It’s finally happened…your business just got a brand new website. It may or may not have been designed by our agency exactly, but it’s there, clear as day, and you and your staff are obviously eager to celebrate that fact.
Now think about the day that comes after…what exactly comes next?
The honeymoon phase of your new website is over; now you have to really start using it. Otherwise, why even bother hiring an agency to begin with? To help you out, here are our tips on the things you need to do after your new business website has been launched.
- Get the Word Out NOW!
This is obviously a big moment for you and your company, so announce it to your customers first and foremost. Make this announcement through whichever social media your company uses the most. Send an e-newsletter that includes the web address and a fresh new blog post to start with.
Once the word is out, move on to the next step:
- Keep Producing Fresh Content
Just because the biggest tool in your marketing kit (your website) is now live does not mean you can leave it unattended to. Get your website agency to create fresh content for you in the form of blog posts. If you prefer other mediums such as videos and graphic design, there’s an avenue for that at your agency as well; you’d only have to ask.
By doing this, you are in turn continuing to tell Google that “Hey, my business exists, here’s proof of that” (or at least something along those lines!). Ensuring this content is as optimized for search engines as the rest of your website as well can also go a long way in terms of ranking.
And speaking of ranks…the third step you need to make.
- Monitor Your Stats
This part can be easily done by having a Google Analytics account set up and then attached to your website. You can start this yourself or ask your agency to set it up for you. If you want to do it yourself and your new site is a WordPress one, here are the steps you can take in one of our 3-parter articles. Be sure to read part 1 and part 2 beforehand if you’re especially new to Analytics as a whole!
Once this task is done, it’s time to monitor Analytics and make sure your campaigns, SEO, and current traffic is doing well or if improvements need to be made. Other tools that can help you determine the health of your new website include the insights tools found within your own social media accounts.
- Run a Backup
A backup of your brand new website post-launch will give you the peace of mind you need to carry on with business as usual. By having a backup (as well as routine ones, which your agency can provide), you can revert your website back to these smooth and shiny features in the event a new plugin or aspect you decide to have installed afterwards wrecks the way the site functions.
Another good reason to backup your new website is to have something to fall back on if your business suddenly becomes prone to cybercrime. Though this happens to most businesses, again, having a backup is a great preventive action to avoid severe losses. You can ask your agency to run a backup once the site has been officially launched for best results, and keep creating backups afterwards just in case.
If V3 has developed your new site (or you are on one of our WP Care+ maintenance plans) then this isn’t even a concern for you as we backup your site daily and store copies of your entire account on a backup server on the other side of the country. We’ve got you covered!
- Add Your Website to Google My Business
Now that you have a website to promote, you can tell Google it exists. Set up a Google My Business account (or have your agency do that for your sake) and include your new website’s address in the final profile. Other details that are worth mentioning are the hours of operation, phone number, categories and tags, and any photos you can spare. There are several other options you can provide to make your listing even more unique. In addition to doing this, you’re allowing your customers to leave reviews of your business should they feel they want to.
Other directories that are worth adding your new website to? Social media for sure, as well as Angie’s List, WebMD (if you’re in the medical profession), Yelp, and your local Chamber of Commerce’s website. Make sure that the NAP (name, address, and phone number) are consistent across every single listing for best results. These directories in particular are trusted by businesses all across Canada, meaning if your competition is on there, then so should you be!
We’re With You at Every Step
Just because we develop websites for a living does not mean we leave them unattended to after the fact! From hosting to monitoring for malware and other security issues, consider our agency to be your best tool in the kit for ensuring your business is not only found online, but also accessible and trusted at every turn. From pre-launch to post-launch, we’ve been building and managing websites for business owners for the past 3 decades. Give us a call if you’d like to get a new website off the ground and want a reliable agency by your side during whatever phase your site is going through.