Website Overhauls and a Nod to Jacob's New Role

Transcript

Website Strategy and Best Practices

Speaker 1 0:00

Hey everybody , welcome to this episode of the NerdBrand podcast where I'm going to talk about websites . I know it's a favorite topic of folks . It's such an exciting thing to do is build a new website . So , anyways , five website don'ts not a darn thing except strategy , blah , blah . Here we go . Welcome back to the NerdBrand Podcast . We're going to describe the do's and don'ts of creating a powerful podcast I'm kidding Website .

Speaker 1 0:53

So there is a lot of things that businesses get wrong in their website and there's a lot of things that they get right , and you know you can pick apart every little thing and then after a while it kind of gets very pessimistic sounding right Because it's like oh , this doesn't work , this doesn't work . There's always something that's not going to work . Your website's always an ongoing process . It's always an ongoing animal , but there does need to be certain things specifically that need to be focused on strategically , that need to work so that when people use it , they get the info they need . So does it serve your business goals ? I'm pretty sure everybody was like I was waiting for that , and that's kind of what it boils down to . Uh , if you're thinking about a revamp or building one from scratch , it's crucial to kind of remember that these don'ts Um , so let's don't . On number one uh , don't have someone build a website until they know how the current one is working . So think of it like this you would try to fix a car without knowing it was broken . I mean , would you do that if you were like a mechanic , even if you knew how cars work ? I mean the guy on your phone ? I mean you can imagine the phone call and how it goes . My car broke down . Well , what happened ? Well , it made a derp , derp , derp sound and on the other end , if you don't know , he's laughing at you . So , cause , he asked you that on purpose . But before you throw any money at a redesign , just understand how the current site's working .

Speaker 1 2:14

Um , what isn't working ? Are people bouncing immediately when they get to a page ? And if they are , maybe they find what they need and that's all they needed from you . Um , are they finding the information on that ? You know they're sticking around longer and it's a long form copy . I'm reading it .

Speaker 1 2:28

There's really good ways , by the way , to track this with using visual metrics . I mean you can use heat mapping , all kinds of things . There's some fun , scary tools that we have that I love to use , but anyways , analytics at the top . Get Google Analytics on your site . It's not the de facto , but it kind of is . And , honestly , if you don't have Google Analytics on your site , it's just completely operating blind . No one's going to know and you need time . This is the other thing when you're doing a website . If they're like , well , I'll get your website built in six to eight weeks , I'm going to be straight . We need that to at least do research and gather data , especially if it's been not configured correctly and isn't watching what we need it to watch , and typically that's usually the case . So a lot of the research and understanding what pages work and which ones don't are going to come out of that research and understanding . That Many stories have .

Speaker 1 3:16

I had somebody come to me for a website , do a review of the sitemap and realize they don't have analytics and it's like well , wait a minute , what if I delete this page that you want me to remove because you want all these new fancy pages now ? Well , that page could have been giving you the lion's share of your revenue over the last quarter , or maybe year over year . Would that be horrible ? Yeah , yeah , that'd be horrible . It's like amputating your own arm . So otherwise , you're just going to be guessing . So don't do that . It's a waste of time , energy , money and , um , it's not your web designer's fault . They're a web designer . So another one um , let's go on to don't .

Speaker 1 4:02

Number two . So don't build a website merely just because , um , it actually creates a lot of problems for the brand because there's going to be possibly a dilution of the message . You could confuse your audience , you could hurt your business essentially because the things you were saying you're not saying anymore and those people that maybe were return visitors are coming back , going . I don't recognize you . Recognize you and for those of you out there that you know , have people that go to the grocery stores and complain about how they keep moving things around . Well , think of your website like that . Stop moving it around . You know , let it bake a bit . You're going to find out that how you have it sitting , they're learning as you've left it , but if you change it all the time , well , they can't learn anything about you , your brand and where things are when they want to go get information from you without calling you first , right , so , and nobody does that anymore .

Speaker 1 4:49

Um , so , anyways , you need to have a defined purpose , um , so , whether is it lead generation , is it e-commerce membership , or is it just ? Are you just providing information ? Are you just saying , hello world ? Uh , you know , that's just . That's important too . Sometimes you just need the brand recognition and it's just going to serve for a place to people to go and be like hey , I know you . So there's , there's that . Okay . Now see what happens to kids when I don't have a co-host . All right , hold on . Number three . Number three don't build a website without a longriad of reasons for editing a static page on a website as opposed to a blog post which is like fully dynamic , because those come out like Facebook posts whenever you publish something . So what content will you create and how will you drive traffic to it , and how you'll nurture those leads need to be thought of .

Speaker 1 6:01

A lot of talk about SEO and social media , email marketing and how your website will fit into that picture should be brought up , because without a marketing plan , you got to ship without a rudder , and that's no fun . So , having said that , have you got a website and is it working ? Do you know if it's working ? Do you need an audit ? Do you need somebody to take a look under the hood and see if the car is going derp , derp , derp , whatever , I don't know . You fill in the blank . That's something we can do . We can figure out a strategic marketing plan that fits that brand message you've got displayed on that site . Or maybe you've got a website where you're like I like the website , I just bought it , I like what it says . I don't like what it says , but I like how it's made , I like the design . Okay , that's fine . You know websites , you can change the copy . It's just it's still time for us to come in and change copy .

Speaker 1 6:52

So most agencies are going to charge you their rate based off some hour . That I know sounds mysterious , but you have to really think about professional services and how much they cost , and if they're anywhere between 50 to $150 an hour , that's you know you can pretty much figure out like well , how many hours is it going to take ? Look , math is on you . I'm telling you how long it's going to take and it is what it is . So you know , be very , very thoughtful before you approach an agency about what do you want to do ? Because you could approach that freelancer . You could approach , and that's perfectly fine , if your budget's that small and you have to . That's what you have to do . But with an agency , you get a little bit more care and you get a bit more people thinking about um , then what now ? What you know with that ? So let's move on to don't .

Speaker 1 7:37

Number four , and this is a big one . Do not build a website with a freelancer alone and then also ask that person to manage your social media and this and that and this and that . Even if you have a small agency like ours , the and this , and that will probably diminish the original request greatly , to the point where it's just not going to work very well for either party . When it comes to reviewing at the end of the month , what in the world is going on , because there's only so many hours in a day and I like to eat and sleep Don't know about you . So it is fair to assume that I'm not 24-7 and neither is anyone else out there , frankly , that would be doing this work and so . And neither is anyone else out there , frankly , that would be doing this work and so . And it's very difficult , it's time intensive , it's intense to think on and do and execute . So I see it all the time .

Speaker 1 8:30

Freelancers can be fantastic for specific needs to manage the brand and its online presence or cohesive strategy , and sometimes , if it's starting out . But when you really get to that many like multiple marketing channels and everything , you really get to that many like multiple marketing channels and everything you really need to have an agency on board . So you know , the business , aka brand , is going to come first . Your website , your social media , content , creation everything should flow from a core brand identity . And as nerd brand , nerd brand , that's our , that's what we do as a brand agency . We make sure that it all comes out of that brand identity . It does not negate marketing or lessen it . It is a support tool for it .

Speaker 1 9:08

So often , handling everything you know to one person , especially without a clear brand strategy in place , it can really lead to a lot of inconsistencies and a diluted message across all platforms that you're talking to . I mean it's just it can go bad left unchecked . So focus on building a brand identity first and then bring in some specialists , special tasks to ensure they're all working toward the same goal . And finally , don't number five . Don't forget that people use your website primarily for information about you , your address and if you're relevant and how much it will cost , and so fancy designs and interactive features , they're nice , they're actually secondary . We always say pretty is easy , smart is hard .

Speaker 1 9:53

Here at NerdBrand , because we're trying to build something that is going to last and not necessarily the website last for five years , because technology moves at breakneck speeds but a strategy that can and be agile enough to allow for room for you know what , if something changes societally that we have to address because we have to , we can't go down that path we thought we could go down . I mean social media . You can end up with that . Maybe it's not a good time now to post that thing because , well , let me just point you to State Farm and their ads , with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito Standing in front of a house that's burning and then advertising that to the LA area and the residents . There is not a good time and that's why they pulled that ad from the Super Bowl . So you do have to think about timing and it's good to have a good team on your side that will think about those things and cover your butt as best as they can .

Speaker 1 10:47

So you know , you want to make sure that your contact details getting back to your website and location and physical presence , your pricing structure . If it's applicable , they should be front and center , easy to find . Don't bury the information in obscure pages or make it hard to find . Just be clear and , you know , use good UX design . It goes really a long way here , more than it does just something pretty . So that's pretty much it .

Speaker 1 11:15

I know this flew by because I'm a fast talker , but thank God you can rewind and listen again , and I like that because it gets a repeat listen on the podcast and that's always fun . So there you have it . There's five crucial don'ts when it comes to a website strategy . Now , if you want to know some do's , then that'll be another episode . But remember it's an investment . Your website that is . Don't look at it as an expense , please . And like any investment , it requires careful planning and strategic thinking . That's what you're paying for and that determines the difference between the costs . And so focus on your brand , understand your audience and develop a clear plan before you start building anything . Do that and you'll be on your way to having a website that actually works and you can see the ROI , because many people think that it doesn't actually provide any value or return , and that is incorrect , right ? Turn it off . Yeah , take the website down and then guess what ? You don't exist anymore . So there's your ROI . Also , I want to thank you for listening to this episode and we'll probably be talking about more things in

Promoting Jacob's Success

Speaker 1 12:33

the coming weeks .

Speaker 1 12:33

I hope to have Jacob back with me . He's out hustling doing his thing . He's become now a associate account manager , so everybody be happy for Jacob Woo . You know I can't reach the button , jacob . The board is on your side of the podcast table and I can't press it , and I know you want to do it and I'm sorry . So everybody , pretend that there's an audience clapping and a sound effect and with that I will see you all next week . And remember , keep your nerd brand strong .