You’ve created a beautiful website, designed to industry standards. Whether you’re a retailer or a supplier, you’ve researched dozens, if not hundreds, of B2C or B2B sites, and you and your team have created something you know your customers will love. Everything they need is easy to find and attractive. The photos and product descriptions are on-point Purchasing and checkout is easy and secure. Just one problem: no one knows about it. Now what?

You built it, but they won’t just come. You have to market it. What exactly that marketing should look like has some overall guidelines, but there are some differences to consider whether you are a retailer or a supplier.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is the art of getting your site to show up in search results ahead of someone else’s. SEO is a delicate art, though. It requires research of keywords, but you don’t want to just load your site up with keywords hoping to bring in visitors. Google’s algorithm frowns upon “black hat” SEO, as we detailed in our September newsletter (“Google Raises the Bar on Content Quality”). Its new algorithm will privilege “helpful content” in search results over “unhelpful content,” which consists of low-content websites packed with SEO keywords. So as you optimize your website to show up in search engines, make sure that your keywords appear naturally within content designed to actually help visitors answer their search questions. Which leads us to the next point…

Content Marketing

The best way to do SEO is by adding value. That is, by creating the kind of content potential customers are looking for. For retailers, this means knowing your customers and what kinds of questions they have when shopping. Value-added content marketing could include jewelry care tips, articles about the differences between mined and lab-grown diamonds, diamond grading, engagement ring traditions, birthstones, and the like. Content should be educational and entertaining, showing off both your expertise and dedication to customer service while also building relationships with potential customers.

For both B2C and B2B, content marketing is about solving problems and adding value, but suppliers might go about it in a different way. Have your marketing team communicate with your sales team to determine your customers’ pain points and address them in blogs, articles, FAQs, and product descriptions. Understand what kinds of information helps decision makers make decisions, and make sure that when content marketing leads them to your website, they are directed to that information.

Social Media

Add a link to your new website to the bio on all of your social media accounts, and make sure to link to it in posts, as well. These links will generate even more traffic if you give your followers a reason to visit the site beyond “we have a new site, come check it out.” Content marketing as outlined above is the way to do this. Also think in terms of a content funnel: design your social media posts to drive viewers to your website. Address problems in your tweets or TikTok videos and direct them to your website for more information or further solutions, for example.

Email Lists

For retailers with a physical location, email lists are a powerful tool for maintaining relationships with customers at every step of the journey, from discovering your brand to becoming a repeat buyer. When you launch or relaunch your website, offer promotions to your mailing list subscribers as a way to drive traffic to your site at launch.

Don’t forget about your Google Business Profile when updating all of your social media accounts. Our July newsletter has a whole article on getting the most out of your Google Business Profile to help you with this.

Press Releases

For suppliers, publishing a press release about your new or updated website in a trade publication is another proven method for getting your website in front of potential clients. A press release gives you immediate exposure to a specific audience, one that is looking for businesses just like yours. The publication of a press release also gives you something to talk about on social media or your website.

A new website won’t become a sensation overnight. It takes time and a concerted marketing effort to get your site in front of the eyes that need to see it. If you’re not seeing immediate results, stick with it! Using just one of these suggestions might bring you some success, but they all work better when used together as part of an overall marketing strategy.