Winning websites: How to attract and retain customers16 May 2006
The winners of what the New York Times has described as the "online equivalent of an Oscar", the Webby Awards, were announced last week, recognising the most innovative and original website from around the world.
In total 69 lucky sites were honoured, from a variety of industry sectors within the business, consumer and culture categories, as well as several sites awarded for special achievement.
Those set to receive prizes at the tenth Annual Webby Award in June include breakout of the year, MySpace and artist of the year for The Gorillaz. Co-founder of the internet Dr Robert Kahn will also be presented with a lifetime achievement award.
The winners were selected from a record 5,500 website entries from all over the globe. Founder and ambassador of Webby Tiffany Shlain said: "We're proud to salute the people and organisations whose groundbreaking ideas are reshaping how we experience our world."
This year sees the debut of a number of new categories, which are indicative of the changing nature of websites and what they can offer to their audiences. The new areas include podcasts, business blog and best use of video or moving image, in order to recognise pioneers of different web formats within their websites.
What can SMEs do?
When hearing about websites that have enjoyed runaway success, such as MySpace or eBay, it is easy to forget that there a number of ways in which small businesses can add value and appeal to their websites.
Enhanced design and web content could mean that not only are potential customers and clients attracted to the site in the first place, they are more likely to purchase products and more inclined to return. Small businesses could boost traffic returning to their website by:
- Adding interest: A website that is often updated with new content is more likely to become a trusted source of information and products that one which consists solely of static content. Businesses could utilise a blog to provide a kind of forum for existing and potential customers, or podcasts and videos to provide information or entertainment to site visitors. Alternatively, the provision of news, be it bespoke or through an RSS feed, can make websites a useful and informative destination for surfers within the industry.
- Search engine optimisation: Utilising SEO practices such as keyword inclusion and metadata in your tags can increase website ranking on search engines, driving more traffic and therefore possible clients your way.
- Keep it simple: Even if utilising extra features such as blogs or images, it is a good idea to keep the website design simple so that users can navigate easily and find what they are looking for. This is even more true of online retail facilities, customers are more likely to trust and return to a site that offers a simple yet secure online purchasing process, such as that offered by BT's Internet Trader Pack.
Post a comment
As usual, we would be delighted to hear your comments or questions about this article. Comments may be published on this or any other BT site.
