Site Redesigned With Sizzling Visual, Savvy Structure For High Search Rankings
Process equipment manufacturer The Witte Co., Washington, New Jersey, was among the first in its industry to launch a Web site. Like many manufacturers, the company developed a site that was about as attractive as technology would allow. Today, some might consider it an online version of its print brochure. While the site had remained largely the same for several years, the company had been growing - fueled by a series of engineering advances that had garnered ample media coverage and a slate of happy customers. While the company was earning praise for its 21st century equipment, its Web site began to look more and more out of date. In fact, with the recent advances in Web site design and programming technology and the documented preference among its customers for the Internet in researching equipment purchases, the Witte Web site was not taking full advantage of its site as a marketing tool. And with the penetration of high-speed connections, its customers had grown accustomed to visual presentations that the original Witte site could hardly deliver. There is no way to know how many prospects were brought to the site by the company's marketing program only to leave without further contact.
In developing the
new site, epr went back to square one, working with The Witte Co. to devise
a strategy for being on the Web. In 1997, just having a Web site was enough.
Today, customers are turning first to the Web for company and product
information before calling a sales person, requesting a brochure or resorting
to print directories. They are becoming more and more sophisticated with
the Web and their first impression of a company is now coming from its
Web site, which has become a litmus test for whether or not to contact
the company or click over to a competitor.
To provide this attractive first impression while minimizing development costs, epr incorporated Flash programming on the home page into a clean yet rugged-looking design and used traditional HTML for the rest of the site. With this programming, when viewers mouseover the name of a machine, a color photo of the machine instantly pops up into the center of the screen, along with a few sentences of descriptive information. To enhance the visual appeal, the site's color scheme was selected to coordinate with and bring out the stainless steel look of the machinery while drawing on the navy blue used in the previous site and in the company's print literature. In addition, the cool colors provide a comfortable setting for the eye to read information on the sreen.
To
enable prospects to quickly find what they want, epr devised a dual entry
system into the site. Prospects could click on the desired machine from
the left side navigation or they could choose by their own industry or
end products from choices in a pulldown menu. A plastics processor, for
example, might click on "classifier" from the left hand navigation or
on "Plastics" from the pulldown menu on the right. Either page would provide
useful information and demonstrate that Witte has a proven track record
in the plastics industry. Further, these application-specific pages, once
cataloged by the search engines, permit the site to be found in application-specific
Web searches while also permiting the use of online keyword advertising
based on application-specific keywords. For example, the top listing from
a search at Yahoo for "drying salt" points directly to the new "Salt"
page in the product pulldown menu at Witte.com. Additional applications
may be added at any time.
The copy was structured not to educate the world about the wonders of fluid bed drying, but to establish credibility, position the company as expert engineers and help promote contact by phone or email. The Contact form was designed capture critical information without turning away a potential sales lead. The form also includes a pulldown menu that helps track from where leads are coming, such as via a news article, print ad, direct mailer or search engine. A separate media relations section makes it easy for journalists to write about Witte or check facts to speed news release publication. By archiving news releases touting the company's key machines and services, this journalists' section helps capture additional rankings in the search engines. For example, a Google search for "grains fluid bed dryer" leads directly to a news release on Witte.com where drying grains was addressed.
Since the site's recent re-launch, leads from Nestle and other companies have been documented. According to an Ambler, PA-based manufacturer's rep for Witte, ..."the Web site is the best of any principle I've seen."
In 1996 when a 28,800 modem was standard, there were few issues to consider in developing a Web site. Today, redesigning a Web site presents a significant opportunity to capitalize on the Internet as a tool for instilling buyer confidence, generating leads, communicating with sales reps and much more.
To discuss your Web site, call 908.479.4231.