Mini-sites…
Huh? What is a mini-site?
There are variations on the concept of what a mini-site and why use them. My definition of a mini-site is a website that supplements your main site, but focuses on a single topic – whether it be a product or service you offer or other single concept. I would recommend more than one page for this – 5 content pages if you can.
Why Use a Mini-Site or Multiple Mini-sites?
Well, the website community needs more money. That’s true, but us web people need to justify the existence of these extra websites. Here are the reasons why the use of mini-sites are beneficial to you as the customer (or if you are a web developer, the reasons why you should talk your clients into using mini-sites).
1) More Information on a Product
With a mini-site you can promote your single product or service without worrying about diluting the emphasis of your main website. For instance, if you come out with a new widget, you may want to get the word out, producing lots of info on this widget on multiple pages, but don’t want people coming to your main site thinking you only sell this new item.
2) More Exposure on Google
Google looks for websites with a focus. If you supply 5 different services, it may be a good idea to have a separate site, really nailing down one (or more) services you’d like to promote. Chances are your single service will do better on Google than your main site. And… It means you will have two links to your service for people to click (and one less competitor). I have clients who receive more hits on their mini-sites than their main site.
3) Higher Conversion Rates
If I’m a potential customer looking for service A, I want someone who’s really good at it. Going to a company’s main site, who has 10 different services, it looks like they don’t specialize in what I’m looking for – so I move on. If I find a website where a company only supplies service A, then I’m giving them a call. This has been proven time and time again.
4) Eggs in multiple baskets
An example for this point. I have a client that has several mini-sites who has all his marketing online. He provides many services to clients. One day my client updates his site with some content Google doesn’t like and his website rankings tank. Luckily, his mini-sites maintain the traffic until we determine and fixed the issue.
5) Safer to Try New Ideas
A mini-site allows you to change things up, to create something fun, or something more edgy. You wouldn’t want your corporate site to test your newest advertising concept – because if it fails, you’ve taken a big bite out of your bottom line. Use a mini-site to do this. If it fails, your corporate image isn’t ruined.
6) Speed & Flexibility
This is more for the larger corporate sites, but there are some principle that apply to smaller companies. If you are a big company and have a traditional corporate site lined with red tape, the chances of getting a new ad live quickly are between slim and none. Mini-sites allow you to be nimble with content creation and editing. And if you need to pull down the site, you don’t have to call your boss’s boss to get the process expedited before you get fired.
Wrap Up
Well there’s 6 reasons to give your client as to why they need to do a mini-site (or multiple mini-sites). If you have a list of services, they can all use the same template to save money. If it’s the newest advertising campaign, you may want to change things up according to current trends and what you are selling. Good luck.
