best bet.  

Our team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta provides Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Management Services. We can build and manage your entire process so that you can focus on your business. We begin by building your website to meet the guidelines set forth by search engines. Then we perform a detailed analysis that tells us what needs to be done in the back office of your website. After these tasks are met, we focus on strategies to connect your website to the worldwide web. Search engines review websites monthly to update their information, and our goal is to provide search engines with unique information about your business.           

 

Content Marketing 

Now is the time to have one of the hardest conversations that will change the scale of your business. Creating organic and unique content for your businesses. The world wide web has become extremely important due to the virtual access to information at any time, anyplace, and on any device. As a result, your business must create content to build your online Presence. Creating content in the form of a blog is the most consistent way to move your business forward.  

The experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta recommend that all small business owners create at least one blog post a month. If you can create more than one, then you are ahead of the curve. Blog posts should consist of a minimum of 2,000 words with several subtopics. Dedicate thirty minutes a day (Monday through Friday) to writing 200 words under a subtopic. At the end of two weeks, that will amount to 2,000 words.  

When you decide to create content for your business, use this article as an example, it was written with over two thousand words. I initially planned 10 sections with 200 words each. But as I began writing for thirty minutes a day, I used more than two hundred words. After a few days, I had to cut back on the number of subtopics I originally planned. The process may seem confusing and overwhelming, but it is manageable. Our team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta can assist you in the process. We have a team dedicated to Content Creation, and we can advise you on where and how to begin your process. Not to mention where to distribute your blog.  

 

What’s my Next Step

Everything we do to build our online presence is intended to gain the attention of the search engines algorithm, mainly Google’s algorithm. Search engines use algorithms and ranking signals to provide information customers are searching for by relevance. Algorithms are the search engines (Google) database. They search (crawl) the world wide web for content and data from material small businesses provide. The Algorithm finds the information, highlights, notes what they’ve found, stores the website’s location (search index), and instantly delivers the best possible result when a customer types in what they are looking for.

Our team of experts at Montfichet & Company – Atlanta will work with the entrepreneur to build an online presence. Our office is located in Atlanta, Georgia, inside the Atlanta Financial Tower 3343 Peachtree Road Ste. 180-581 Atlanta, GA 30326. We can be reached by email at Atlanta@montfichet.com or by phone at 949-333-7200.  

Our team is dedicated to working with your current budget to create a suitable pathway for your business. Our services include Social Media Management, Business Website Management, Business Registration, Search Engine Optimization Management, Business Directory Management, Local Search Ranking, Mobile Map Search, Content Creation Advisory, Google Visibility Management, and much more. Let our team of experts help create or increase your online presence.

If you found this blog article beneficial, feel free to leave a comment below. We are located at 3343 Peachtree Road Ste. 180-581 in Atlanta, Georgia. You can also email our team of experts directly at Atlanta@montfichet.com or contact us at 404-900-9814

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