Tag Archives: web design

WebSites

What to Do Once Your Affiliate Website is Live

Leave a comment

affiliate website

Congratulations on buying your domain and taking the time to set up your website! Now what? A great website is wasted if you don’t use it right. Read on for what to do now that your affiliate website is ready for business.

Let People Know

Now is a great time to follow up with everyone you told about your new website. Maybe you told friends you were working on it, or have been putting off customers waiting for your new site to be ready. Now is the time to reach out! Send a personal email to everyone who has been waiting for your website and direct them to it. If this site is an update to previous website, go through your old mailing list to let past customers know of your new address. Lastly, share your big news and links to your site on social media. This is a great way to hit a large audience at once and find some new visitors to your page.

Find New Customers

One way to find new customers with a new website is by ensuring your content has good SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and refers to using the right keywords and phrases to drive traffic to your site and earn higher rankings with search engines. Identify several keywords and keyword phrases that apply to your business. Next use a tool like KeywordTool.io to idenify which of these phrases and words are more powerful in driving traffic. Then use these keywords throughout your website to ensure they are picked up by search engines.

Keep Content Consistent

You’ve no doubt put a lot of effort into creating just the right content for your website, but don’t let that content get stale. To keep visitors coming back, keep content updated frequently. One easy way to do that is to add a blog. With a blog, you can share updates frequently without having to edit your entire website. A blog can demonstrate to your visitors that your website is managed well and that you are available should someone need to reach out. Also make sure business information like address and hours are always up to date. The best way to get and keep customers and traffic is to share the most up-to-date and accurate information possible.

Plan for Updates

Just like you need to keep your content fresh, you need to keep your website design looking fresh too. Make updates to your website design as needed. If you find people aren’t clicking the “Contact Us” button as frequently as you hope, perhaps move it to a more prominent place. Invite feedback from your customers and friends on your website design and makes changes accordingly to make site visits as effective as possible. Last, try to look at your site through new eyes every few months. Is there something that needs to be changed? Is the design serving its purpose. Remember, once your website is complete, the work has just begun!

 

Interested in Affiliate Marketing with GDI? Click Below to Learn More! 

affiliate marketing

 

WebSites

How to Avoid Web Design Pitfalls

Leave a comment

avoid web design pitfalls

When used right, your website is your number one marketing tool. It can be your space for others to learn more about GDI, affiliate marketing and who you are. Your website gives people the chance to see what can be done with GDI’s site building tools and plugins. Creating a clean, easy to navigate website can be simple, but there are also many pitfalls to look out for. Read on for how to avoid some of the most common website pitfalls.

Poor Quality Images

Images are essential to a visually interesting website, but the wrong images can drive your traffic away. Always test images on your website before adding them and publishing your site. Images may look OK in the preview, but blurry on your website. It’s not necessary to use high resolution images on your website as these can take up lots of space. Just make sure your image looks clear and sized properly for your site.

Poor Navigation

GDI offers WordPress and SiteBuilder to help you build your website. These services come with themes that include easy navigation and menu building for a reason–good menus are an important feature of a successful website. If you want people to visit many pages on your site, you need to make it easy for them. Menus necessary to navigate your site should be at the top or side of the page so they are easy to see. Make sure every page on your website can be accessed from these menus.

No Linkbacks

Direct traffic to your website is important, but in this highly connected digital world much of your traffic will come from referrals. Referrals are website visits that come from outside sources and pages. You can gain referral traffic by sharing your website on social media or working with other affiliates to share links. Linkbacks to your website helps to verify it through search engines and appear higher in search results.

No Goal Conversion

What do you want people to do when they visit your website? Fill out a contact form? Sign up for a newsletter? What you want people to do on your website should dictate how you build it and how it is designed. Always keep your end goal in mind and make sure website visitors can accomplish it with just a few clicks if needed.

Too Many Distractions

It’s easy to get wrapped up in adding fun things to your website like GIFs, photos, and animations, but use these things sparingly. Too many distractions can make your website seem unprofessional or make it difficult for people to accomplish what you want them to on your site. Use images where it is necessary to explain a concept or break up text. Use GIFs and animation only when they can help your business, like GDI’s animated banners that link to your signup page.

Grammar, Spelling

Nothing makes a website seem unprofessional quite like a spelling mistake or typo. Though these mistakes are simply accidents, it can make it seem like your are careless. Proofread your website frequently and anytime you add new content. Copy all the text from your website and run it through a spell check. If you can, have a friend proofread your website any time you update it.

 

Interested in Affiliate Marketing with GDI? Click Below to Learn More! 

affiliate marketing

WebSites

Using Photos on Your Website or Blog

Leave a comment

Using Photos in Your Website or Blog

 

Using photos on your website is essential — photos break up text, can help explain difficult concepts, and generally keep site visitor’s interest. However, to make sure your photos are supporting your website in the way you need, follow the guidelines below.

Permission

Websites like Creative Commons or Flickr are great resources for photos taken by others that you can use on your site. However, many of these photos have stipulations for their use, often you need to attribute the original owner and link to their website. Be sure to check for the requirements before adding a photo to your website. If you see a photo you like on a website, you can also try to reach out to the site own to ask for permission to use that photo. If you can’t get permission, do not use the photo.

Quality

Photos can make your website look more professional,  but only if they are of the right quality. This means what the photo actually looks like. Is the photo you want to use blurry or pixelated? Don’t use it. Sometimes photos can look good at one size, but not bigger. It’s important to always check your website after adding a photo. What looks good in the editing box may not look good when you view your website from the front end. If you can’t find a quality photo, don’t use it.

Screen Shots

Screen shots are an easy way to include photos on your website or blog post without having to track down photos or worry about permission. You own screenshots because you created them. Consider adding screenshots in a blog post that shares tips on website design. Screenshots also offer great proof to your success with GDI. Share screenshots of your monthly payments or your ever-growing downline. Use programs like Paint to highlight or circle parts of your screen that you want  others to be directed, like your commission amounts.