Getting Ready to Build a Website

Building your own website is not difficult, there are many great programs to use, people do it every day. But, it is like moving. Chances are you know you want to move, you know you have to move, but you are not packed, don't have a map, don't know where you are going, have wrong information about where you are going and don't know how to get there.

One of the most common issues I run into with new clients is a lack of content. After we get past how much the website is going to cost and start planning it, I ask about content. I usually get a blank stare, or they offer me a token 3 pages of information. Then I have to go into my long, boring, "all about content" speech...which you are getting right now.

If this is your first website, you are probably not thinking in terms of performance or the website making you money, you are thinking about how it looks. Focusing on looks primarily can lead you into a ditch. At the end of the day, after your website is built and you are used to it and have had it for a year or so, the newness wears off and you start to focus on the real elements of the website: functionality and traffic.

Without going into great detail about SEO, it is fair to say that if there was one singular item that will enable the success of your website it is content. New, fresh, original content, and you probably don't have much of it.

You are better off if you start to develop your content before you start building your website. If you have your content ready to go, that means you are ready to start building your site, you are ready to move. It makes it much easier on the person or company building the website also. Developing your content and building a website are two different things and it is easier to do one at a time.

At the core of good content is keywords. When I say successful, I mean you get as much free traffic as you can, from the people who have a good chance of buying from you or using your services, not lookie loos or tire kickers, real prospective customers.

One of the easiest ways to get an idea of good keywords is to use the free Google keyword tool. Type in just one of your main words and see what pops up, make a list, remove ones that are not relevant or you don't think will bring the right traffic and you should have a good list to work from.

The main words should be the main navigation items of your new site. The main nav items should have pages that have the main keyword in the file name, page title and at least one H1 tag. Use the other related words on that main page. You can find related words when you type in the main word. If you can prepare at least 15 to 25 pages of content, organized by keyword, then you are ready to build your new website.

Bear in mind that the more original, relevant copy you have on your site, the greater chance you have of people linking to it. It must be updated and added to often, but that is a subject for another article.

An easy way to develop good content is to make a list of the top ten questions your customers ask you, the most common. Write them down and then answer them, in detail. Then think of all the questions your customers should be asking you but are not. Write those down, with detailed answers. If this technique doesn't give you a good amount of content, pretend you are at a mixer or social gathering and people are asking you about your business, what would they ask? How would you answer? This can be another good technique for coming up with good copy.

For most of us, writing is difficult. If you are blessed with the ability to write, know that you are a special person in terms of the Internet. One of the most valuable things on the Web is original content. Original content is like honey to the bee in terms of traffic, so if you can write you have one up on everyone else.

If writing is hard work, like it is for me, you may want to hire a copywriter. Copywriters are not as expensive as you think, most are easy to work with and many are SEO and Web savvy. Many of my clients will have a brief phone conversation with a copywriter and we will receive well written, SEO'd content within a day or so...ready to go on the website, it is well worth the money.

After you have your content, then it is time to look at layout. Look at your competitors and compare your website to theirs. Make sure to position yourself against your competitors. Make sure you site can be navigated easily and people can find what they are looking for quickly.

Martin Walker is the President and CEO of Walker SEO, an SEO firm based in Southern California.