Internet Marketing Basics - Creating a Website

Internet Marketing Basics Part 2

In Part 1 of Internet Marketing Basics, I ended by stating that “content was king.” It is your good content that will entice your readers to visit more often, stay on your site longer, request information from you, and ultimately purchase from you.

Now that you have created good content and copy, what do you do with it? Hopefully, you have already written some good articles and blog posts. You may even want to take this one step further and create your own website. Of course, once you have created your website, you will need to build traffic for your website. How to build traffic will be the subject of Part 3 of this series.

Creating Your Own Website

If you have a big advertising budget, you can certainly pay to have a beautiful website created for you. If you are just getting started, you may prefer to create your own website. In fact, optimizing your site for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is more important than a glossy website.

Here are some steps that you can follow to create your own website:

1. First you will need to choose a good domain name. A site like www.godaddy.com will show you which URLs are available, make suggestions for you, and you can purchase a domain name through them.

2. You will also want to choose a website host. There are a number of good ones available. Be sure to choose a website host with good support. I have gotten good support from www.jumpline.com, but there are many others to choose from.

3. Select a Website Design Program. Depending on your level of expertise, you will need a program to build your website. There are some excellent programs that you can purchase such as Microsoft’s FrontPage or Adobe’s Dreamweaver. I was able to purchase a very easy to use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) website builder for just $49.00 at www.sitespinner.com.

4. Begin creating your website. Start to create your website. Pay attention to spelling and grammar. Be sure that each website is both readable and attractive to the eye. Include links to your offers and/or affiliate sites but don’t overdo. Check all of your facts for accuracy. You do not want to mislead your prospects. If you have already written articles or blog posts about your business, using this content can give you a quick start into building your website.

5. Set up each page for optimal SEO. Be sure to use the keywords that you have researched liberally; however, don’t stuff your website with keywords. Remember that your website content must always be readable to keep your potential customers coming back. Be sure to thoroughly proofread your website. If grammar isn’t your area of expertise, ask a friend or family member to proofread your copy. See July 2 post for more information on keyword research. Even more important is selecting a good title for your website. This is what will appear in the blue bar at the top of your website and this is how search engines find you. Be sure to include some keywords in your title. As an example, the actual title appearing in the blue bar of my www.workathomemom-dad.com website is: Business Opportunities, Marketing Tips, and Advertising for Work at Home Moms, Dads, & Grandparents.

6. Be sure that your website is pleasing to the eye. Do not crowd your website and use an easy to read font. Be sure to leave plenty of “white space” on your website to make your website more readable. Use of graphics and photographs also create an interesting look to your website. When using graphics, be sure to give credit to the photographer or illustrator. For an inexpensive source of licensed photographs, check out www.istockphoto.com. Many of the photos on this blog have come from this source.

7. Make it easy for your readers to contact you. You will want to make it easy for your readers to contact you. It is a good idea to have a Contact Us page as well as links that lead to either a shopping cart or a source for additional information. To help you build your mailing list, be sure to include a lead capture form on your website.