The first step when starting a successful website is to develop a solid website strategy. The web strategy, based on your business and marketing strategy, includes important decisions that will influence the first building blocks used when creating your website.

Too many businesses find their websites insufficient after a year or two, because they did not fully consider the long term requirements for their website in the planning phase.

One must also understand that as the online industry itself advances, customers come to expect a user friendly website that meets their needs. As your competitor no doubt knows, ongoing website improvements and upgrades are essential in meeting customer demands.

It is therefore imperative that you continuously revise your online setup and strategy to ensure that you reach you monthly online business goals.

SEO Consulting assists in establishing an initial website strategy using the following steps:

Step1: Identify the website target audience

Your target audience will dictate your content, design and your marketing approach. If you have an established marketing plan, your target audience might very well already been identified. If this is not the case, a clear idea of who will be targeted by the website must be formulated.


Step 2: Identify what typically appeals to this target audience

Questions which should be answered during this step:

1. What are the expectations of a customer (in this target audience) from a website such as yours?
2. Are you planning on providing the information and features in question?

It is important that your website, at the very least, meets the minimum expectations of your customers.


Step3: Identify how other websites (your competition) are reaching out to your target audience.

SEO Consulting studies the top websites in the same market as your product. This process identifies key elements missing from your online visibility strategy. The following elements are studied:

• Utilised website technology
• Website design
• Website artwork and
• Website content.

Step 4: Identify what other websites (your competition) are doing to get high search engine rankings.

SEO Consulting studies the top 5 websites ranked on Google, Yahoo and MSN. On-page and Off-page factors are investigated to understand why the websites are ranking well.

Step 5: Identify how your website will stand out above the competition.

Questions one must answer during this step:

1. What must I do to ensure that users will go to my website instead of the competitors’ sites?
2. Why will users buy from my website?
3. What makes the website unique, a cut above the rest and even irreplaceable?