We finally ended up choosing Pizza Gallery & Grill to receive this kick-arse free web package. We had the absolute hardest time picking the right one. It took a few rounds of evaluation and consideration. Pizza Gallery & Grill’s site was ready for some sprucing up, but what pushed them across the finish line was how obvious it was that their web presence mattered to them. A big congratulations to Pizza Gallery & Grill.

Stay tuned to the blog as we progress through their project. We are using this as an opportunity to share our process and thinking that goes into building a new website for a client.

We’re going to devote our next several blog posts to this subject and guide you through our approach and philosophy here. The extra steps we take with our projects and why you really get what you pay for in our industry.

Step 1: Goals and Objectives

Before every other step in the project we need to clearly understand our client’s goals and objectives. We break this into three distinct areas:

1. What are the site’s goals?
2. What do your visitors want?
3. What does your staff want?

Site Goals

What do you want your site to do? What does success look like? Obvious questions, right? You would think so, but there seem to be an endless supply of sites that have no clear purpose. The “We just want a web presence” website is not good enough anymore. Just ask your customers.
Take the time to define some clear and measurable goals for the site. Be specific if you can. All other decisions after this point should contribute to these goals and objectives.

What do your visitors want?

OK, so you have set some goals for your site. Now you need to consider who your visitors are and what they will want from your site while maintaining alignment with your overall goals. If you can’t meet their needs then their visit will be short and you won’t see any results.

It seems simple, but it is rare that a site is built from the perspective of the visitors. More often a website is built based on what a business wants the public to see of them and their services, rather than thinking of how the site might better aid their customers or prospects.

When capturing the detailed needs of your client’s customer, we sometimes create “personas” of their typical customers. What are they like, what do they do with their spare time and their spare money.

So, what do your customers want? What Google search terms will they use to find a site like yours? What content, services, offers, or calls to action can you use to appeal to these wants? And don’t just think sales here. It’s service, too.

It’s all about creating satisfied customers that will come back and recommend you to their friends. If you give people what they want, the way they want it and follow through with a fast finish when it comes time to pay up, you are much more likely to turn them into satisfied customers.

What does your staff want?

This is something that is overlooked in even medium to large-sized organizations. Clients have numerous processes that could be made easier or even automated by the smart use of a website or an online app. For example, they may have staff that spends time handling support calls from customers – this could be addressed with a support section or knowledgebase on the site.

The focus would be on freeing up staff’s time, allowing them to focus on other more vital tasks. All you have to do is take the time to consider employees in the design — maybe even bring them into the project planning process.

No matter how strategically sound a marketing campaign is, it is only effective if it reaches the right audience. That’s why companies need a smart advertising media buyer – to help you implement a strategic media planning and media buying campaign.

Our Media Buying service begins with detailed research – learning everything we can about your company, your product or service, and your target market. After careful analysis, we develop a media plan that includes demographic research, recommendations on media placement, an estimated budget and expected results.

We’re able to negotiate excellent rates for you and develop a myriad of strategies to put your message in front of the right audience at the right time. This kind of commitment maximizes your brand’s exposure and increases your return on investment.

This is a free service that will save you plenty of headaches and help make your campaigns work.

Contact us if you would like us to talk about this new service.

What is Google Trends?

Google Trends allows you to compare the world’s interest in any given topic. You enter up to five topics and see how often they’ve been searched on Google over a period of time. It also shows how frequently your topics have shown up in different Google News stories as well as in which geographic regions people have searched for them most. Sweet, eh?

Are you bored or trying to come up with an idea for your daily blog topic? The top 10 search trends show up on the main page, but click on “More Hot Trends” to see a larger snapshot of what’s on the public’s mind at any given moment by listing the fastest-rising searches for different points of time.

If you dig deeper there are advanced features like Trends for Websites and Insights for Search, which breaks down search data even more specifically.

This is an invaluable tool when considering search and online advertising options.