Lexington

Many businesses have figured out that placing videos on their website is a good move.

Why? Because it builds the brand name, showcases them as an expert, puts real people behind the name, speaks to new customers, gives important information, offers real live customer testimonials, brings in new traffic, and increases sales.

Here are some types of videos YOU could use to grow your business:

• Customer testimonial videos with real people giving their honest feedback. This is the social proof that will help you sell more products or services.

• A brief video introduction into what you do. This is like a video version of your elevator speech.

• A brief walk through of your website video. Show them the page tabs and the search function so they can find what they are looking for on your site. Also show them the contact page so they can ask questions or leave feedback.

• How To videos. Perhaps you can show potential customers how to use the product or you can explain how to purchase the best product based on their needs.

• Question and Answer videos. Take the typical questions you get and make a video answering them. This shows the customer you care, and also cuts down on your time having to repeatedly answer the same questions via email.

Video on your website can have a tremendous influence on your business, but there are some details you should know regarding how to get the maximum impact from your media efforts.

Please give me a call if you realize the potential of using video and would like to discuss it further.

When it comes to your website, extra attention should be paid to every minute detail to make sure it performs optimally to serve its purpose. Here are seven important rules of thumb to observe to make sure your website performs well. Additional information can be found on keys to a great website.

1) Do not use splash pages

Splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. They normally have a very beautiful image with words like “welcome” or “click here to enter”. In fact, they are just that — pretty vases with no real purpose. Do not let your visitors have a reason to click on the “back” button! Give them the value of your site up front without the splash page.

2) Do not use excessive banner advertisements

Even the least net savvy people have trained themselves to ignore banner advertisements so you will be wasting valuable website real estate. Instead, provide more valuable content and weave relevant affiliate links into your content, and let your visitors feel that they want to buy instead of being pushed to buy.

3) Have a simple and clear navigation

You have to provide a simple and very straightforward navigation menu so that even a young child will know how to use it. Stay away from complicated Flash based menus or multi-tiered dropdown menus. If your visitors don’t know how to navigate, they will leave your site.

4) Have a clear indication of where the user is

When visitors are deeply engrossed in browsing your site, you will want to make sure they know which part of the site they are in at that moment. That way, they will be able to browse relevant information or navigate to any section of the site easily. Don’t confuse your visitors because confusion means “abandon ship”!

5) Avoid using audio on your site

If your visitor is going to stay a long time at your site, reading your content, you will want to make sure they’re not annoyed by some audio looping on and on on your website. If you insist on adding audio, make sure they have some control over it — volume or muting controls would work fine.

Have you ever looked at a great website and analyzed what exactly is on it? This blog entry talks about the extra pieces, besides the general writing, that make up a successful website.

In addition take a look at is your website built right for extra tips on having a great online presence.

One such “extra piece” is the use of videos. Not everyone likes to read so if you give your visual visitors something to look at, such as How To videos or a tour of your store, they’re more likely to stay around and see what you’re about.

An essential item for a website’s success is testimonials. If you have happy customers, put their letters or emails on your site. Potential clients like to know that others have gone before them and are happy with what you provide. The testimonials can also be videos if you have people who prefer to do it that way.

Another very important element, besides the written words (also known as content), is the use of graphics. I’m talking about eye-pleasing photos, charts, and clip art pictures that draw focus, make the web page interesting, and break up what would be considered a lot of text.

This next one is simple, yet so many websites overlook it – contact information. There is nothing more frustrating than looking all over a website and not finding a way to contact the site owner.

On every page of the website there should be an address, phone number, and email address. This is crucial to good customer service, and it makes a site look more legitimate and less suspicious.

I love small businesses; the people behind them are intelligent, creative, hard working, and focused! But I worry when I see them working harder than they have to on every aspect of their business.

They’re wearing all the hats and making things happen as best they can, yet they haven’t begun marketing online with a website. Having their own website could really take a load off their shoulders plus give them a whole new world of customers.

If you don’t fall in the “I don’t have a website” category, Great! Be sure to read Is your Website built right?

Why don’t they have a website? These are the 3 reasons I’ve come across…

1. They don’t know what to do.
They’ve been in business long enough to know there’s always a steep learning curve with something new – the technical details, the marketing details, the necessary insider info.
Very true. A real amateurish-looking, poorly laid out website can do more harm than good. A website should be more than one page filled with ads. Building a website is something that can be learned and some aspects of it are easy, but it takes time. Which leads to objection #2.

2. They don’t have the time to mess with it.
They don’t have time to learn what to do, time to get it going, time to keep it going.
Agreed. That’s why there are companies like mine that specialize in setting up your website and even keeping it updated if you want.

3. They can’t afford to.
Their business is just starting off or they’re not in the position to afford “luxuries” like a website.
A website is a necessity today and I would argue it’s better to get it up as soon as possible so it can help bring in clients. People like to check your company out online, it gives them more of a sense of who you are, and they like to buy online. A website means customers are global, not just local, and that should tell you your chance to profit from your website can far outweigh the cost of getting a website designed and “put up”.

I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m harping, but adding the online component to your business is so important. It gets me jazzed because I know how to put it all together and make it work for you.

Who knows? This can be an overwhelming feeling or maybe you think it’s not important. Which category do you fall in?  Check out keys to a great website for a few tips!

You might think it’s enough just to have a website up and that it doesn’t have to be perfect. After all, it’s not your specialty and you’ve got LOTS of other stuff to do.

You’re right, it doesn’t have to be perfect. But it shouldn’t suck. Here’s a list of what makes for a website failure. Hopefully you’re not making these mistakes too.

At least your not reading Reason’s why there is no website thinking you don’t need or have time to get a website for your Lexington business.

• Too many ads. This is a turnoff to anyone who stops by. They’re not necessarily there to buy and even if they are they don’t want it forced down their throats.

• Confusing site navigation. If people arrive on your site and they can’t find what they’re looking for easily, they’ll quickly leave.

• Similarly, there is no clear call to action. Does your content/information conclude with asking them to take action, like buy or click on another page?

• Amateurish website. Graphics that look like you did them yourself (no offense), content that’s not aligned and goes off the page, photos that cause some pages to be too wide, etc.

• Not enough content, or content that’s lacking in value. Too many pictures and not enough words not only annoys your visitors but doesn’t help your website’s search engine rankings.

• Shopping cart is hidden. Make it easy for people to buy! If they have to go through several pages to make a purchase, they’re not going to stick around to follow through.

• No contact information. Your site needs your email address, physical address, and a phone number.

• Missing pages. Search engines like to see that you have certain pages such as a privacy policy and terms of use, among others.

Are you thoroughly confused and scared about your website now? Allow me to take care of it all for you. Great websites are what I specialize in.