Monday 4 February 2013

Getting the best out of your website

Cathean LtdMany freelancers now have their own websites. Designed correctly, websites are a great marketing tool for your business, attracting new clients and keeping in touch with your current client base. Based on my experience, here are some tips for maximising your website’s potential.







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  1. Search engine optimisation is the term given to improving your website’s visibility on the internet. Think of the key words that people might use when looking for a medical writer, and include these in your website text, including text relating to images on your site.

  2. Websites are a form of advertising so consider your target audience with regards to your choice of images, visuals and text. Ensure the text is accurate with respect to spelling and grammar, and take time to align text and images so the overall picture is pleasing to the eye. If you can’t get these simple things right, potential clients may wonder what else you may get wrong.

  3. Whilst you want to get information across, don’t make your website too “wordy”. Use pictures to create interest and white space to rest the eyes – reading from a screen, particularly on phones, can be tiring.

  4. Make it easy to navigate around your site. Use clearly marked tabs and internal links to other pages on your website.

  5. Don’t bombard your reader with highly detailed information all at once – enable them to “drill down” or navigate to the detail as required.

  6. To increase traffic to your website, see if you can persuade other related businesses to put a link to your site on their website, and return the favour.

  7. Writing a blog can also increase traffic and your visibility through search engines because it gives you the opportunity to regularly update your site’s content. It’s also a fantastic way of keeping in touch with your clients.



This article was published in Medical Writing 2012; 21 (4): 332.