What to Do After Your Website Launches
Imagine that you’ve got a pot on the stove and you’re getting ready to make the perfect spaghetti dinner. In that pot you’ve added the perfect spaghetti sauce. You’ve browned and cooked the Italian sausages – both ground and links, of course – and you’ve done everything right. However, if you never turn on the burner for that pot, you’re not going to get a very good dinner. It’s just going to sit there and never warm up to the desired temperature. The noodles will never cook and the flavors will never come together for all that the meal could have been.
We’ve seen a similar story play out with businesses. They get their perfect new website through all the phases of planning and research and to design and programming and it launches. There’s a huge celebration and sense of relief that the work is done. But just like not turning the burner on for dinner, they forgot to turn on a very important burner for the website: marketing. Without that marketing heat, the perfect website will never reach what it could have been or done for the business.
Launching a new site, or even more importantly when it’s a first site, is a major step for any business. But it’s just the beginning of the meal. To really get things cooking, some marketing heat will be needed. That heat can come from any number of different places — social media, SEO, print materials, emails, and more. While you don’t need to do everything right away or all at once, doing something is needed right away.
Here’s a simple recipe of sorts for how to turn up the marketing heat and start getting the most from your website.
Start with Social Media
Posting every day on every social media platform isn’t by any means required. But you should start getting the word out about your website and business. Even if you’re not a huge social media fan or user, you can still easily announce your new site launch on the most commonly used platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, or ideally wherever your audience is.
You can follow up that post by sharing a few things people can expect to find on your site such as services, contact info, recent projects, and more. A decent goal to start with is simply one post each week, even if it’s just showing a new page or item on the website. For any social media accounts you do have, be sure to update them with your new domain name as well.
Remember that perfect spaghetti dinner, social media is like stirring the sauce, it helps all the flavors marry and blend together and keeps it from getting stagnant and burnt.
Add a Dash of SEO
The importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can’t be understated. It is such a huge component of any marketing strategy for a small business. SEO is what helps your site get found in Google rankings. SEO is all about keywords and getting to rank for them. Think about what someone would type into Google when they’re looking for the services your business provides. Those are your keywords and tey should be used throughout your site – repeatedly.
When you use your keywords, make sure they are used as naturally as possible on your main pages and blog posts. A keyword should be used more (way more) than once per page. But don’t use the keyword so much that you’re accused of keyword stuffing. In the spaghetti dinner, you’re probably going to add in some parmesan cheese, right? If you add in one single little grain of parmesan cheese it won’t be noticed. Add in too much and all that will be tasted is the parmesan cheese.
Another important part of SEO is to keep your Google Business Profile updated. The Google Profile, formerly called Google My business, is free and incredibly effective. It’s another great way to help Google connect keywords and locations and services to your site and business.
You don’t need to start with a massive $5,000 per month SEO budget. But start with reviewing performance in Google Analytics and Google Search Console and make even the smallest adjustments and changes to start seeing some impact.
Don’t Forget the Print Materials
While the website might live online, print still matters. This is especially for local businesses. With your print material and collateral, you can work to promote not just your businesses but also your website. Be sure to update things like your business cards, flyers, rack cards, and any print pieces with your new website. If it’s a relaunch or new website, you can even update those items to call out “Check out our NEW WEBSITE!”
Aside from the obvious marketing collateral, you should also Include your web address on things like invoices, packaging, email signatures, and ANYTHING that gets handed to a client or possible client. If you’re doing any networking or giving presentations, any handouts should all have your web address in an easy to identify spot as well.
All of these little bits of marketing heat help reinforce not just your brand but also drive traffic in easy, quiet, and consistent ways.
Invite People In with Email
Your email marketing doesn’t need to be fancy. Simply start by collecting email addresses from existing clients and contacts. Once your email list is together, simply send out updates or promotions to help pull more users back to the website. Your newsletter can share anything from new blog articles to new services you’re offering and more.
Ideally an email newsletter should go out monthly or not-quite weekly, but even sent quarterly an email newsletter can serve as a great reminder to your audience that you’re still here and ready to help.
Keep an Eye on the Stove
Just like you can’t walk away from the stove while cooking that spaghetti dinner for hours on one, you’ll need to check back in on how your site is performing. By using tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you can see if people are visiting, from where, and even what keywords they might be using. You can see the most popular pages and get great insight as to why those pages are working so well.
One important step here is to make sure to test your contact forms and online store if you have one. If you notice that there’s an odd drop in contact form submissions or orders, check and make sure everything is working. Unfortunately, even on the best built websites errors can pop up and need to be corrected.
Ready to Serve
Your website is ready. Your meal is ready – the pot, the ingredients, the potential. But marketing is the heat that brings all the flavors and hardwood together. Without it, the website just sits there. But with that marketing heat it you can get something rich, rewarding, and ready to be enjoyed for years to come. You don’t have to do everything all at once — social media, SEO, print materials, email newsletters — but doing something is the key. Even a small spark of marketing heat can start building momentum for your website. Just like that perfect spaghetti dinner, the right blend of ingredients and heat will bring out the full flavor of your website and feed the future success of your business.
