Digital Performance
If you’re getting ready to launch a new site or even a brand new venture, you might think that a website is step one. You build the site, launch it into the world and wait…
The problem is, with no pre-launch marketing, nobody knows your site is there. This goes for everybody who matters, from your target market to the Google robots that are looking for new content to crawl. Instead of hitting the ground running, your new venture now has to play catchup.
Without a pre-launch marketing strategy, it’s hard for a website launch to fulfil its potential. If you’re hoping to launch your site with a bang, make sure you consider some of these important pre-launch actions:
Get your basics in order
There are some things that need to be considered as a first port of call, and one of these is tracking. At Zinc, we won’t launch a site without Analytics installed. For marketers, the more data we have access to, the better. Make sure that as soon as the domain is accessible, you’re tracking how many people are using it so that you can see the effects that your efforts are having. On top of this, it’s a good idea to get your Search Console set up, and consider if you need any remarketing tags ready for launch.
Start with SEO
If the site isn’t ready for Google to crawl, it’s not ready – it’s as simple as that. What you should be doing is making sure that you’ve got everything in place for when it is ready. Make sure that you’ve got plenty of content, set up your metadata, sitemap and robots file so that the second you’ve launched, Google can read all the valuable information you’re providing. Then when it’s launched, manually submit the homepage to Google to make sure it’s crawled as soon as possible. It’s also a good idea to have a catalogue of blogs and other content to be ready on day one, so your site looks well managed from the start.
Get a landing page in place
If your new site isn’t ready, it could be ready for a landing page. A simple one page site that teases what’s to come can be enough to generate some buzz. It can be the perfect place for an explainer video that’s shareable and informative, or an email signup to start building a list up ahead of time.
It’s never too early for Social
Social media should be your home whilst you’re trying to build a conversation about your brand. Here you can start conversations with others in your industry, begin to build relationships with potential influencers and direct people to your landing page. Post teasers, development milestones, crowdfunding if you’re trying to raise capital. Here you could even invest in some paid media and start spreading the word ahead of time. Then, when it’s time to launch you’ve got a crowd of people waiting to see what’s going to happen.
Consider a press release
If what you’re doing is ready to change the world, the world needs to hear about it. A press release is a great idea for new products, innovative ideas and newsworthy names. It’s not for everybody, but can be a great option if you’ve got something that people will want to hear about.
