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possible. One of the easiest things you can do to optimize your website for searchability is in the text. You want to use key words: industry buzzwords, the types of products you make and the region or neighborhood where your shop is located.
With strategy, and a clear understanding of the role your website plays, you’ll have an invaluable business tool.

Tike uses Lilah’s Deli’s website for three speciﬁc purposes: 1. To show up in search results. 2. To showcase the bakery’s portfolio of cakes. 3. To provide general information, such as the locations and lunch menu.

Another SEO strategy involves your photos. Be sure that you’re tagging them. “That’s something that people too often overlook,” Whitson says. And not only because it helps with SEO; it also helps with the usability of your site. “Just because you upload a visual, it doesn’t mean people will automatically get the message that you’re hoping to portray,” she says. For a bakery, especially for cake business, tagging photos is a vital tool. Custom cakes are big business, so potential customers will want to search — both your site and the Web in general — for speciﬁc examples of the kinds of cake they want, from ﬂavors to themes, to actual sculpted pieces. So be sure that when they search, they can ﬁnd the best examples of what you can do. Another tool that helps with searchability is creating a presence in local online listings, such as www.yellowpages.com and Google Maps. The beneﬁts of these listings are twofold. It’s important to have your bakery visible when consumers search these sites. And while updating these sites is simple to do on your own, many web hosting companies can also update them in a batch for you. For example, 1&1 has a service called “List Local,” where they submit all of your web information to different online directory listings. “It’s one thing to have a website,” Whitson says, “but people can’t go to it if they don’t know it exists.” Updating the online listings with your website, as well as all your social media outlets, also aids in your SEO rankings. Not only is it just another area to get your name out there, but it’s also a place where you can link all your online tools together. The more legitimate links you have to and from your site, the better your search rankings will be. Deﬁning the roles As with the local listing links, integrating your website with your social media sites can only enhance your online presence and search rankings. Just remember to have a clear strategy for your website. A useful, successful website requires more than just placing basic information on the Web. With strategy, and a clear understanding of the role your website plays, you’ll have an invaluable business tool.

WHERE TO START
Creating a new website can be a daunting task. Even for the web-savvy, it requires time and effort that you might not have at your disposal, what with running a bakery. If you choose to outsource your Web hosting, here are some things to look for.

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• Domain — Every website needs a domain name, like www.mybakery.com. Look for a provider that will include the domain name in the package they offer, in order to streamline your entire process. Otherwise, you’ll have to purchase it separately. • Design services — whether you have a big budget for a custom design, or you’re just looking for a customizable template, look for a host that offers options that are best for you. • Traffic — A website is a business tool, so think about it in terms of growth. Will the provider you choose be able to support traffic to your site as your business (or locations) grow? • Storage — Look for a provider that offers unlimited storage, in order to upload large files such as photos, videos and other interactive elements.

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bake - June 2012

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