Marbella SEO

Probably the most critical part of Internet marketing for your business is organizing your website so it will achieve your overall goals.  However, most business people ignore this critical step, or leave it to their web designer to take care of, which can often be even worse. 

By strategically planning your new website or an update of your existing website, you will ensure you have a marketing piece that showcases your business to its best, allows you to be in control of ongoing content updates, and achieves the goals you have set for your business.  Below are a number of steps to follow while planning your new website:

1.  Write down on a piece of paper everything you think the visitors to your web site might want to know about your product or service.  For example, visitors to a school’s website would probably want to know the attendance levels, size of the classrooms, information on staff members and what sports they can participate in.  Try to list every possible topic about your industry, service or product that a visitor to your new website might be interested in knowing.

2.  Take on the role of your website visitor.  Surf the Internet and visit various sites offering similar services, then review them as a potential customer would.  As a visitor, what do you like and dislike about each site?  Are you driven to take action?  Can you find what you are looking for fast? How many different pages do you have to click through to find what you want?  Take notes on all this information with the purpose of making your own website as visitor friendly as possible.

3.  Research to find out what keywords your visitors might search for. You don’t need to invest in expensive search tools, Google has a free keyword tool that is adequate for this purpose.  Type in a general phrase such as “high school” and see what other keywords come up.  Your visitors already have questions about these things.  With this information in hand, you can plan your website to feature content that answers people’s questions. 

4.  Make sure to plan your website to grow.  Avoid websites that can’t be easily expanded to add more pages or products.  A website is not static, but rather should change constantly to meet your customer needs. 

5.  Finally, make sure your website is easy to control, so you don’t have to rely on your website designer to make even the smallest changes.   Today’s dynamic Internet marketing environment demands new and fresh content added to your website often, and the old fashioned sites that rely on a web developer to make changes just won’t work anymore.  You need a website platform that will allow you to add website content fast and simply.

Usually, a new website is one of your business’ largest expenses.  Make the most of your investment with a new website that supports the goals you have set for your business. 

Marty Dickinson is the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for over 10 years. His specialty is Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors. Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.