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Transcript of AM Website Planning Workbook
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This eBook was published by Abnormal Marketing in 2011. The eBook, which is valued at
$19.97, is free and for instructional use only.
You can distribute the book however you like so long as it is given away for free and you do
not alter the content in any way. We encourage you to share it with anyone who you think
can benefit from the information contained within this eBook.
Legal Notice:
While all attempts have been made to verify the information in this publication, neither the
Author nor Publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary
interpretations of the subject matter herein.
This publication is not intended as a source of legal or accounting advice. The publisher
wants to stress that the information contained herein may be subject to varying state/local
laws or regulations. All users are advised to retain competent legal counsel to determine
what state and/or local laws or regulation may apply to the users particular business.
The Purchaser or Reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the use of these
materials and information. Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, federal, state
and local governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising and all other
aspects of doing business in Australia or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of
the Purchaser or Reader.
The Author and Publisher assume no responsibility or liability, whatsoever on the behalf of
the Purchaser or Reader of these materials.
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Welcome to our Website Planning
Workbook
Having a business website is more important now than any other
time before in business history it is a marketing necessity.
However there is more confusion than ever before about exactly
how much time and money needs to be invested to obtain an
effective business website.
Interestingly, the investment required to obtain a website has gone
through a huge curve of change:
Firstly, websites were only for businesses with $10,000 min to spend
(1999 2006).
Secondly, websites became A LOT cheaper as technology changed
and new platforms arose, and suddenly $100 could get you a website
(2007 2011).
Thirdly, a lot of businesses who got a website previously, have now
discovered that its not bringing in the tonnes of new customers and
new business they expected. Also the search engines have changed,
social media is booming, and a new kind of website is needed.
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So 2011, brings a new era of business website. $100 wont work
anymore, and you only need to spend $10,000 for an amazing portal
or fancy eCommerce site with bells.
Website solutions which are fairly priced are now available...
But are they enough?
If you dont have a proper online marketing ePlan, if you are not
using all the tools available, and investing on an ongoing basis, then
just having a website may not be enough.
But the BEST start is planning.
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Table of Contents
1. Purpose of your Website
2. Hosting and Domain Name
3. Site Organisation (Sitemap)
4. Content
5. Colours and Design Inspiration
6. Navigation System
7. Photos and Videos
8. Contact Form
9. Post Launch Promotion
10. Maintenance
11. Monitoring and Tracking
12. Budget
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1 Purpose of your Website
Is it very important in the early stages of website planning to
determine your exact reason you are investing in a website.
To establish an internet presence
To extend your current advertising (radio, flyers, newspapers,
etc.)
To enhance your companys professional image
To offer company information and give customers a favourable
impression
To educate customers and potential customers
To provide better customer service
To increase public awareness of our companys name, brand or
identity
To strengthen your position in the marketplace
To strengthen brand identification
To develop a list of qualified prospects
To increase sales
To sell products directly over the Internet (e-commerce)
To make product/ service information available to current
customers
To make product/ service information available to distributors
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To serve the needs of current and future clients
To explain your products and services
To encourage potential customers to contact you by phone or
e-mail
To close a sale
To bring in new clients or customers to your location
To compete in the global marketplace
To offer links to other relevant sites
To offer a virtual community, a place where users can interact
with each other
Which are the most important 3 to you:
1.______________________________________
2.______________________________________
3.______________________________________
Ultimately, you need to know the single, most important purpose
for your website, and everything in your website should point to
that. Then your website visitors wont be distracted and will know
exactly what to do when they visit your site.
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2 Hosting and Domain Name
Domain Name
Your Domain Name is the actual web address where people will find
your website www.yourcompany.com or www.yourcompany.com.au
If your business is a common or popular name, you may need to be
creative in determining which address you purchase, as it may
already be taken. It is best to keep in mind, that you choose an
address which is easy to remember and not too complicated.
Hosting
The Hosting is the server which will hold the actual code and content
of your website, and broadcast it onto the World Wide Web.
The most affordable option is to buy space on a shared server. You
can expect a reasonable level of service, if you choose to spend
between $6 and $10 per month. It may be a good idea to check
reviews before choosing your host, as the level of service can vary
enormously.
We can recommend some more reliable hosting companies if youd
after one.
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3 Site Organisation & Sitemap
You need to decide exactly what content will appear on your
website, and the first selection you must make is what major pages
will be visible on your homepage. Some popular considerations
include:
About Us
News (or embed a Blog)
Products
o_________________
o_________________
o_________________
Services
o_________________
o_________________
o_________________
Image Gallery
FAQs
Links
Press
Contact Us
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
Other:
_____________________
_____________________
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Total Number of Pages: _______________
Sitemap
Creating a Sitemap is a good idea, so you can understand how your website will
flow:
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Website Planning Workbook
11Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
4 Website Content
Content is the text (words) and images (photos/ videos) that will make up the
pages of your website. When writing the text for your site, it may help to keep
a couple of keywords or keyword phrases in mind. This will help with your SEO
(search engine optimisation).
We advise that you create 1 x Word document file for each page of content you
intend on using, and to keep all the docs in one folder.
You can use this table below to keep track of exactly how many pages of
content you have:
Content Page/
Details
Word Doc File
Name
No of Words Photo or Video
file names
Eg. About Us About-Us.doc 213 Team-photo.jpg
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Website Planning Workbook
12Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
5 Colours and Design Inspiration
It may be a good idea to offer your designer as much as possible to help them
determine the overall layout and feel of your website. The colour and design
may be the first thing you want to focus on, but it really is just one of the
elements which must be considered as part of your website development
marketing strategy.
You should provide your designer with:
Business Cards
Business Brochures or Leaflets
Your Business Logo
Your Business RGB colour codes
Your Business official font (if known)
You should also communicate to your designer:
Your preference for colour, if not already in your
materials_____________________
If your business engages in Social Media, which icons would you like to
show:
o________________________________________
o________________________________________
o________________________________________
o________________________________________
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Website Planning Workbook
13Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
Your preference for style corporate, contemporary, arty, unique
o________________________________________
o________________________________________
o________________________________________
Other websites you like:
o________________________________________
o________________________________________
o________________________________________
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14Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
6 Navigation System
Once the Colours and Business Brand is considered, the next part is to consider
the layout of the website/ homepage, and how the navigation system will work.
Do you want your website to be 1 column, 2 columns or 3 columns? What do
you want in your Top Menu? In your Side Menu? In your Footer Menu?
Do you want all these menus to show, regardless of what page your viewer is
on?
Layout Example:
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15Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
7 Photos and Videos
Not everybody likes text. Sometimes you can give a much better impression
with an image. It is important to have text, since this is what the search engine
spiders read to rank your website, but having images can relay your impression
or message better to your potential customers.
In adding photos and videos to your website, you need to consider:
Will you have a Photo Gallery? Or just carefully selected images pasted
across your website?
Will you be providing video content? Will this be hosted on your website,
or on an alternative website or social network like YouTube or Vimeo?
How often will you replace the images? Or how often will you plan to be
uploading new images?
As soon as you have decided to launch or re-design your website, you should
start collating images together. Of course the images have to be a certain level
of quality, with appropriate angles, good lighting, and a professional
appearance.
You may also opt to choose some stock images as well, and Abnormal can
help with choosing these for you. But a website with only stock images feels a
little cold, so we recommend at least a couple of real photos too.
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Website Planning Workbook
16Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
The aim with photos is to show you are a real business, and you can be trusted.
Start collecting photos and videos for your website, and saving them into a
folder. Its important to keep your website up-to-date with fresh photos as well,
at least once every 6 12 months.
Image Name Date of Image/
Photo
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17Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
8 Contact Forms
Of course, the reason for having a website is so that people can contact you. So
you really need your business address and phone number/s available.
As an alternative to pasting the email address on your website, we may suggest
that you use a built-in Contact Form. You can choose more than one contact
form:
Contact Us Generic Form
Request a Quote
Answer a Survey Question
A contact form guides the user to providing the information you require, so that
you can best serve them.
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Website Planning Workbook
18Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
9 Post Website Launch Promotion!
Once your website is launched onto the internet, the key is to get people
(preferably potential customers) to find you, view the site, and take action
bookmark or contact.
Here are a few suggestions you may want to consider:
SEO
Just because your site is on the internet, doesnt mean it will appear in the
Search Engines (like Google) or be easily found by your target market.
SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a skill and takes time and energy, to
optimise the website, not only in the beginning, but on an ongoing basis so that
your site will appear where you need to appear.
It normally takes a couple of months to get ranked, so dont expect amazing
results in a day. It is very important to continue to invest in your website, so
that your website will perform for you.
Press Release (PR)
A good idea after the launch is to craft and send out a Press Release. This is a
great way to get local journalists, and journalists accessing the online PR portals
to view your website, and possibly use your press release to help you promote
it.
You can also send a modified press release to your existing customers.
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Website Planning Workbook
19Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
Stationery and In-Business
Add your web address to your letterhead, business cards, email signatures,
business newsletter, company cars, business signs and display advertising
Social Media
If you dabble in Social Media Networking on behalf of your business, the web
address should be added to all your social media profiles. It should also be
communicated to your followers on Facebook/ Twitter, and they should be
encouraged to view your site and offer feedback.
SEM
There are many options now to invest in SEM (Search Engine Marketing) across
the internet, which is online paid advertising. You can pay for:
PPC/ Google Adwords/ Facebook Adwords
Online Banners
Listings in Local Business Directories/ Online Yellow Pages
Start an E-Newsletter
This is a great way to keep viewer coming back to your website. You can even
offer them a valuable freebie to subscribe, but then you must keep sending
them amazing information and content on a regular basis to keep your
newsletter worthwhile.
You could email out the newsletter weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
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Website Planning Workbook
20Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
10 Maintenance
Your website should be an invaluable tool in your Marketing Plan, and after the
website is launched, it is imperative that time is taken to maintain the website
on a regular basis.
This comes back to your original plan, but you need to allocate 1 person in your
business to be responsible for the website, and the maintenance.
If you do not have the time or resources to do this, Abnormal can help you.
Basically the monthly website maintenance should include:
A Monthly Back-Up of your entire site as insurance in case something
happens to the server where your website is hosted.
Checking that all the content is up-to-date, and removing or adding
content if necessary
Monitor your Uptime to ensure your host is doing its job
Make sure Release/Production software patches are applied
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Website Planning Workbook
21Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
11 Monitoring and Tracking
As mentioned before, a website should be an investment, and should be
delivering a return on your money (ROI). So its imperative you review and
monitor your website on at least a monthly basis, to ensure it is performing as
well as it could be.
There are a great range of tools and services across the web that can help you
with this. The first tool I would recommend is:
Google Analytics
This program can give you a good idea, how many people are coming to your
site, exactly where in the world they are coming from, which pages they are
viewing, how long they are staying on your site, which keywords are driving
traffic to your site, and many more great facts.
It is very easy to set up an account and currently it is free. Its just a matter of
taking the time every month to visit, and monitor how your site is doing, so that
you can make appropriate changes to your website if required.
Google Webmaster
At Google Webmaster Central, you can access their webmaster tool, which is
designed to check data about crawling, indexing and search traffic on your
website. The tool can also notify you regarding any problems that it detects on
your site.
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Website Planning Workbook
22Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
There are many other programs available across the web, for a premium of
course. Some of these include:
Web Metrics
GFI
Site24X7
Marketo
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23Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
12 Budget
Now that you understand everything that goes into planning, setting up,
launching, managing and monitoring your website, you need to set an initial
budget, as well as an ongoing budget.
If you want your website to rank well in the search engines (like Google), and
you want to get as many visitors as you can, to convert into your clients you are
going to have to spend wisely and continuously.
Item Upfront
Costs
Ongoing Costs
(per month)
Website Design and Development
Hosting
Domain Name
Monthly Maintenance
Monitoring and Tracking
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Public Relations (PR)
Social Media Community Management
Copywriting/ Blogging
Search Engine Marketing (SEM/PPC)
E-Newsletter
Other/ Misc
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Website Planning Workbook
24Copyright 2011 Abnormal Marketing - All Rights Reserved
Website Planning Workbook CHECKLIST
To get you started, here is a summarized checklist for you and your business:
STEPS TO ACHIEVE DONE
1. Determine Main Purpose2. Buy Domain Name and Hosting3. Decide on Site Organisation (Sitemap)4. Write Website Content and File5. Decide on Colours and Design6. Decide on preferred Navigation System7. Take or Collate Photos/ Videos and File8. Decide what Contact Forms you will use9. Decide on initial website promotion and what
ongoing promotion you will do
10.Set up a Maintenance Plan11.Establish your tools for Monitoring and
Tracking
12.Work out your initial and ongoing Budget
I hope you found this eBook helpful. We welcome your questions and feedback
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Website Planning Workbook
About the Author
Fiona McEachran is at the forefront of helping small
businesses with their online marketing and
establishing a profitable web presence.
As a Marketing Media Consultant, aspiring Speaker,
Blogger and Partner at
www.AbnormalMarketing.com, Fiona understands
more than ever the importance of being truly
abnormal to stand out in todays competitive marketplace. Fionas philosophy of going
against the grain, and using the latest technologies available to boost small business
marketing results, makes up the foundation of Abnormal.
Fionas core experience lies in social media marketing involving creating plans and
strategies, incorporating brands and communications. And through the
www.OnlineMarketingSuccessClub.comFiona also provides a range of online marketing
training for business owners who want to take charge and get their marketing on track by
methods including building a business blog, maximising the social media networks, creating
or updating a marketing plan, and launching a new campaign.
Fiona and her team at Abnormal Marketing can also devise website plans which incorporate
web design, mobile technology, copywriting, SEO and PPC.
If you are looking for help with online marketing activities for your business please contact
Fiona at Abnormal at [email protected]