How will you bring traffic to your website?
No traffic. This is always the biggest shock website customers get once their website goes live. The reality is, most web developers are experts in making websites and not in making website traffic. When buying a website, it is critical to start thinking about how you are going to bring traffic to your website once you get online.
1 — Paying for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Services
Getting to the top of Google and Bing search results means more traffic to your website. More traffic means more customers. Optimizing for search engines, however, requires a tremendous amount of expertise, the utilization of expensive SEO tools, and a wide range of skills, including proficiency in software development, graphic design, copywriting. As a result, SEO services can be expensive. Expect to pay in the range of $500 to $1,000 per month.
SEO Services: $500-1,000/month
2 — Paying for digital advertisements such as Google Search and Facebook ads
Another great way to generate traffic to your website is to advertise on search engines and social media. But, as many small business owners can attest to, navigating the advertising tools created by Facebook and Google can be a nightmare. Making a mistake can be extremely costly, and making a mistake is easy when you’re fumbling through complex interfaces.
The reason these interfaces are complex, however, is because they provide a great degree of power and control over effective digital advertising. A monumental task for a novice, yet a master of digital advertising can interact effervescently. Without a seasoned professional at the helm, digital advertising can be more like gambling at the casino than investing in an advertisement. Expect to pay $750 to $2,500 per month to get help making advertisements that net a positive return on investment.
Digital Advertising Management: $750-2,500/month
How will your website turn its visitors into customers?
At Objektiv Digital, we like to say that having a flashy website that does not make sales is like having a Ferrari sports car with no engine. If you are paying for a website to grow your business, it cannot fall short in the many problems that need to be resolved when creating a website.
3 — Paying for copywriting optimized to convert website visitors into paying customers and leads
The most powerful way to turn a website visitor into a customer is through the power of storytelling. To tell a compelling story designed for desired customer actions (such as walking into your storefront, booking an appointment, signing up to your newsletter, etc.), you need a professional copywriter that is seasoned at writing landing page copy that has headers that grab peoples’ attention and body copy that compels visitors to click your call-to-action, all while cohesively telling an engaging story. Copywriting like this can cost between $850 to $1,500.
Landing Page Copywriting: $850-1500 one-time fee
4 — Ensuring your website loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and not unbearably ugly
If your website is slow, is not compatible with phones (over 50% of web traffic is on mobile!), or is unprofessionally designed will instantly turn away your potential customers. The most compelling copywriting in the world won’t matter if your website takes more than 3 seconds to load — people will have already walked away before seeing a single word on your page.
Mobile users don’t want to have to fumble around zooming in and out, reading tiny text, clicking the wrong links, or any of the other problems a website not designed for a mobile device present. Not only is it a frustrating experience, but it reflects poorly on your company’s image. Speaking of a poor reflection of company image, an ugly design can do the same thing! If your website is ugly, people can have a hard time taking you seriously as a credible source of information. That is if they haven’t left your website in disgust already.
Professional web design and development: $2,000-10,000 one-time fee plus $100-300/month for maintenance
Conclusion
There are many factors that play into a holistic digital marketing approach to your website. Without proper consideration of all factors, your time and money put into a website can easily fall short. Having a great website is only half of the picture. Bringing traffic to it is equally as important. That traffic must convert, and they must find your website enjoyable to navigate.
