Small Business Internet Marketing: Key Website Navigation Sections Needed

Every small business that has a website should try to standardize portions of that small business website. I know this flies in the face of the marketing principle to be different whenever you can, but with the web maturing a bit, and standard conventions in small business websites becoming more pronounced, I think there are several navigation sections that website visitors come to expect when they land on your site.

They are:
About Us - Visitors who are new to your site, and don't know much about your company, want to start with the basics. An About Us section not only answers many of a visitor's basic questions about the small business, but it also helps them understand how the company positions itself. Note: the search engine savvy marketer makes the tab read "About (your company name)" instead of About Us so the search engines digest another mention of your company name.

Products (or services) - Another standard tab that people hunt for. Not only does the first time visitor want to understand the broad company view (About Us), but they also want to know what do you offer me that I might be interested in?

FAQ - FAQ pages are becoming the de facto standard these days. Not only is a FAQ a great way for visitors to answer their own questions, but it's also a great way to allow visitors to prequalify themselves. For example, if your FAQ page has the following question "What is a profile of your firm's best prospect?", the reader may start to see themselves in the answer.

I'll cover even more of these standard navigation sections of a small business website in future issues of my newsletter Marketing Tips & Tools.