We get it: The fundamental goal of your business is to make money by selling a product or service. But let’s take a moment to define your goals in a little more detail. Perhaps yours is a large company with branding as an important long-term goal. Maybe your company wants to make money with certain products but is willing to take a loss in other areas. Maybe you are starting up with investor backing and do not need to turn a profit for years. Perhaps your company’s branding and reputation is your top concern—you need to be perceived as high tech, or luxurious, or as the hippest in your competitive space. maybe you work for a nonprofit, with a goal to improve the world and inspire others to do the same.
You may be working toward 2,000 small sales this year, or be thrilled to get just three new clients. Whatever way you’re leaning, your business goals will affect your SEO campaign strategy.For instance, consider the fictional situation of Jason, a founding partner at Babyfuzzkin, a company selling unique, high end baby clothes. This business makes its money directly through online sales. It’s a small operation, so there is a limit to how many orders the business can handle. The Babyfuzzkin fantasy would be a steady flow of, say, 100 orders per month. But there is more to the story: Eventually, the partners would love to get out of the direct fulfillment of orders and instead secure some contracts with big-name brick-and-mortar vendors.
Now take a moment and look at “Business Goals” on your Goals Worksheet.
show how Jason of Babyfuzzkin and Elizabeth at ElderPets might fill out theirs, respectively. Summary of Business Goals for Babyfuzzkin
1- Primary Goal Sell clothes directly to consumers online
2- Additional Goal Sign brick-and-mortar contracts
Summary of Business Goals for ElderPets
1- Primary Goal Help more animals in need
2- Additional Goal Attract more donations
3- Additional Goal Attract more volunteers
Most websites are built out of a combination of basic building blocks. Whetheryour site is a web-based store seeking online sales; a personal blog seeking community connections; a political or religious outlet seeking to persuade, uplift, or inspire; a corporate “brochure” displaying branding identity and company information; or just about any other type of website you can imagine.
It will likely include some or all of the following features or elements.
* Fun, games, or entertainment
* Executive biographies
* A strong brand identity
* Product and service information
* Art or craft portfolio
* Online purchasing/donation
* Educational materials
* Information specifically for geographically local visitors
* News and current events
* Software or documents available for download Articles, white papers
* Media (pictures, audio, video) available for viewing/downloading Site map
* Site search function
* Login for restricted information
* Live help/live contact function
* Ways for members of the community to connect with each other on the site (forums, bulletin boards, etc.)
* Blog postings and reader comments
* Links to other resources
* Methods for your users to help promote your site (e-mail a friend,
* Customer testimonials "Digg this," etc.)
Now, spend some time clicking around your website. You should be able to tell which of the features in the preceding list are included. How well is each component doing its job? For now, think in terms of presentation and functionality. (Is your product information up-to-date? Is your online store full of technical glitches? Are your forms asking the right questions?) Give each feature that you find a ranking of Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. Obviously, this isn’t going to be a scientific process—just make your best estimate.
Summary of Business Goals for Babyfuzzkin
