Starting a startup is certainly an exciting entrepreneurial endeavor. You are ready to bring your vision to life through an innovative solution that you can monetize. However, the startup trip has a few associated costs. A savvy startup founder knows how important it is to cut costs wherever possible, regardless of startup budget.
SummaryCapitalize on keyword SEOHave lots of call-to-action buttons (CTAs)Go local with Google My BusinessStart saving money for your startup todayDid you know that the second most common reason for startup failure is lack of money? According to CB Insights, 29% of startups collapse due to lack of funds, second only to number one on the charts – no market.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to save money to fund your startup. One of the easiest is to use a few DIY website tricks.
Hiring an SEO, UX designer and web developer is really expensive! Not to mention the money you have to spend on social media or search engine ads.
Let's cut the little talk and get straight to the point. Here are the top three DIY small business website tips that you can easily implement to save money for your startup.
Optimizing your website for Google and other search engines can save you a lot of money, both in the short and long term. SEOs are inherently expensive to keep on the payroll.
Not only will you pay them to optimize your website, but you will also have to keep them around for a bit to monitor and modify your site as needed. It can cost you over $2,000 per month.
Instead, do a bit of DIY keyword optimization to improve your website. It's actually easier than you think.
First, do some keyword research using Google Keyword Planner. You want to capitalize on keywords with around 1,000-10,000 views per month with low to medium ranking difficulty.
Compile a list of 15-20 keywords, then inject them as best you can into your homepage copy. The goal is to capitalize on as many different keywords as possible in a natural way. Try adding a few from your list, including your top keywords two to three times in the homepage content.
What do you want your target audience to do once they land on your website? This is a very important question. You may want to increase lead generation, increase site membership, or sell products and/or services.
How can you force an action (conversions) on your website? Call-to-action (CTA) buttons.
CTA buttons move potential customers through your sales funnel faster, skyrocketing your conversion rate for your startup.
Here are some DIY CTA tactics:
See also:7 ways to get leads for your business
If you serve a specific community, city, or state, you can achieve significant results that will save you startup money. Google My Business can have a huge impact on reducing your marketing spend by reducing or, in some cases, eliminating your Google Ads.
How is this possible?
By having your startup appear locally in the Google SERPs, you can increase your traffic and conversion rate. Your walk-in traffic will also increase if you have a storefront. In fact, “50% of mobile users are more likely to visit after doing a local search,” Search Engine Watch noted.
If you want to save money for your startup, create a Google My Business account and include your business name, address, phone, website, etc. This requires you to make a few changes to the website, such as adding your address and phone in the footer of your site and even creating a city-specific webpage.
When you do this, be sure to keep your website changes after a WordPress update or website theme update. You can do this by creating a child theme. Knowing how to use child themes is actually quite easy, so make it a priority.
The small business tips above can save you a lot of money for your startup. From avoiding expensive outsourced services to reducing expenses and reliance on Google ads, these top three website hacks are a must. They are also very easy to make on your own.
See also:How to grow your startup
