Joe King, Owner/Operations Manager
Rapid Response, Inc.
Maryville, TN

An incredible number of small business websites are ineffective as a marketing tool : They don’t generate interest, leads or new customers. (Or, at least not enough of them.)

The most common reasons for this are poor Web Design, improper (or no) Search Engine Optimization, little or no local search presence and the lack of user engagement. Below are a few insights about these common deficiencies and tips for improvement.

SEO Web Design

Web design is more than just how pretty your site is. Your website should be created and built by your web design company to not only entice a visitor visually, but also to accomplish your business goals, such as educating your prospective customers, generating leads, etc.

Optimized web design – The elements included in your web design should also lend to search engine optimization. Image, photos, links, etc. should have all the relevant meta information associated with them and include (as applicable) any keyword phrases you are trying to rank well for. Using the example above, if you are a plumber in Sevierville, TN, your meta information and some of your internal links should contain the word “sevierville, TN pluming” or similar.

Calls-to-action

What do you want your prospective customers to do? Would you like them to:

• Fill out a form for more information?
• Call you?
• Take advantage of a current special?
• Pre-qualify themselves before contact?

Whatever you need them to do accomplish a business goal, enter the sales funnel or handle a common request, these are your calls-to-action. These items need to be addressed in your design and user flow through the website.

Easy contact & location info

Of course, it only makes sense that you want visitors to be able to contact your Sevierville business or find you. However, you would be surprised at how many businesses actually hide this information on their websites (if they have it listed at all). At minimum, you should have your full address and phone number on every page of your site. You can also embed location maps or other helpful information.

And, whatever you do, don’t forget to include in your design things that make this easy for mobile users. Incorporating items like click-to-call phone numbers, maps with links to directions and a visual design that will display all this info and more in a pleasant (and usable) way are imperative to accommodate today’s mobile users.

Search Engine Optimization for Local Search

Search engine optimization entails preparing a website for better indexing (and ranking) by Google or other search engines. So, if you do a search for “Sevierville plumbing” does not result in your company showing up on the first page of or organic search results. (Results that are based on the rank of your website in a search engine.) Include the names of the cities you serve (naturally) in your text, use your city names when linking to other pages in your site and in your page titles.

Local Search

As mentioned above, if local consumers are not finding your Sevierville business with local search or using local keywords, you are losing out. But local search is more than just search engine optimization. You also need to have your business listed in the major search engine directories, such as Google Places, Yahoo! and Bing. There are also other directories that are more focused on business reviews that are also very helpful, such as HotFrog and Yelp.

User Engagement

One of the biggest mistakes you see in business web design is they make it all about their business. Your business website needs to be about your customer (or prospect) and their needs. AND, it needs to present your company as the one that can help them with their needs. Second to that, it also should make doing business with you easier, such as finding/contacting you (mentioned above), expediting service or product purchase (filling out forms, etc.) or providing helpful information about your types of products/services or their needs.

Contact us about updating or building a new website for your business

Drop us a note  (we’ll call you back). Or, you can call (865) 314-7718 .

Web design is more than pictures

Creating an pleasant web design requires creativity, to be sure. Adding in artwork and design elements that make it easy for visitors to use it takes some skills as well. To be honest, most every web design company will have the basic skills to produce a site that is (at minimum) pleasing to the eye. This is important, of course. However, it is only one piece of the puzzle. Creating a site that is pretty requires some skill; building out a web design that performs is a totally separate skill.

In the current market, no other advertising effort (and I mean none) is as important as your web presence. As important as it is, it is just as true that most businesses don’t incorporate all the right things into their web design to make it be a good investment. Things like building your web pages properly so search engines rank them higher (or, more importantly, they perform well in local search for Sevierville, TN), properly planning and creating calls-to-action, ensuring all visitors can use the website (whether using personal computers, tablet PC’s & mobile devices), integrating social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest) and making it so people find the information they need (and you need them to have) are of utmost importance.

When you are checking out a Sevierville, TN web design company, make sure you ask for references. Call them. Once you get done asking how they liked the service, ask about how their site has performed for them. Did they get more website traffic, calls from people finding them in search engines or get more leads? If the answer is no, you should keep looking.

Mobile friendly web design

As a side, any web design company that is able to meet the needs of small business today will be able to provide a mobile friendly web design. Every business owner would love the to have a website that performed flawlessly on every mobile device with tons of bells and whistles. The truth is, not every business owner can afford that; especially in an area such as Sevierville, TN with so many small businesses. Thankfully, there are many options available to ensure your web site not only looks good on a mobile device, but also will meet the needs of website visitors.
Contact us about updating or building a new website for your business

Drop us a note  (we’ll call you back). Or, you can call (865) 314-7718 .

Good Business Web Design

At minimum, your web design must reflect the following (the first four should be on every page):

• Who you are
• Where you are (Knoxville or Maryville, TN, address, map)
• How they contact you (phone number, email, fax)
• What actions you want visitors to accomplish (call to action – i.e. call you, fill out a form, download a document, search for something)
• Who you provide services to (people in Knoxville, TN, who have a certain disability, or who use a certain product)
• What products or services your provide
• Why customers should buy from you
• What your website is about (for potential clients and search engines)

A Hypothetical Web Design Example

Let’s say you are a physicians office in Knoxville, TN. Your practice provides elective procedures (those not covered by insurance) and the majority of your customers are in Knoxville, Maryville or Alcoa. Given that many people are opting not to do elective procedures for financial reasons, you want to try and reach more people in these cities.

With the above bullet points in mind, your web design should:

Call to action – This is where you need to decide what you want your visitors to do. For instance, let’s say you want to have people fill out a form before they come to an appointment. You need to call that fact out on the appropriate pages and link to the document. (I would suggest including the home page, too. And, make sure the website and document has explicit instructions in it you want people to follow.) Or, let’s say you see patients in Knoxville three days a week and in Maryville two days a week. Your web design should not only reflect that, but also any special instructions about the two locations.

Ensure your physician’s office name, physical address and phone number are on every page. – This not only helps with ensuring your potential clients can contact you, but also that Google (or other search engines) will know that each page of your site is associated with your practice. (They associate phone, address & name to all references to your practice across the web.) It would also be a good idea to include a photo of your Knoxville, TN location and Maryville, TN location on the contact page.

What do you specialize in? – Tell potential patients what you specialize in, what sets you apart from other physicians and can do for them.

Who you serve and why you should be their physician – Your web design should have images of your preferred patients, also convey the reasons they should choose you to be their physician. The right imagery, words, etc. are necessary.

Your website is about – Of course, most businesses think their website is about their company; it isn’t. It needs to be about the potential customer first and search engines second. In short, you focus on the content that the client needs (how to make thier visit go smoothly, directions, forms, etc.) and optimizing your content for search engines (location information, keywords, titles, etc.). Your patients are happier, Google ranks your site higher and you reap the side benefits.

Web Design is the First Step

Of course, web design is only part of the equation. Local search, SEO, inbound marketing and other steps need to be taken in order to maximize the effectiveness of your website. If you want your Knoxville, TN company to really get noticed, you will need to ensure these things are done to reach the most local prospects.

Want to increase the number of Knoxville people that you reach?

Let R.M. Hager Media help! Give us a call at (865) 314-7718 or contact us and we’ll call you.

Web design, Local Search, Inbound Marketing, Local Internet Marketing services for Knoxville, Maryville, Alcoa, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN.
About this article

This is part one in a series of articles explaining the basic principles of business web design, search engine optimization, local search, inbound marketing and other topics that business owners need to follow in order to reach more potential local customers.

In just over a month, we upgraded their CMS, created a new design and had it up and running in time for the launch of this year’s campaign.

We also created new mast photo designs for their Facebook pages, as well as an updated look for their newsletters.

As always, we’d like to thank The Y for being such good stewards and providing incredible opportunities for our East, TN community.

They are an incredible group of people to work with! Visit the new Knoxville YMCA website.

The project was focused on bringing the local YMCA in Knoxville into compliance with the national re-branding of the Y and creating a website that was easy for members and non-members alike to find the information that was most important to them.

The project includes:

• Website re-design
• Branded social networking and social media
  • Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
  • Custom Facebook page
• Search engine optimization
• List building & marketing
• Newsletter design

Website: http://www.ymcaknoxville.org

For the record and to their credit, the YMCA was an incredible organization to work with. They know their members and had concrete ideas how they could serve them better through this project.

Being a new company, Rapid Response wanted to ensure their services were showcased professionally on the web and social networks alike. Their project was divided into several phases, the first being an engaging website to showcase their work and, subsequently, a social media presence.

The project includes:

• Website design
• Content management system
• Social networking and social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube)
• Local search
• Search engine optimization

Website: http://www.rapidresponsetn.com

Rapid Response restoration services - Maryville & Knoxville, TN

Realty III offers premier realty services in Alcoa, Townsend, Friendsville, Louisville, Walland, Greenback, Seymour, Vonore, Loudon County, Monroe County, Blount County and Knoxville, TN.

Projects include:

• Web design (several iterations)
• Multiple websites
• MLS integration
• Custom form integration
• Google Places & other local business search engines
• Local search
• Search engine optimization
• Groupware service setup

Website: http://www.realtyiii.com

Why? Social media and social networking are here to stay (in some form or another) for a very long time. Millions of people are on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other websites every day. Your neighbors on there, your potential customers are there and your competition is there.

Using social networking for business is not rocket science, nor does it need to eat up all your free time. However, it does need to be done properly, you need to be dedicated and, more importantly, you need a plan with specific goals. That is where most people fail… in the planning. Here is some of the info I gave them.

Social networking/media is about them, not you.

I can’t say this enough and this is where the majority of mistakes in social media marketing are made by companies. Currently, the state of social networking is information consumption and sharing (by them). This is going to be the trend for a while and if you are going to utilize it to grow your business, you’re going to have to follow this rule. The true success stories in social media for business (and, there are lots of them) are the companies who get this..

Be the benevolent expert

You want to set yourself up as being an expert; someone who has the pulse of what is going on. You want to be seen as a giver, not a taker. (Again, them, not you.) You share so much, give so much of your time making sure your community has the most relevant information, the best support, the latest info… you’re a great guy (company) and not motivated by making money. You want to see them succeed!.

This is how you come to be trusted. Keep it up and this is how you will come to be the company they think of when they want to buy what you sell.

The art of aggregation – Finding and sharing information that your customers (or potential customers) will find value in is the secret. For you (and I would not know everything about what motivates your desired client), it could be information about your particular industry, policy or regulations, design inspiration or any other number of topics. However, as you get submersed in the online culture, it won’t take you long to figure out what people are interested in.

Good rule of thumb: help, inform, advise, share, etc. most of the time; market little. Keep your marketing messages from being too long AND incorporate marketing into shared media (articles, videos, podcasts, etc.). For instance, posting a link on Facebook to an article on your website about using X widget vs. Y widget, with an insert that’s a blurb about the new Z widget (which is 33% better than the other two) and Buy Now!. You get my point.

Commit to the long haul

Social media will not pay in a week or a month. It is a long-term commitment. It will require time, money and resources. If you execute well and stick to it, it will pay off.

Control the message

If you start correctly and work it correctly, social networking will blossom for your company. You’re going to have to have rigid policy about the use of social networking for business. I would actually suggest that you take a two-prong approach to social networking.

• First, set policies about representing the company and control the messaging. (Of course, your people have to be human online. So, not too rigid.)  You need to decide upon what the company goals are (tangible and intangible), build a plan, control the message and execute. One great way to do this is by setting up a volunteer committee to help with the direction, measure effectiveness and oversee execution. (With you at the head, of course.)
• Second, I would suggest a company policy on social networking. (You can find a ton of information on Social Media Governance as well as policy examples. You can also find a lot of information on Google.) Responsible companies do this to set realistic expectations for employees.

Use the right social sites

• Do a little research to find out where your potential clients may be.
• Create your accounts and do some research about your potential community. Find out what people find interesting (you’ll know by what the most ‘followed’ people share and what people re-share.) Start building a process to aggregate this kind of content so you can share it.
• Research how people are sharing their ‘benevolent’ information vs. marketing information.
• Do some research about setting up your social networking accounts/pages for the best results. (I.e. Twitter backgrounds & profiles; Facebook profiles, business pages & custom tabs; LinkedIn profiles.)
• Start in a staggered way if only one person is doing the work. Facebook profile & business page, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles. However, I would suggest that you tag-team it with a few people. Have one person do the Facebook page (with several employees promoting the Facebook page & the information shared to drive traffic), one do Twitter and at least key business people on LinkedIn.

Keep in mind that his has to be a plan that can be maintained or you will not get the desired results from your effort!

Earn your network, don’t buy it

Buying (or otherwise enticing) ‘Likes’, following or ‘friending’ is like offering bribes; don’t do it. Earn their follow by being relevant (helpful) to people. However, please special pricing, discounts or other benefits for those that are in your social networks. Oh, and it won’t hurt to ask people to ‘Like’ your page… just don’t ask all the time.

Build a community right and find your zealots

As you build your community online, you are looking for those few people who are absolutely in love with your company. These zealots will not only help you spread your messages, they will be your champions. Take REALLY GOOD CARE of these people. They will provide you opportunities and inroads you would otherwise not have. Don’t pay them to be your champion, but reward them for it.  Promote them, feature their articles on your website, share what they share, send them special samples, give them bonuses without telling anyone. You get my point.

In closing… I try to counsel all of my clients how to leverage social networking properly for their organization. You can read this article I wrote on using social networking for senior-focused small businesses that might provide a little more insight.

Lunar Blue Studio is a brand new 3D motion graphics and animation company in Knoxville, TN. Their project is divided into several phases, the first being an engaging website to showcase their work and, subsequently, a social media presence and lead generation efforts.

The project includes:

• Social networking and social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Vimeo)
• Local search
• Professional networking
• Search engine optimization
• List building & marketing

Website: http://www.lunarbluestudio.com

I’d like to thank them for allowing me to assist them with this task.

The project consists of a new website design, custom Facebook fan page and a re-designed newsletter. I will also be consulting with them on using Facebook, Twitter and their newsletter to reach more people in the Knoxville community with their important message and services.

Stay tuned for more information.

I’m an information geek. I make no apologies for it; I just love to read, especially material written on topics I’m interested in by people a lot more intelligent than I am. I find a lot of it online, too. It takes some sifting, but it is generally worth the effort. This is article on Heather Rast’ blog is no exception.

For all you small business owners out there looking to get a bigger piece of your local pie or distinguish yourself from your competition, this information is for you. It is a list of posts on predictions and trends for 2010. And, it is a really good list. There are ideas in the posts she links to that you can use; to be better, work smarter or stay ahead of the curve.

Generally, I try to break out a few concepts for articles I share. This is an exception. If you’re hungry and want to find some really good information that can help your business, go to the posts she mentions in this piece. Dig in. Learn. Ask question. You can even ask them here, if you like. Just ask them.

And, I would be amiss if I didn’t tell you to subscribe to Heather’s blog while you’re there. Read it often and thoroughly. She’s someone to pay attention to.

RSS: http://insightsandingenuity.com/feed/

But (and, there always is one), I’m optimistic. These tough times can be an opportunity if we take it. To reinvent, fine-tune or rebuild. In tough times, we should be assessing what we’re doing. Is it being done right? Could it be better? What else could be done? Add new (and/or complimentary) services or products? Streamline a process? There is always room for improvement, for sure.

Where do you start? How about thinking differently about your business?

You’ve heard it said you have to ‘think outside the box’ to be really successful. I guess that’s true, in a sense. I happen to think that one of the things that makes a person become an entreprenuer is that he/she does that to an extent anyway. As a small business owner, you’ve probably had thoughts that went something like:

“We need a better [insert mousetrap descriptor here].”

“This shouldn’t be that hard. It needs to be fixed.”

“Wouldn’t it be great if people could ….”

Most of us have been there.

It’s easy to say you’re going to take off the ole’ rose colored glasses and think differently about something. In reality, though, it is hard for us to change our way of thinking that easily. You need perspective and to get the proverbial creative juices flowing.

So, let’s get that engine started and the wheels turning.

The slideshow below was posted by Seth Godin in December of last year. It’s a compilation of ideas from people about what matters now to people. Does it hold the answer for your particular problem? Perhaps. More importantly, though, it’s a selection of fresh ideas and new ways of considering things. So, go through it all and really think about each one as a singular unit, not just how it might pertain to your situation. Remember, the idea is to get your brain geared up. Big picture ideas to instigate creative thought on singular issues.
(If it is too small, just click ‘full screen’ in the top-middle.)

What Matters Now