So much time and energy (not to mention money) has gone into creating your website. It's 'live' on the interwebs. You might have even share it with a few people, family and friends. BUT NOW WHAT?
Your website going live is just the beginning.
Google Set Up
If you're working with us here at Simple Tradie Websites this bit is always done. But that's not true for all website build projects we've seen over the years. There's many developers who create a site, tick that box, then move on and don't even connect it to be indexed by Google!
Here's what you need to ask your developer to do:
Make sure the whole site is 'live' to be indexed (there's a toggle button at site level)
Ensure each page is also set to be indexed
Include an H1/Title Tag for your search results to show the right informaiton
Add meta descriptions to each page to help humans understand what the page is about
Connect the sitemap to Google Search Console to Google knows you want it indexed (and you can check there how many pages show up and cross check with how many on your site)
Connect to BING Webmaster tools (there's plenty of Microsoft users whose this default search engine and not Google)
Include the Facebook Pixel so you can retarget audiences who visit your site with Facebook/Instagram ads
Add the Google Tag. Tag Manager gives you the ability to add and updates your own tags for conversion tracking, site analytics, remarking and more.
Make sure your images have alt tags
Blogs
Lots of trades business owners would roll their eyes at this one. Why would you want to add a blog? Think if it as another chance for some SEO keywords on your site, and a page people might find when they're searching for the topic your blog is about.
Each blog post has it's own keyword focus. Think specifics for your geographic location, typical questions people might have that you can answer in a blog, share about a product you always use that people are likely to search for and so much more.
Blogs are something you can easily outsource, so don't worry if you think you're 'not good with words'. That's what copywriters are for. Not sure how to find one or what to ask - contact us and we can help.
Check the links regularly
Got any links from your site to anything else? Keep checking they are working. It's so frustrating as a website visitor if they aren't.
Set up for email marketing
When people fill in your contact form, or ask for a quote from your website, are you sending them an auto response email? Most websites have a standard pop up box that says 'thanks for getting in touch, we'll get back to you shortly' but that's not enough.
If they are keen enough to give you their details, an email response you can automate is better customer service, and will keep you top of mind.
You can use the built in email features in the Wix platform, or integrate another app like Mailerlite, or use something with more grunt like Keap.
Say something like:
Thanks so much for your enquiry, we'll be back to you in the next two days. In the meantime, go ahead and check out the resources on our website relating to <topics>, OR, check out our latest projects and designs and get inspired...
You get the gist. Not loads of words, just a quick message to let them know they are important to you.
That's probably enough for now...
There's other things to do to maximise your keywords like Google My Business, geting backlinks to your site from trusted website for more authority. But we can cover that another day.
For now, the most important part is being indexed by Google, so check with your developer, or get in touch with us to start your own website project.