Website Disaster Relief – The Top Reasons Why a Website Fails
Each time this website disaster occurs the bar gets raised in terms of willingness to commit the time and finances necessary to achieve the intended online marketing goal. It seems that small business owners, once willing to devote thousands of marketing dollars per month, are now wanting to take a step back and reconsider whether online marketing is for them at all.
In previous blogs and press releases we discussed the do or die alternative for small business participation with Internet Marketing. The choice for small businesses isn’t if but when and how to get their online marketing efforts in high gear. It very well might be survival of the fittest.
The core problem for most small business owners regarding Internet marketing is what we call the “Field of Dreams” mentality. The lack of understanding of marketing in general leaves them prey to guru hot-shot artists that convince them that driving traffic from anywhere to any destination is all that is required to get rich. The small business owner is therefore convinced that, by spending fast dollars, any online marketing will work. Unfortunately this “If you build it he will come” strategy, only works in the movies.
Many or most Internet Marketing companies and Website Design firms take great pride in the emotional value of online visibility and otherwise “good looks” of a well dressed website or marketing campaign. They are experts at delivering a product that the small business owner can fall in love with at first glance. This is where the disaster starts to take hold without the owner even knowing it.
So who is to blame? Everyone!
Owners often select a website design or development company totally based upon a friend, neighbor, or other reference or recommendation. The result of this non-researched recommendation may very well be a very attractive but non-productive brochure-ware website or an over keyword-stuffed content-riddled menagerie unfit to offer or sell anything.
The design or development company is often more interested in providing a website product based upon some “boiler plate” previously loved design template they have in the archives of their dungeon or simply mirroring what the small business owner has in their non-internet savvy mind.
To help ensure the success of any new or redesign of a website or web presence the small business owner should start by doing some research on their own. They should start by understanding exactly what the goals and objectives are. The next step is spell out these goals and objectives to any vendor that they anticipate might play a role in the eventual online launch.
Above all, do not proceed with any website (unless you like disasters) or other web presence without first analyzing and performing a complete keyword strategy, value proposition, competitive analysis, SEO objectives, content performance, and plans for monitoring and reporting. All of these items must be taken into consideration together with a very well understood strategy before any aspect of the design is laid in place.