Untangling the web

The development of the internet and websites can be likened to an ill-disciplined religion with a plethora of self-proclaimed gurus eager to advise on the one true way to success. In short, it’s easy to be led astray and squander a lot of money quickly.

Given this confusing environment, it is perhaps not too surprising that a growing number of entrepreneurs are leaning toward a more ascetic, pared down philosophy. Gone are flashy intros and whiz-bang gimmickry. Simplicity is everything, and it’s cheaper too.

Nicholas Miller is chief executive of marketing and communications company Kyp Systems. The company has been active for a year and only launched its website three-months ago. Miller says it was important to get the site functioning as both a shop window and information platform.

‘You have to be very clinical about how you choose what information you have on there,’ he says. ‘The important thing is to always update your site. Let people know that you do value it as another communication you’re having with them. Touch is important. If you can’t touch them physically, touch them with your message but make sure that it is something relevant.’

Miller observes that, when devising the website, all of the staff were involved in deciding what was relevant: ‘We got all of those responses and prioritised and acted on them and we constantly review those as well. It’s not just based on what our clients say to us but what we see ourselves.’ In addition, Miller commissioned two professors to write articles or ‘white papers’ about the company and its approach to marketing. ‘Not a week goes by when there isn’t something quite major changing on the site,’ says Miller.

Overall, the approach taken by Miller and his team follows what experts advise companies to do when launching and maintaining a website. Gavin Sinden, a director at online marketing agency EM2 Digital, suggests both small and large businesses
are jointly realising the importance of an effective website: ‘During 2000 everybody built their websites and around 2002 and 2003 everybody realised they had to drive loads of traffic to their website. That is when Google got rich.’

‘We are now entering a phase where most people have a website and quite a lot of people understand the basics of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Google Adware and that kind of stuff. Now they need to actually make money out of their websites, so we’re at that third phase.’

It means that businesses now want to know where the traffic on a site is going and how it can be channeled. Sinden says: ‘You have your website, but what do you do next? How do you actually turn that into value?’

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