“I need a website.”

These words are money to the ears of a web developer, and should be tragedy to every online marketer. All too often business owners don’t hire the right team to develop their online brand.

In 1997, the development of a website was relatively straightforward. Since that time, Google has come to the forefront, monitoring online trends and categorizing pages with regard to the science known as search engine optimization.

Your website is much more than pretty pictures and appealing content. In order to be competitive and successfully maintain visibility on the Internet you need a team of qualified individuals, each surgeons in their respective fields. Your ideal team may look something like the following:

• Project Manager
• Art Director
• Programmer
• SEO Technician
• Copywriter
• Consumer Behavior/Functionality Specialist
• IT/Security Technician

Unless you are a medium-to-large company, you don’t have the resources to maintain a staff of this size, much less even hire these individuals for a short-term web design project.

Now that I’ve beaten you down and implied to you that your website is worthless without this support staff, there is a silver lining. While the above team may be the ideal team, you’re not Microsoft. You can have a successful website by keeping in mind the following rules.

1. Google doesn’t read pretty pictures.
Yes, your site may be a splendor at which to look, but let’s look at its organs (the structure and back-end coding). Search engine optimization best practices won’t get you on page one of Google for competitive keywords, but it won’t expel you from the solar system either. Your best competitors have already employed the best practices, and Google likes this…a lot.

Understanding the function of CSS, alt tags, title tags, keyword density, anchor links and a whole host of other optimization terms is critical.

Do your homework and make sure your web developer employs these best practices. These are not an added value, they are a must; just as contact information is a must for any website.

2. Content assists with driving traffic
If your website doesn’t say anything, how will people find you by using common keywords in a search engine. “If you build it they will come” does NOT apply.

I cannot count the number of times I’ve had someone insinuate that all they needed was a website to be successful.

That’s as insane as me assuming a shop in the middle of the an Arizona desert specializing in child-safe sandboxes will have instant foot traffic. Not going to happen. Aside from the fact it’s a stupid business model, no one is going to find me. Plus, who wants to purchase a sandbox when your competition (the desert itself) already has you beat?

Keyword-rich content is the driving factor. Google is able to index your content and rank the content according to its relevance with regard to users’ keyword queries.

3. Navigation and organization remains
If you entered a grocery store to find toilet paper and cosmetics in the produce section and raw meat in the toothpaste aisle, I don’t think you’d be visiting that store again too soon.

This is the essence of your website. Easy navigation, clear signs and site maps all serve to direct your visitors. You may have a wonderful product or service, but if your customers cannot locate any of the items, you lose.

Before developing any website, outline all the pages, categories and items within a wireframe format. This approach will help to mitigate headaches when the development process begins.

4. Your online roadmap directs traffic
Customers can’t find you if you haven’t built a road map. Online marketing activities such as pay-per-click advertising, backlink development, blogs, press releases and social media help place your website on the map. Any retail location must develop a marketing campaign. Why is your website any different?

The answer is it’s not any different. The medium and tools have changed dramatically, but the principles are the same. You must market and advertise your products or services.

Your New Team
I’ve summed up your team into four individuals:

1. Search engine optimization specialist (your developer should have one on hand)
2. Proficient copywriter, knowledgeable of your industry
3. Web developer skilled in organization and wireframe
4. Marketing or public relations specialist to develop and manage your campaign

Although your budget may not be large, you must incorporate these four necessary items. Many individuals encompass more than one of these skills. It’s your job to ask the question.