To be successful with your online business, whether you are selling your
own product, services or are selling for other merchants as an affiliate,
you need a Web site that focuses on that subject alone. The site must be
easy to build, maintenance-free, low cost, credible, and a powerful
traffic-builder and customer-converter.
Having the right tools or product alone will not insure the success of
your website. There are many factors to be considered when designing your
site. And unfortunately, most of these are usually ignored by Internet
business owners. Here are eight simple steps to enhance your site and make
it profitable.
1. Build It for Speed There is no denying that in this day and age that
people are in a hurry. You have between 10 and 30 seconds to capture your
potential customer's attention. To minimize your load time, keep graphics
small. Compress them where possible. Use flashy technology (JavaScript,
Flash, Streaming Audio/Video, animation) sparingly and only if it is
imperative to your presentation.
2. Target your Market Know who your market is and make certain that your
site caters to their needs. It is critical that your site reflect the
values of your potential customers. Is your market mostly business
professionals? If so, the site must be clean and professional. Is your
product aimed at teenagers and young adults? Then your site could be more
informal and relaxed. The key is to know your market and build the site to
their preferences.
3. Focus the Site Make certain your web site is focused on the goal of
selling your product or service. If your business offers many products,
dedicate a unique page for each instead of trying to sell them all from
one page. This can easily be accomplished through the utilization of
subdomains.
4. Build Credibility The most professionally designed site won't sell if
your customers don't believe in you. Become an authority in your chosen
niche. The internet is all about information, not just marketing. People
go to the internet to find information on a particular subject. Providing
clear concise articles focused on the subject of your site makes you an
expert in your field. Providing a clear privacy statement is also away to
build your credibility. Provide a prominent link to your privacy statement
from every page on the site as well as from any location that you are
asking your visitors for personal information. Provide legitimate contact
information on line, including your mailing address and phone number.
Don't hide behind a computer!
5. Keep navigation simple Make site navigation easy and intuitive. Simple
and smooth navigation adds to the convenience of the visitors. Add
powerful search and catalog features. Many times a lot of visitors do not
have the patience to navigate through the whole website to find what they
are looking for.
6. Keep it consistent Make sure the site is consistent in look, feel and
design. Nothing is more jarring and disturbing to a customer than feeling
as if they have just gone to another site. Keep colors and themes constant
throughout the site.
7. Make your site interactive and personalized Make your website
interactive. Add feedback forms as well as email forms that allow your
prospective customers to ask you any questions they might have pertaining
to a product. Personalization of your website is another key element that
can lead to customer delight and can increase your sales. Personalization
technology provides you the analytic tools to facilitate cross-selling and
up-selling when the customer is buying online. It would give you an idea
of what products to cross-sell and up-sell. For example, when a person
buys a CD player, a disc cleaner can also be offered.
8. Content is King Good content sells a product. Ask yourself the
following questions. Does your copy convey the message you wish to get
across to your visitors? Is it compelling? Does it lead your visitor
through the sales process? Have others review, critique and edit your copy
to insure it is delivering the intended message. Always double check your
spelling and grammar.
These eight, simple rules will go a long way toward the improvement of
your website and most importantly, turn visitors into customers.
About the Author
Alden Smith is an award winning author who has been marketing on the
internet for over 7 years. His site, <href:http://www.for-the-record.biz>,
is loaded with articles and information for the beginning blogger and
internet marketer. Articles are posted daily, addressing everything from
CSS to blogging for the beginning markete
No comments:
Post a Comment