Your Business Websites – for what?

Today I strongly feel to write this article as I simply feel very sorry for business owners who don’t know much about websites, the internet, SEO and E-Marketing. Another reason is, that I feel simply disgusted by people who dare to produce such bad and not-performing websites for their paying clients (business owners).

I do come across many hotel website here in Thailand and south-east Asian countries as this industry is my profession! I don’t say that our website is the best or most attractive, but we attract new business and the site simply works!

I can see clearly that many hotel owners and managers really don’t understand why they do actually have a website for the business.

If you are a business owner or senior manager who knows exactly how much business and exposure you generate through your website, you don’t need to read further as the below is very basic. However, I you don’t have no clue how much business and exposure you actually generate through your website, please keep on reading to understand more about the potential – or non-existing-potential – of your website.

It is a fact that most of the website I come across are simply ‘bad’!  They do not produce any –or very little – business for those people who actually pay to have the website build and maintained.

Very simple and fundamental basics are ignored by the people who ‘get paid’ to do a good job!

I surly don’t expect every person in the world to understand those basics, but if your web designers don’t understand the below, he or she should not be considered to take care of your needs.

If you are a business owner or senior manager, I highly recommend learning and understanding of the following basics so others don’t take advantage of you!

Basics for your website:

• The purpose having a Business Websites:  To attract new guest and/or clients who do NOT know you, your business or your URL (Website Name) yet!
• The purpose having a Blog: To attract and update new and existing website site visitors, clients and guests with your interesting news, public relations articles, destination articles, products, services, happenings etc.
• The purpose having CRM: CRM tools (Customer retention management) such a as a own mailing lists, Social Media and others must be used to “keep in touch” with your guest, clients or people who know you,  – or want to know you –, and who actually ASK YOU to send/give them information.  I did say they “ask you” as this is the only reasons why they actually subscribed to your news systems! Please remember and keep in mind that those people actually WANT news, updates and information from you!

Considering the above, it’s easy to understand why your website should NOT be just a kind of fancy hotel brochure with ‘blinking’ and ‘fancy’ features. Your website visitors will come to your website first and foremost for information ONLY! You also need to keep in mind that in case you don’t catch your website visitor’s interest with eye-catching and interesting taglines within the first few seconds, your website visitor (and potential income) will move on to other sites. So, please ensure your site is very easy to navigate and that you use head-lines like in a newspaper.

Just think how you read your newspaper! – If the ‘tag-line’ catches your interest you will read more, but if the tag-line does not interest you, you will just ignore the news and read something else.

So, now we understand that that your website should attract potential NEW clients who do NOT know your hotel, resort or website URL yet; and we also understand that a part of your website should be a tool to keep in touch with your EXISTING clients.

Now I tell you some simple facts about website which are NOT performing:

• Website with serious errors in their XHTML codes! This website have trouble to be indexed well with search engines.
• Websites build solely with moving “Flash” pictures where even the text is part of “Flash”! I need to mentioned, that although “Flash” websites can be marketed on the internet, it is very complicated, time consuming and NOT a BEST practice solution. As per latest news from Google webmaster, “flash” is dying!
• Websites build by designers who only want a great looking website to be in their own client portfolio and who do NOT CARE at all if your website can be marketed on the internet and who do NOT CARE at all if you will generate business and income with your website.
• Websites build without any SEO knowledge in mind.
• Website which are hard to navigate and where layout and links are confusing.
• Websites without Blog, subscriber system, social Media interaction etc.
• Websites belong to independent hotels or smaller businesses who want to copy the looks and feel of some well established and branded company and who are completely ignoring the fact that those well established businesses have already an internationally known brand name and customer base. – Most of you don’t have this brand awareness!
• Website build and maintained by someone close to owner who BELIEVE he/she is good in website design and SEO,  and who wants to make some fast bucks from the innocent business owner.
• Websites which do not have any CRM tools such as basic ‘subscribe to our newsletter’ etc.

Some facts why certain websites perform very good:

• Those sites have simple XHTML code without any errors, little or NO ‘flash’ at all, “external style sheets (CSS) etc.
• Those website are rich in UNIQUE content and useful information.
• The webmaster is updating the Blog and works with Social Media..
• Those website are very easy to navigate with proper “tag-lines”.
• Those website have ‘optional’ links for videos or high resolution pictures.
• The e-marketing team never stops submitting articles to FREE article websites for back-links and exposure.
• The e-marketing team produces constant press releases and news for FREE Press Release Websites for back-links and exposure.
• The Webmaster did ones take two days time to manually submit your website to relevant internet directories.
• The websites are build and maintained by someone knowledgeable and by someone who is proud and able to send you a monthly report and evidence how your website is performing compared to the competitors.

Some common mistakes, issues neglected and things you MUST know!

• A needed “Sitemap” is not a site with links to all other sites on the website. It’s a XML document most important for “Spiders” from search engines who suppose to index all pages on your website.
• A “Robot” file is very important for “Spiders” and SEO.
• Your Blog must be part of the website and not ‘external”
• Keep in mind that your Blog must be updated at least ones a week with UNIQUE content. Do not take content from other Blogs or websites!
• Your website can be ‘static’ IF your ‘internal’ Blog is updated regularly with UNIQUE and INTERESTING content.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and building a website is not the same. You would not let your hotel construction company operate your hotel? Wouldn’t you? SEO and Website designer MUST work together when building the website or you let it be handled by the VERY FEW people who really understand both aspects.
• Social Media, Bookmark exposure etc. is a MUST!
• Do NOT out-source E-Marketing for more than 4 months. Your E-Marketing person must teach your employees to do the E-Marketing Job.

I hope you find all the above helpful.

©Klaus R. Rauter

Managing Director

http://mai-bs.com | http://tourismdirectoryasia.com | http://propertiesyouneed.com