Local service business Websites can increase margin when site visitors can easily achieve their goals. These Websites have good visual design and easy navigation. Written content addresses the interests of customers. The Website encourages customers to establish a relationship with the business. These websites are sticky. They keep visitors on the site.

An excellent example is the Columbia Drain Website http://www.columbiadrain.com. What makes this Website so effective?

The home page of this site is a straightforward introduction to the business services offered. The organization and navigation are easy to understand and consistent throughout the Website. The menu bar along the top makes page navigation intuitive. Pages are organized into logical topics which are directly targeted to the interests of the customer.

Pertinent and useful content keeps visitors on the Website. In addition, by providing solid expert advice written in his own voice, the business owner has established his authority and credibility. The content goes a long way to establishing trust in the client and ultimately reduces the time and effort of selling the service.

The feedback form on this website provides the opportunity for customers to give specific feedback about services received. It provides valuable information for the business and gives a sense of two way communication that is expected by current Web users.

Not surprisingly this Website is very effective. It has returned on the investment many times over and has become a central part of the marketing strategy for the company. While the specifics of a business may vary, this website provides a solid model for creating a new website for a local business.

1. Website content
2. Number and quality of links to your Website
3. Quantity and length of visits

Search engine optimization, meaning optimizing your Web strategy for keywords your target users are likely to use can put you higher on the list. It is unlikely that your Website will be returned at or near the top of the list in a competitive category unless an SEO strategy is defined and implemented.

An SEO strategy should include:

1. Optimization of Website content for keywords on each page
2. List of desirable links
3. Plan to obtain links
4. Ongoing monitoring of progress and maintenance of rank for keywords
5. Specific list of the desired keywords

Opportunities for SEO come rapidly and sometimes disappear just as quickly. If appearing high in the list for a specific keyword or keywords is important, optimization should be an ongoing effort. Search engine optimization is a specialty in Web design, requiring a specific set of skills. It is possible for a Website owner with a significant amount of time to spend to learn those skills, but it is usually more cost effective to add SEO services to your Web design budget. Collaborating with a skilled SEO specialist will give solid results that allow you to begin to see the ROI you want from your Website.

~Dianne Bengtson
Partner, Ability Multimedia

In the twenty-first century, the chill of the un-trafficked website fills us with just such a fear. A website existing in obscurity is a wasted opportunity.

Search engines provide the greatest opportunity to be visible to and connected with the right audience. They are the most desirable and sometimes essential medium for publicizing and realizing the potential value of your Website. Obscurity is the result of missing this opportunity.

Since search engines are often the first audience for new Website content, they become the first judges of what is noteworthy or worthwhile on the web. Relevance is the criterion most discussed in search engine optimization (SEO) instructions, and that is a significant test. High rank begins with relevance to your desired keywords. Search engines are not interested in websites that are not relevant to the keywords. Websites that are not relevant rank low.

High rank begins with relevance, but that is only the beginning. After relevance comes interest. The search engine evaluates human interest in your Website. How many other Websites link to yours? Are those links relevant? How many visitors do you get? How long do they stay? Quality is also considered. A higher rank than similar sites also results when content seems worthwhile. What makes it worthwhile is that it is high quality, pertinent, useful, interesting, timely, fresh, unique, or the best of its kind. Low rank results when, at least from the perspective of the search engine, content fails some or all of these.

In the end we want people to visit and use our Websites. How does search engine optimization pertain to human visitors? Once you get the people to your website you must engage them with content that is high quality, pertinent, useful, interesting, timely, fresh, unique, or the best of its kind. As frustrating as it is to try to divine the set of magical properties that will bring your Website to the top of the search results, it’s a pretty good exercise in making a Website that does what you want to do anyway.

~Dianne Bengtson

Partner, Ability Multimedia

Used well, a blog is a powerful tool. Writing short articles increases the perceived value of what you have to offer. It builds your reputation as an expert in the field. When you write, you differentiate your company from competitors. By presenting useful information in a clear and accessible way, you demonstrate your professionalism and your value to your customers (and prospects too.)

When we at Ability Multimedia talk about design, we are talking about the useful and functional characteristics, as well as the visual appeal of your Website. As designers we synthesize the technologies, the possibilities of the Web into the right design for you. We bring your business to the Web in a way that enhances it overall.

The initial value a designer of custom Websites offers is to help you sort through the many possibilities and help you decide which are right for your business. The next big step is to synthesize those parts into an original and unique Website that functions and expresses the character of your business.Better design results in a better Website. Because of our commitment to good design in the larger sense your Website will be more than the sum of it’s parts. It will function better, look better and enable site visitors to get more from using it.

The secret is blogging software. It makes updating content and connecting with customers much easier and more affordable. It’s really a quantum leap in updating content.  

We are talking about adding blogging to your own website with your own branding, not writing a blog on a blogging website. You can write everything from articles to advertisements These are a few ideas to start.

Keep website content up-to-date

1. keep content relevant to the current season, or circumstance       
2. communicate timely topics such as sales, and special offers
3. revise changing content such as class schedules or special events

Add content about topics in your field

1. connect with visitors on topics of the moment
2. demonstrate your value to customers by establishing yourself as an expert
3. build your reputation and credibility as a professional
4. give customers information that will help you to serve them more effectively

Build rapport with customers

1. give your website a conversational and approachable tone
2. encourage customers to communicate with you
3. build ongoing relationships with your customers
4. build a community to keep visitors coming back to your website

Optimize your ranking on search engines

1. Enhance the appeal of your website to search engines   
2. increase the frequency of content updates to make your website appear fresher and more relevant
3. extend your content so your website will be returned in more searches

If you are convinced or just curious, call us for an appointment at our North Seattle office for a chat about how your business can benefit from this great new technology. 

Ability Multimedia
12054 Lake City Way NE
Seattle, Washington 98125
425.818.9099

© Copyright 2008, Ability Multimedia. All Rights Reserved.