You’ve launched your new website. Now what?

If you’ve gone through the lengthy process of launching a new website, you’ll know the elation (and relief) that comes when it goes live! But that’s just the start of it. There are many ways that your website can, and should, work harder for you. Here’s a list of points to focus on after you’ve celebrated your launch.

Did you optimise?

Whilst keyword analysis and optimisation of your website for SEO should form part of the build, I’ll mention it here. You wouldn’t be the first to miss it.

You want Google to find your website and deliver it to those looking for your sort of content. Now, Google is a very clever thing, but as yet, Google is not a mind-reader. It’s your job to make it clear what your website is about.

Identify the best keywords or phrases for each page on your site – the phrases that people are using to search. Then weave them naturally into your copy and your headings. Not too much though. You’ll also want to pay attention to your meta data and your alt tags (image names) with those keywords in mind.

Not sure? Then get some experienced help (like me). You’re missing an opportunity for search visibility if you’ve not at least partly optimised your website.

A word of caution: always write for your audience first and Google second. We’ve all seen comedic copy that reads poorly due to the writer’s over enthusiasm for keywords. Chances are, if you write what your audience wants to read, it will contain those all-important keywords anyway.

Read my previous article on website optimisation.

Get networking

I’m not talking about your local Chamber of Commerce here. Backlinks (other websites linking to yours) matter for two reasons:

1. Good ones will impress Google and help your ranking.
2. In the right place, they reach relevant traffic and draw them to your website.

So, how do you go about finding backlinks? Here’s a list to get you started:

Look for press websites in your industry – can you supply any editorial?
Talk to your suppliers – a reciprocal link arrangement might help you both.
What about local press? Have you got a story to publicise?
Make sure you’re in all the decent directories (avoid the poor ones).
Any relevant blogs that you could contribute to as a guest?
Who’s linking to your competitors? Would they link to you too?

It’s quality and not quantity with backlinks. Develop a plan and work on it gradually. Look for websites with a high domain authority and avoid anything with a high spam score. Google doesn’t like poor quality links or too many links appearing at once.

Join it all up

A new website is just part of your marketing toolbox. Integrate it with other activities for best results.

Email marketing? Make sure your emails link to various areas of your website: a new product page, a news post, a white paper download.

Social media marketing? Draw the interest to your website when you can. Got a new case study? Put it out on social media with a link to your website.

Pay attention to Google Analytics

You’ll no doubt have an account. If not, get your web company to set this up pronto.

Just keeping an eye on the top figures regularly is valuable. Assign someone to deliver a one-page report monthly, to answer the following questions:

1. What’s the monthly traffic and what’s the trend?
2. Where’s it coming from: organic search, paid for, direct, referrals, social media?
3. How long do visitors spend on your website? What’s the trend?
4. What’s the bounce rate? Is it improving?
5. How many pages do they view?
6. What’s the percentage split of traffic on various devices: PC, mobile, tablet?
7. What countries do your visitors come from?
8. What pages do they arrive on? And where do they leave?

Don’t do information overload. Do have a clear picture of how your website is performing. Then you know where to improve.

Website housekeeping

Out of date copy, broken links, dated images – it’s like rubbish left on the floor. Keep everything tidy and current. It gives the right impression from the start.

Too many businesses launch a shiny new website and leave it to fade. Would you invest in a car and never service it? Buy a house and never decorate it?

You now have some idea of work required once your website has gone live. It matters. Otherwise, your investment has limited potential. I help businesses manage their websites on a week to week or month to month basis. Can I help you? Please get in touch.