Plan a Web Site

While a Web site is but a part of your efforts online, it is still the most important one for e-commerce. First and foremost, your Web site should be inviting and reader friendly. When developing your Web site with exporting in mind, here are fifteen pointers that should make the build-out process a lot easier:

1. Keep content current, accurate, and relevant. There is nothing worse than visiting a site and seeing out-of-date content or links that don’t work. It’s a surefire way to lose a visitor. And not just for the moment but perhaps forever. First impressions count. Don’t make the information you present overly complicated or go wild with the graphics.

2. Go mobile right out of the gate. According to network experts at Ericsson, smartphones are only going to get more popular over the next five years. “Its estimates show an enormous jump from the 2.6 billion smartphone users recorded in 2014 to 6.1 billion by 2020.” ⁱⁱⁱ That is the equivalent of 90 percent of the world population. ^iv Make sure your Web site is configured and optimized for mobile use. If you find that most people visit your site from mobile devices, consider developing an app for your business to better serve customers. Messaging apps, for example, have become the center of online activity—don’t ignore. I will go into more detail on this in Chapter 9.

3. Express yourself but don’t give your life story on your Web site. Your message should be concise—clear, consistent, and with an on-brand conversational voice—and interesting enough for visitors to stay with you and eventually take action. Add enough value so everyone can see that something vital would be missing if you left. Keep the content focused on your business and related to the action you’d like your visitors to take.

4. Maintain your Web site so it not only looks beautiful but works beautifully, too.Speed matters. Customers seek fast, simple solutions to their challenges. Put yourself in their shoes. When you visit your Web site, are you impressed? Compelled to take action? Motivated to return? If not, go back to the drawing board and improve it until it turns even you on. All Web sites should contain a good layout, information about your company, a company logo, targeted image placement, and other strategies that boost your brand. You want your site to be attractive and useful. If need be, hire a professional designer to take your site to the next level.

   Tip

   Web hosts provide the tools you need to easily build your own Web site, or, if you want something unique and special, you can hire a web designer to create a professional site.

5. Review sitesyou like, bookmark them, and try to incorporate the best elements of each on your site. I’ve done this many times for ideas on my own company Web site. I see something I like at another Web site and send the link to my designer to see if she can do something similar but distinct enough that it does not look like we are stealing or copying information from the other company. If you sell jewelry, what are the most popular jewelry sites and why? Use these ideas as a basis or model for developing your own Web site.

6. Make sure that every page of your Web site has a unique keyword message. To drive traffic to your site, you must achieve high rankings in search engines. To do that, you must establish keywords that match your firm’s capabilities. Short primer: Keywords are what we type in when we search for products, services, and answers to our questions on search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Matching the words or phrases with the keywords we embed in our sites is called search engine optimization (SEO) . It is a means of getting people to click onto your Web site. Search engines like Google have an algorithm that decides which Web sites come up first in a search result. In order to be listed first in a Google search, you need to have the right keywords where Google’s algorithm can find them. For example, if you were writing about the late Steve Jobs and how he helped change the world with the invention of the iPhone, it would be good to identify the post with the tag words Steve Jobs, Apple, change the world, and iPhone. When people search, “Steve Jobs, change the world,” for example, using those keywords would greatly increase the chances of your post being listed first in a Google search. SEO is not easy. If done right, however, you have a global web green light blinking 24/7 for your business. If no SEO work is performed, you are operating in the dark—the equivalent of being offline—and this will explain why customers can’t find you. Consider hiring an expert to ensure you get the most visibility out of your Web site. Once visitors arrive, your goal is to make it easy for them to find what they are looking for and purchase it easily.

   Seo Case Study

   GlobeTrade, a company I own and manage, is a leading management-consulting and marketing-solutions company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses go global. Our keywords for SEO purposes are: global small business, going global, Laurel Delaney, small businesses go global, entrepreneurs go global, and global trade. These keywords and phrases all relate to the content present on the respective Web pages. Every time an individual conducts a search using any of these keyword phrases, they find us. As a result, customers are rolling in, our page-rank position has skyrocketed to at or near the top of people’s search results, and our business keeps growing.

   Identify the products or services you sell. Now select keywords that are in alignment .

7. Create a culturally customized Web site when you know that what you have will appeal to people in a certain country or region. In other words, build a Web site that is adapted to local cultures. Nitish Singh and Arun Pereira, co-authors of The Culturally Customized Web Site, say, “Companies targeting global customers have little choice but to culturally customize their websites if they are to successfully draw customers, build trust and loyalty and make themselves invulnerable to competitive marketing actions.” ^v If you are interested in selling primarily in the United States with the hope that you export to customers in Morocco, then study up on the country to find out about its culture—what colors do Moroccans like, what symbols do they prefer, which Web sites are the most popular and why? David Ciccarelli, founder and CEO of Voices.com, says: “You can start locally and eventually build a marketplace that serves the needs of your users globally.” ^vi

8. Make it easy for visitors to buy. When choosing a company to host your Web site, it is important to consider all available standard and supplemental features that will make your visitor’s entire experience enjoyable. If you plan to sell products and services online, select a web host that can make that happen, especially the payment part, in an effortless way and without costing you an arm and a leg. (Later in the chapter, you’ll find links to potential providers).

9. Create a newsletter and send it out regularly. Target customers who are not only loyal in attitude and action but also profitable. This can be done during the building of the Web site by adding a newsletter sign-up area. As visitors stop in, they can sign up for the newsletter, or alternately, provided you get permission up front (after a presentation, you might ask people you meet if they are interested in receiving your newsletter), you can add people yourself. They will include prospective customers, existing customers, suppliers, employees, colleagues, and independent contractors. When you send out the newsletter , you might ask people on your list for help on the development of a new product or ask them their opinion on what key topics should be covered in a presentation you will give at an industry conference. For example, I recently sent out a newsletter to recipients with a call to action for suggestions on speakers for a Global Small Business Forum my company hosts annually. Within ten minutes, I received five different emails from subscribers recommending quality speakers for our program. Listen carefully to the answers. The end result will appeal to customers because they were involved in the process.

10. Care about your customer in a way that is evident on your site! Best-selling author Gary Vaynerchuk says it best: “In the end, no matter what obstacles a company faces in the Thank You Economy, the solution will always be the same. Competitors are bigger? Outcare them. They’re cheaper? Outcare them. They’ve got celebrity status and you don’t? Outcare them.” ^vii Thank your customers for stopping by. Don’t try to control an exchange; rather, facilitate the exchange by showing you are putting them in charge. Create pop-up windows that offer live support if a customer is on a page for a set amount of time without asking a question or purchasing something. Make your offerings clear and totally transparent so customers can easily compare your offer with those of competitors. Ask customers to fill out a short survey that helps you better serve them. The objective is to pinpoint specific or preferred customers who might require tailor-made products or services. The message you are sending is this: We care and you are important to us.

    Tip

    Many web-hosting companies offer packages that include ongoing submissions of keywords to top search engines including Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Be sure to check when you sign up for a package. These packages can be worthwhile because they help customers find you when they conduct a search, provided you properly conveyed your firm’s capabilities in your keywords. Another helpful SEO keyword research tool that matches ads to relevant web pages is Google’s Contextual Targeting Tool ( https://www.google.com/ads/displaynetwork/manage-your-ads/targeting-tools.html ).

11. Cater to a global audience. Ninety-five percent of the world’s population, and 80 percent of its purchasing power, are outside the United States. ^viii It’s hard to have a two-way communication if visitors don’t understand you. Plan accordingly, but don’t fret. Take it one step at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed. Start with writing your Web site in one language and then expand based on interest and demand for your product and services. (I will cover web translation considerations in Chapter 15.) My colleague John Yunker, a leading expert on web and content globalization, says as more of the world’s population goes online, web teams will need to build sites that catch as many of these users as possible. While a global gateway alone won’t make a Web site global, it’s an important step in making that site more globally usable. He goes on to say, “Successful global gateways cast wide nets so that most people find where they want to go.” ^ix Casting a wide net means embracing languages. The more languages you offer, the greater your chance at capturing a bigger piece of the world pie.

    Tip

    Don’t panic at the thought of having to translate your Web site into several different languages right at the start. You don’t have to. You can take it one language at a time and base it purely on customer interest. But beware: Yunker says, “Most websites were built under the assumption that mobile users have access to 4G networks, which many do not. Most of the world still relies on 3G (or slower) mobile networks.” ^x

12. Think about country-code-specific domainsat launch, but don’t get caught up on them to the degree that you don’t move forward locally. A country code serves as a local Web site in a specific country. McDonald’s, for example, has http://www.mcdonalds.com for the United States and http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/ for India. If you live in India and visit the main site, you can still access the India site by clicking on “McDonald’s Web sites” then going to “International Web sites” and scrolling down to India, which takes you directly to the Indian site. IBM has http://www.ibm.com for the United States, and from there you can go to http://www.ibm.com/planetwide/cn/ for China. Apple has http:// www.apple.com in the United States, and from there you can go to http://www.Apple.com/br/ for Brazil. No two companies are alike on how they approach securing country domain names. The only rule of thumb is to try to plot out where you think you want to go. Consult with your export dream team, especially your lawyer, to see what it will take to get you there and to determine if it requires you secure domain names with country codes.

13. Make the “Contact Us” area on your Web site so big that it hits visitors on the head like a hammer. If it’s two-way communication you’re interested in having, allow visitors to reach out to you on numerous fronts—from sending an e-mail, to speaking with an actual human being, to filling out a form, to providing a Skype ID—and make sure responsiveness from your company is front and center. The Contact Us space on your Web site is an area sanctioned as the ultimate visitor conversation starter, so make it easy for them to communicate with you! Include your company’s address and phone number, too. The telephone still matters, even in a soon-to-come web 4.0 world.

14. Breed visitor participation. Give visitors a reason to engage in a conversation with you and other like-minded folks. Entice them to share their thoughts, concerns, opinions, and experiences. To accomplish this, set up an online community forum, Facebook social plug-in (such as the Like button), or Twitter feed within your Web site or as an independent resource that is linked to your site. This will foster an even greater exchange of communications. You’re building a relationship that you hope will last a lifetime.

15. Prepare for growth. In addition to dedicated hosting of a site, many hosting companies offer hosting for e-mail and apps, blog incorporation, mobile-friendly adaptation, and cloud computing, where you sign up for free and only pay for what you use. Cloud computing allows you to collaborate, edit, and share files, applications, and business processes over the Internet whenever or wherever you need to. It’s helpful to use for peak-season fluctuations. For example, if 75 percent of your business is generated in the fourth quarter of a year, you need to prepare in advance for the heavy traffic time to ensure that visitor transactions run seamlessly. Cloud computing allows you to ramp up and pay for the service as you go and then remove it when you don’t need it, which is ideal for small businesses that don’t have the deep pockets to invest in sophisticated Internet technology to grow their companies.

By using your web presence to facilitate two-way communication with anyone in the world, you can build relationships with your customers, enhance your company image, fine-tune your products or services, and pinpoint your preferred profitable and loyal customers. Best of all, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.

Reserving a Domain Name and Building a Web Site

Here are places to get started in securing a domain name and creating a Web site. Some platforms allow you to build your own site. Network Solutions is one of those platforms, and it has simple tools that are already built into the site. If you want a highly professional and sophisticated look, I suggest you hire a good web designer, especially one who knows the importance of how colors and symbols translate to a cross-cultural audience. As stated in point number one, first impressions count. Excluding Google+, all hosting platforms are scalable and have e-commerce capabilities. Here are the most popular along with some new entrants:

• Network Solutions: http://www.networksolutions.com

• GoDaddy: http://www.godaddy.com

• Register.com: http://www.register.com

• Verio: http://www.verio.com

• Intuit: http://www.intuit.com/website-building-software/

• Rackspace: http://www.rackspace.com

• Google+ Page: http://www.google.com/services/

• Weebly Website Builder: http://www.weebly.com

• Wix: http://www.wix.com

• Jimdo: http://www.jimdo.com

Pick a Main Stage and Understand Your Audience

It may seem simple, and obvious, but if you want your blog to be a go-to source for useful information, you need to understand your audience. In our case with The Global Small Business Blog, our whole focus is on entrepreneurs and small business owners who are interested in going global. That can involve anything from taking a business global, to understanding globalization, to employing people who want to start a global career. Global, entrepreneurs, and small businesses are the three keywords and phrases that drive our posts. It’s our main stage and we never lose sight of that, nor do we vary from our focus. What will your world main stage be?

Post Frequently, Consistently, and with the Reader Always in Mind

If you don’t provide new, useful, engaging, and relevant content on a regular basis, your readers will stop visiting your site. Web readers are busy and have short attention spans. Consistency is far better than any one-time act of greatness, especially when it comes to blogging. Posting new content every day is great, but providing actionable takeaways is what will keep people coming back day after day. Whatever your style and format, stick to it. One other point: Don’t self-promote and talk about how great you are. You can post information you create relating to your world stage, but never lose sight of the fact that it has been created to add value to your reader’s knowledge pool.

Inspire Your Readers

Use different methods to tell your story. Shake things up to keep your blog interesting for your readers. One day you might feature a guest blog post by a thought leader in your industry or post a YouTube video. The next, you might post your own how-to content that relates to your core theme. Ideas may be plentiful, but your time might be scarce. On some days, you might report everything a reader wants to know about a particular topic. On other days, you might do a short intro and go right to an outside link. Vary your posts in line with how readers process information. Sometimes they are in a hurry; other times they slow down and want to read every last word. Once in a while, they post a comment that requires feedback (see the next point). Vary the nature and scope of information and adjust it according to the times and what’s relevant to your readers .

Make Thoughtful Comments When Warranted

A blog’s commenting function is a great way to engage with your readers. You don’t, however, need to reply to every single comment. In our case, with The Global Small Business Blog (GSBB), we do our best to comment when readers comment, but if it doesn’t seem necessary, we won’t. When traffic really grows, the level of commenting can too, so you might find you are spending more and more time managing comments, and begin to question whether it is worth it. Right now, we want to keep the conversation going at the GSBB. But you may find down the road that you’d rather chat elsewhere with your readers—Facebook, Twitter and Google+, for example. Just remember, if you do, to keep your trackbacks, a way to notify another of an update, enabled.

Provide Links to Better Inform Readers

You don’t have to create all the content for your blog on your own. Use the web to find valuable content from outside sources and link to those resources constantly. Say we post an article about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement ( http://importexport.about.com/od/TradePoliciesAndAgreements/fl/Trade-Agreements-are-Not-Just-about-Lower-Tariffs.htm ) but our reader doesn’t know what TPP is. We can link to a video about New Zealand’s signing ceremony regarding the TPP ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsqoh9e5utA ) to ensure that our site keeps our readers informed and constantly learning.

Feature Stunning Graphics

A blog with lots of words and no cool graphics, charts, illustrations, or photos isn’t an inviting page for visitors. Whether it’s your own photography, taken from the public domain, or purchased as stock photography, graphics should power blog posts. A strong graphic can tell the story, elicit emotion (e.g., a video of a starving baby being fed a nutritional product), or be used to entertain (e.g., a photo of an elephant-sized shamrock on St. Patrick’s Day). Can you imagine reading and enjoying content on a popular Web site that doesn’t have an accompanying picture or chart? Make it a point to do the same on your blog.

Connect with Your Readers Intellectually and Emotionally

Sure, you can provide lots of great content on your blog, but if you don’t connect with your readers on some sort of emotional level , they might not come back. Colors, imagery, and symbols all affect the mood, feelings, and emotions provoked by a blog. If you want to achieve a global reach, be aware of the color preferences of different cultural audiences and then use colors accurately and effectively. The Chinese flag, for example, is mostly red. Red also represents good fortune and happiness in China. India, on the other hand, is known as a country of saturated colors, with red and green used as standard color choices for clothing and yellow and red for traditional weddings. In the United States blue is known for trust and stability and in New Zealand red is considered a sacred color. Color symbolism can be very powerful and can make or break the success of a blog. Understand the meaning of color and you will see greater success in blogging by reaching a far wider audience worldwide.

Check Your Facts

Blogging is a little like reporting: One mistake and it can be fatal in terms of tarnishing your online reputation. Check sources and resources not once, but twice, to make sure information is reliable and accurate. If it’s hearsay, don’t blog about it.

Market the Blog

I do not believe in the theory “If you build it, they will come.” Rather, I believe in doing hard work to market your blog everywhere you and your team go. That means if you write a guest-post column for a major newspaper, your signature or byline should include a link to your blog. If you write an article for a hot online property, a link to your blog should be included. If you conduct a webinar, mention your blog at the beginning and at the end of your talk. You should also take the media outlets in which your work appears and promote them through whichever social media and networking platforms you use, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, or Pinterest.

Label Your Posts

Another thing you shouldn’t overlook is attaching labels to your blog posts to help identify your content to search engines (look back at number six in the “Plan a Web Site” section). Just because you create a blog with relevant content doesn’t mean it will be easy for readers to find. To gain insights into how to get to the top of the heap in search engines and to inspect traffic reports about your Web site and blog, visit Alexa ( http://www.alexa.com ), Google Analytics ( http://www.google.com/analytics/ ), Quantcast ( http://www.quantcast.com ), or Compete ( http://www.compete.com ).