What does your website look like? Are you happy with it? Is it working for you and, more importantly, is it working for your customers?

Zion Ong, director of West Australian digital marketing company Alyka, joins the BNR team to talk about what’s best practice when it comes to websites.

Here are some key take-outs:

• Websites are not “set and go”. The internet is changing all the time, new devices are being released, and you need to keep up to date.
• Websites aren’t a long-term investment. You have to plan on creating new ones all the time, in part because the consumer likes change in this area — they get bored quickly.

“There was a view a long time ago, that still prevails today, that a website was a one-off project… and you could just leave it and it would continue to do its job. But websites have almost become a disposable thing.” — Sarah

• Zion says when it comes to structural changes you should be updating your website every year or every second year. When it comes to content though, ideally you should be updating daily.
• Content is key. That’s how Google finds you. And it can’t be rubbish content; it has to be quality content and it has to be original. Make a commitment to publish on a regular basis. Have a strategy.
• Have your website hosted in the country which is your target market, as Google takes that into account.

“The guys who are ahead of the game are the ones who not only have a great-looking site but they have a really user-friendly site, and they make it easy for people to enquire, call, fill out a form.” — Zion Ong, Alyka

• Don’t dismiss keywords, they’re important. And targeting niche keywords can help lift your Google rankings really quickly.
• Don’t just create the content; you need distribution and amplification as well — and your strategy needs to address all of that.

“If you can’t portray your business in a digital environment in the same way you can face to face, you’re already losing a lot of customers.” — Sarah

• If you’re choosing a web developer, firstly, check out examples of their work. Ask if they’re outsourcing because if they are, there’s more of a chance that things will go wrong. Don’t be afraid to ask to meet the team.
• Sometimes it’s better to get a new website up before it’s 100 per cent perfect, rather than drag out the creation process. Tweak it once it’s up, because your website is never finished!

Here are the links you might need

• Here’s that report Zion’s team at Alyka did on how prepared WA businesses are for the digital future.

Have you heard the one about…

Recently James and Sarah spoke to European content marketing expert Nenad Senic about why it’s still worth considering print as part of your content strategy.

And in our first episode recorded with a studio audience, the team met Seven West Media’s digital expert Ben Martin to find out how mainstream media is handling the switch to digital.

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For more information about the show, visit the Brand Newsroom website, where you can join the Brand Newsroom Community and receive exclusive content and opportunities to meet James, Nic and Sarah.