I came across a blog post that speaks to the value of adding white papers and case studies to increase the amount of site traffic and subsequent leads they can generate.  It is based on an article in Inc. Magazine that describes how Dan Dersham, of LeanLogistics, used white papers and case studies promote his transportation-focused, supply-chain management software company.  Essentially, the white papers demonstrate his knowledge and expertise in his industry, has content that can be indexed by search engines and the interest level can be tracked through the number of times the white paper is accessed.  If the white paper or case study were a part of a email newsletter, you could also track how many times the newsletter were forwarded to other parties if the list manager you send the newsletter from has tracking capabilities.  The post also goes into more detail about why white papers are effective -  Check it out.

The best way to make your website successful is to determine its purpose.  In general, any small business website’s purpose is twofold:

• sell a product or service
• provide a means of support for that product or service

Whether you are a for-profit or not-for-profit venture, you are still selling a product or service and need to treat the information you are presenting as such. Whether you are trying to:

• provide a service
• sell a product
• present information on a topic or event
• make an announcement
• create a forum that raises awareness of  a certain issue or issues
• deliver news on a particular subject

Or, as in most cases, do a combination of some or all the items listed above – your website needs to tell a story (not just state facts) that conveys the information above, that the visitor can relate to and relay that story to other like-minded individuals.  Visitors will not only relate to the words used but also to the images used to support or elaborate upon the story.  The story must be presented in such a way that it can be found – through both search engine friendliness and your site design.

For most small businesses that do not have name or brand recognition – your website’s main goals will be to:

• be found and indexed by search engines
• have prospective customers find you on search engines
• have those prospective customers visit the site and find the information they are looking for
• engage your company in the sales process

Once your website has done these four things, you can consider it a successful venture.  However, like all marketing materials, it normally takes several visits and a period of time before the initial efforts pay off.  It is always a good idea to discover how the customer found you and what factors played a role in the time required to complete the sales process. This will help you gauge how long you should wait before making changes.

Ultimately, your website needs to have information that is consumable by both search engines and visitors. A site not optimized for search engines is essentially invisible to search engines, and as a result, to your potential customers. On the other hand, without a good design, your site will get nothing but quick glances by visitors. People are bombarded with so many advertising messages that if they cannot find anything they can connect with on your site, they will just surf to the next site. Having a beautiful website that no one can find is like having a well-decorated store with great products in the middle of the ocean.  A great website is technically well rounded and tells a great story.

The purpose of any business’ website is to generate sales in one form or another.  So think of your website as an extension of your sales arm.  A sales person that relies on a generic pitch or a prepared script is not likely to connect with many prospective customers.  A successful salesperson tells a story that customer can relate to and believes to be authentic.  Your website should do the same.

For help with creating a compelling story about why people should do business with your company,  I would suggest reading:

• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die – Chip and Dan Heath
• All Marketers are Liars – Seth Godin
• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable - Seth Godin

Best of Luck in Creating your Story.

We have created this blog section of the Muldowney Arts website to provide tips that will enable small businesses to create a web presence or improve their existing one.  More and more, consumers and business customers expect companies to be online.  Many times, your website is the first contact prospective customers will have with your company and will make purchasing decisions based upon the story your website presents.  Our goal here is to help you put your best foot forward.

In upcoming posts, we will talk about determining a purpose for you website, how to enable people to find your website, have prospective customers grant you permission to tell your story, create a dynamic system of communicating to your customer base and communicate your value to the community your business serves.

Please feel free to post your questions and comments to this and future posts.  We look forward to being your resource for Small Business Web Marketing.