New Website Launch: Marketing Plan Checklist

How do you promote your new website? It’s a question that every small business owner asks themselves when they launch their new website. Having a detailed launch plan is essential to guide your website launch marketing efforts and ensure all steps are strategically executed.

While there are many ways to promote your website, the following ten methods are some of the most effective. By using these methods, you can increase website traffic and help it become more successful. Pre-launch activities, such as teasers or early announcements, are valuable for generating buzz and building anticipation before your site goes live.

So, what are you waiting for? Start promoting your new website today! Remember, aligning your website launch with your overall business goals and conducting thorough market research can help ensure your marketing efforts are targeted and effective.

1. Post your new website on social media

You’ve worked hard on your new website and you’re finally ready to launch it to the world. But before you do, there’s one more important step you need to take: promote your website on social media. Use social media to build excitement for your upcoming launch by sharing teasers and updates that engage your audience.

By posting about your launch on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you can reach a wider audience and generate buzz for your new site. Sharing a sneak peek of your website or product on social media can generate curiosity and anticipation among your followers. And don’t forget to include a link to your website in your posts! With a little bit of planning and some creative content, you can ensure that your new website gets the attention it deserves.

Encourage social engagement by asking your followers to share, comment, or tag friends in your posts to help spread the word. Consider influencer marketing to reach a wider audience and create authentic buzz for your new website.

2. Create a Google Business Profile account

If you’re launching a new website, one of the first things you should do is create a Google Business Profile account. This will ensure that your business is properly listed in Google’s directory, making it easier for potential customers to find you. Creating a Google Business Profile also supports your local search engine optimization efforts, helping your website appear in relevant local searches and improving your overall site visibility. Plus, having a GMB account gives you access to valuable insights about how people are searching for and interacting with your business online.

To create a GBP account, simply go to https://www.google.com/business and follow the instructions. Once your account is created, be sure to add photos, business hours, and other relevant information so that your listing is as complete as possible. A complete and optimized profile creates more opportunities for your business to attract new customers and stand out in local search results. Creating a GMB account is a simple but important step in getting your new website off to a strong start.

This step is especially important for e-commerce websites looking to generate more leads and sales.

3. Submit your new website to online directories

You’ve put in the hard work and your new website is finally live. The next step is to let people know it exists! One way to do that is by submitting your site to online directories.

This is especially important for small businesses, which may not have the budget for a large-scale marketing campaign. By taking the time to submit your site to directories, you’ll ensure that potential customers can find you easily and that your brand gets the exposure it deserves. Plus, it’s a relatively simple process that can be completed in just a few minutes.

Submitting your site to directories is an effective way of driving traffic and increasing organic traffic after your website launches. This helps attract visitors naturally and provides long-term, cost-effective benefits for your business.

There are many different online directories out there, so you’ll need to choose the ones that are most relevant to your site. When choosing directories, make sure to include relevant keywords in your directory descriptions to improve your visibility and help your site rank well for those terms.

Once you’ve found a few good ones, all you need to do is submit your URL and a brief description of your site. Some directories may also require you to pay a small listing fee. But overall, submitting your new website to online directories is a quick and easy way to get your site off the ground - and be found by potential customers. For example, here are 100 UK Directories.

So don’t skip this important step in your launch process!

4. Update your social media profiles

As a small business owner, it’s important to make sure your social media profiles are up-to-date. Your social media presence is one of the first things potential customers will see when they’re looking for information about your business, and you want to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward. Maintaining a consistent web design across your social media profiles and website helps reinforce your brand and creates a cohesive experience for your audience.

Take the time to review your profiles and make sure the information is accurate and up-to-date. If you have old photos or outdated contact information, now is the time to update them. To update your social media profile, simply log in to your account and update the website URL. Be sure to include the https:// prefix so that potential customers can find your website easily. After you’ve updated your profile, take a look at your cover photo and profile photo to make sure they’re still accurate.

By taking the time to update your social media profiles, you can ensure that potential customers have the most accurate information about your business. Updated profiles also support targeted marketing by making sure your messaging and branding reach the right audience through effective channels.

5. Add your website to your email signature

A new website can be a great asset for a small business. Not only does it give customers a place to learn more about your products and services, but it can also help to build brand awareness and drive traffic to your store or office. Including your website in your email signature can further support your email marketing and email campaigns by encouraging recipients to visit your site and engage with your content.

One simple way to promote your new website is to add it to your email signature. Every time you send an email, recipients will see your website address and be able to follow the link to learn more about your business.

This is a quick and easy way to promote your new website, and it’s sure to generate some valuable leads. Adding a signup form as a key feature on your website can help capture leads from visitors who click through from your email signature, making your email marketing and email campaigns even more effective. So if you’re looking for a way to get the word out about your new website, be sure to add it to your email signature.

6. Set up tracking for website analytics

For your new website, it’s important to set up tracking for website analytics. This will help you understand how people are using your site and what areas need improvement. Tracking website analytics is essential for monitoring your website's performance, allowing you to make data-driven decisions for ongoing improvements. There are many different ways to track website analytics, but the most important thing is to make sure you’re tracking the right data.

The good news is that there are plenty of resources available to help you set up tracking for website analytics. Once you have the basics in place, you can start customizing your tracking to meet your specific needs. Analytics tools can help you identify potential visitors and optimize your site to increase sales. With the right tools in place, you’ll be able to get valuable insights into your website’s performance.

For example, here are two website analytics tools that we normally use & recommend:

• Google Analytics: If you’re on a budget, Google Analytics is great, because it’s free. However, it’s not really free, because we are paying with our data, and actually, some European courts have ruled out that Google Analytics might not comply with GDPR regulations.
• Plausible: This is what we use & recommend to all our clients. It’s something we even include as part of our website maintenance packages. The reason we like Plausible is that it’s more privacy-focused compared to Google Analytics, it is GDPR compliant, and also it’s a lot easier to use.

7. Optimise your new website for search engines

If you’re launching a new website for your small business, you’ll want to make sure it is optimised for search engines. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs). Leveraging content marketing and other digital marketing strategies can further support your SEO efforts and help your website stand out in the crowded online space by driving targeted traffic and increasing engagement.

There are a number of things you can do to optimise your new website for search engines, including:

• Planning your site long before launch to ensure it meets the needs of your target market and aligns with current market trends.

- Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions:

Include keywords in your titles and descriptions to help improve your visibility in SERPs, making sure to incorporate relevant keywords to boost your search rankings and support long-term SEO benefits.

- Optimize the page for keywords:

Place keywords throughout your website content, including in the title, headings, and body text.

- Use alt tags for images:

Alt tags are used to describe images, and including keywords in them can help improve your website's ranking in image search results.

- Optimise your website's load time:

A fast-loading website is essential for a good user experience and improved ranking in SERPs.

By following these tips, you can help ensure that your new website is well-optimised for search engines and that it has a better chance of being found by potential customers.

8. Create a blog and post regularly(Focus on quality)

A wordpress blog can be a great way to promote a new website or small business. By posting quality content on a regular basis, you can attract new readers and build up a loyal following. Each blog post can help attract new readers and support your overall marketing strategy. In addition, a blog can be a great platform for promoting new products or services.

By writing about your latest offerings, you can generate interest and encourage potential customers to take a closer look. Sharing stories about your successful product launch in your blog can generate more leads and attract media interest, especially when you include compelling stories and press kit materials. Of course, maintaining a successful blog takes time and effort, but the rewards can be well worth it. If you’re looking for a new way to reach out to your audience, creating a blog is a great place to start. Who knows? With some hard work, you could soon have the most popular site on the web.

Here’s an article we wrote on blogging for business.

9. Consider creating a lead magnet to generate leads

If you’re new to the world of online marketing, one of the first things you’ll need to do is generate leads. A lead magnet can be a great way to do this. A lead magnet is simply a piece of content that you offer in exchange for someone’s contact information. It could be a PDF guide, an eBook, a video series, or anything else that would be valuable to your target audience. You can also offer early access to your website or product as an incentive for signing up, which helps build excitement and encourages more people to join your list.

By offering something of value, you can attract new visitors and get them to sign up for your email list or newsletter. Creating a dedicated landing page is essential for capturing visitor information and persuading them to convert into new customers. Once you have their contact information, you can begin building a relationship with them and eventually turn them into customers.

10. Promote your new website with Google or Facebook Ads

If you’ve just launched a new website for your small business, you’ll want to make sure as many people as possible know about it. One great way to promote your new site is by running Google ads or Facebook Ads. Paid ads are a fantastic way to implement targeted marketing and reach your ideal audience. Both platforms have vast audiences, so you’re sure to reach potential customers with your ads.

You can target your ads specifically to people who are likely to be interested in what you’re offering, and you can control how much you spend on each campaign. Running ads can also help your new business gain visibility and attract its first customers. With a little effort, you can soon get new visitors to your site and start generating more business.

Conclusion

Launching a new website can be an exciting but daunting task, and planning for a successful launch starts with setting a clear launch date and a solid digital marketing strategy. There are a number of things you need to do in order to ensure that your site is successful, from optimising it for search engines to creating quality content and coordinating your launches for maximum impact.

In this article, we’ve outlined ten digital marketing objectives for promoting and marketing your new website. Remember, post launch activities are crucial to maintain momentum after launch day and to build on the excitement generated by your launch date. Ongoing marketing efforts are essential for ensuring your website launches achieve long-term success.