It’s getting easier and easier to make your own website these days. More and more tools keep popping up for the task to simplify things, but still people need assistance – we’re guessing that’s you, if you’re reading this post.
Here is how to set up your very own drone website in 5 easy steps:
Get a Domain Name
First things first, you have to decide on a domain name for your website. On the surface, this should be the easiest step, but many people get stuck at this step and end up spending an inordinate amount of time trying to come up with the perfect name for their website.
For the record, coming up with a name that sounds cool when someone asks at a bar is NOT a criteria you should swear by.
Here are a few tips to get you through this stage quickly:
- Get a .com extension. People automatically think of the .com when browsing, and going with anything else like .tv or .net will only make it harder to find you.
- Keep it short and sweet. The shorter your domain name is, the better.
- Your domain name should be easy to say and easy to spell. It should also be spelt exactly as it sounds—no trick spellings with silent letters involved. The goal is to have a domain name that can easily spread by word of mouth.
- No hyphens.
- Use a drone keyword in your domain name. That way, people know exactly what your website talks about when they hear it. Having a keyword in your domain name also helps your SEO.
- Your chosen domain name should be one that is flexible. Don’t choose a name that locks you into one thing. For example, a domain name like justforkids.com for a clothing store, will make it really difficult for that website to branch out to adult clothing tomorrow.
You don’t have to tick all the boxes when choosing a domain name, but you want to tick as many as you can to end up with a name that is primed to succeed online.
People often go with sites like GoDaddy for their domains, although they do charge a premium price because of the fact they’re arguably the most well known. Alternatives like NameCheap should be considered if you’re on a budget. Note: We have no affiliation with either of these sites.
Get Hosting
After deciding on a domain name and buying one, the next step involves getting a suitable web host for your website.
Most domain name providers also offer hosting services so you may want to streamline everything and snag up hosting too after your domain name. There are a few things to consider before deciding on a host, though:
You want to own your domain name, so that you don’t bend over backwards to switch hosting providers.
You also want to estimate the amount of traffic you expect when your website is functioning at its peak. You want to make sure that any hosting service you choose offers the bandwidth required for your website to function smoothly.
And lastly, you want to be honest with yourself about your level of technical expertise. If you are a complete newbie to web hosting then you want to choose a hosting service that offers top notch customer service and feedback.
Keyword Research
After deciding on your domain name and your hosting package, you can turn to content. Every good content strategy begins with keyword research. And there are two reasons for this:
First of all, depending on what sort of service you intend to deliver with your drone website, keyword research helps you learn the needs of your target customers.
Keyword research, when done properly, will help you understand what your target audience is actively searching for online. It will help you understand the sort of words and phrases they use for those searches, and even the proportion of people making those searches.
Not only does this help you create relevant website content, it also prevents you from answering questions which nobody is asking, thereby wasting resources in the process.
The second reason why keyword research is so important has to do with search engines. In many ways, search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, can be likened to the gatekeepers of the sandbox that is the internet, and the only they are going to let you play in the sandbox is if they understand what your website is talking about.
Keywords help search engines understand what your website is talking about, and this in turn helps you rank on the results pages. If your website is not ranking on the search engine results pages, then the majority of people in search of what you offer are passing you by.
Create Content
There are many forms of content that can go into making your website a go-to resource for your target audience. And you can either create them yourself, if you have the expertise and time, or you can outsource to others so your hands are freed up to do something else.
There are a lot of things that have been said about content both online and offline that would make it impossible to cover this topic in just one blog post. But here is one thing that you can’t go wrong with: always create valuable content that adds value to the reader. Your audience will love it; and they will reward you with loyalty and good business.
If you don’t have time or resources to compete effectively though, you may need to select a different niche. Sites like Dronesvilla launched and within three months they already had hundreds of in-depth posts live. You have to consider whether you have a unique angle to take a piece of the market pie.
Promote Your Content
Content promotion is a big part of owning a website. After creating all that great content, you want to spread the word as far as possible.
Tell your friends and family about your new website, join the forums and online groups that are related to drones and share your expertise. Create social media handles and gather a following by creating useful content and sharing expertise.
The goal is to make people aware of all the good work that is happening in your brand new drone website, and get them to visit.
Running your own drone website requires time, resources, and patience. But if you commit and stick with it for the long haul, you will reap the many (financial) benefits that come with being a website owner.
