But does one site fit all?

(Yes, I admit to feeling a little “Carrie Bradshaw of Web Marketing” as I type this)

Organizations have all shapes and sizes of target markets, products and services.  I challenge you to critically evaluate who you are, what you do and who you serve…then look at your website(s) and web marketing strategy and ask yourself if the people you are trying to reach and serve are truly being served well with your efforts.

Web Marketing Therapy invested in some of our own web therapy and are in the process of making site optimizations.  We had to change the message on both our home page and about page (and we are adding a new agency services page, updating the blog and adding design bling to the home page this month) because we stepped back, looked long and hard at the site and realized that were not best communicating and serving great people like you who use our site!  Sure, I had an ego-dent moment for about a minute and a half when I had to accept that my website copy (that I poured my love into) wasn’t cutting it.  Then I took a marketing chill pill and realized that it was more important to say clearly:

–Who We Are (A fun Learning Resource and full-service Marketing Agency)

–What We Do (Diagnose and prescribe cures for greater web health and wealth to maximize your strategic web presence and sales power via educational empowerment!)

–Who We Serve (businesses, entrepreneurs and marketers!)

…then guide people to where they needed to go via design and easy navigation

**stay tuned for site updates!!  Thanks to Pamela and Emilia for your copy support and to the Wild Web Women for input and thank you to SiteGoals for (once again!) getting our vision and supporting us!**

Sometimes one site does not fit all and it’s wise to create multiple sites for different audiences or make your home page a north star that guides the “all” types of folks who come to you for various products and services.

It’s the wild, wild web.  There are no rules, the answers to your success start with you…if you are willing to look hard at your web marketing efforts.

Web marketing is a commitment – the only constant is change.

I don’t want to hear that you spent a lot on your website and can’t afford to make changes or that you already have a site but just need to get more people to it.

Your website is your web marketing’s nucleus – your web marketing core.  If your core is not fully functional, stop, drop and roll your professional selves into a site self-analysis.

…or call me for some tough love

Links back to a web design firm off your site provide them with free marketing and the more links they have back to their site also supports their search engine optimization efforts.

I have a hard time being ok with paying firms to do work then giving them free ad space/SEO for the life of your website…I usually nix this link and only release the “ok” to add the link when the site is done and if the firm/designer/developer EARNED the link by doing a great job and being a pleasure to work with.

If you allow your web designer to have a link back to their site, it has to be YOUR CHOICE.

I made a personal and professional choice to have SiteGoals (the firm who built Web Marketing Therapy) have their link in the footer of our website because:

1. They are a pleasure to partner with and I love to boast that they built our site (it was a great collaboration)

2. The link is subtle and does not compete with my content

3. They promote me on their Austin Website Design site, so they pay it back to us

I refer their great work and their approach to work is identical to ours.  They partner with companies and offer value and solutions, just like we do.  I’m happy to tell everyone who built our site!

Kate McMillan, our Web Design Wonkette, asks up front about adding links to her personal design website when she contracts for web design, so know to watch for these terms in contracts and if this is not in the contract, you don’t have to have the designer’s website link on yours.

Your website is YOUR WEBSITE.  Don’t forget that!