Many people think branding is about little more than name recognition. In actuality, it serves two much more important roles, especially when it comes to your website.
* Branding has the power to make people trust you more than they do your competition. This means they'll feel confident about buying from you over the Internet.
* Branding can bring people to your website first. When they need your product or services, they'll search specifically for your website instead of searching by topic or niche.
Making use of branding strategies on your website puts you at an advantage over others. In the cutthroat, highly competitive Internet worldwide marketplace, you can't afford to ignore branding on your website.
Branding Strategies for Your Website
Use the following strategies to make your website your brand:
1. Professional design.
Start with a professionally designed logo if you don't already have one to make a strong, positive and lasting impression. Use your logo's colors and font consistently on your website, and include your logo at the top of each page.
2. Treat your domain name as your brand.
Make sure your domain name is as close to identical as possible to your brand. Use it on your business stationary and all marketing materials you create and distribute offline as well as online.
3. Publish a newsletter or ezine.
Promote your domain name (brand) by publishing a newsletter or ezine. Include your domain name, logo and slogan in a header you place at the top of all issues of your publications.
4. Offer free ebooks on your site.
Create free ebooks visitors can download, and include your domain name, logo and slogan on the top of each page. Encourage free re-distribution of your ebook for widespread promotion.
5. Brand with autoresponders. Add your domain name, logo, slogan and a link back to your website at the bottom of each autoresponder email you send out. Don't overlook the opportunity to use autoresponders to send out free reports or articles that carry your website-brand information.
Once you realize your website is your brand, it's easy to start using strategies to promote it. The more you promote your brand online through your website, the more likely you are to succeed with your business long term.
