Any website designed for business should have these four essential components:
This involves two areas: Search Engine Optimization and Traditional Marketing.
Seems obvious, but this is one of the most common mistakes! Is your website optimized for search engines??? If not, search engines won't show your website in their results.
Is your website employing search engine optimization (SEO) 'tricks' or is your website truly optimized for search engines today and in the future? If the basis for your SEO is link trading and stuffing your site with keywords, we have some news for you...You are behind the curve! The largest search engine, Google, has severely downgraded links and keywords as variables for search results.
Even if you have the most optimized site in the world, you'll still need to continue with your traditional marketing to service your clients and find more prospects. In fact we've found more untapped potential in traditional marketing than in SEO!
Do all of your marketing pieces include your website address? Good. 90% of all businesses do this too! Here is where you can set your self apart...Don't just include your website address, instruct the prospect to go to your website and tell them what they will find when they get there! If you are marketing a specific offer (which you ought to), give a direct address to the offer's details (i.e. http://true-industry.com/web_design.php/Real_Value). For most of your marketing pieces that small adjustment won't cost you a single dime, but will convert more advertising eyes to website visitors! And that's the first step!
Get more people to view your site so that it can work for you.
Oh, boy. If one is good then a hundred is even better, right? One hundred links! One hundred images! "One hundred bells and whistles will keep the website visitor busy long enough that they may just find the form that will make them give me their contact information!"
You don't buy that. It's almost insulting when you think about it. As an business owner you need a website. Why? Because it is a fantastic tool to leverage yourself. However, it is a two edged sword, because while it can represent you while you are sleeping...it does represent you! From the moment your prospect visits your site they start judging you. A website that is gaudy and archaic in architecture makes you look the same. A site that is full of images and links gives the impression that you are chaotic and disorganized.
"UNFAIR!" you cry in protest. Yet, nonetheless, that's the way it goes. So, in order to convert a prospect that arrives at your site, to a client that closes a transaction, you have to help them to stick around once they get to your site. How do you do it?
Provide a clean, well designed site that represents you as a professional. What is meant by 'a clean, well designed site'? Design has less to do with how many links and images you can jam in to one page and more with ease of use for the end user.
Much of your clientele will feel more at ease with a website that is simple, yet up to date with a few valuable tools rather than with an over gadgetized website. And feeling at ease is very important if you want them to get to step 3...
We all know that a major reason for anyone to visit a business' website is research. They want to be able to learn about your company in one convenient location. Your website must meet this criterion. If you are able to get them to your site, and you didn't scare them away because you have a clean design that represents you as a professional, then you must provide the resources.
By inviting them to your website and providing the appropriate resources, you will have dramatically increased your odds of doing business with the prospect.
By providing this information you have established your website as a resource. To compete in today's marketplace you have to at least hit this level. You must cover the first three parts in their entirety or you are working below basic productivity. You are spending money to get prospects only to lose them before you know it.
Most companies would probably try and tell you that the website does that for you, but we won't tell you that. Principly because it's not true. Yes, a True Industry website will facilitate your ability to establish yourself as an authority, but actually doing it is up to you.
Many businesses attempt to gain trust by telling the prospect they can be trusted. But we also know that just telling someone they can trust you doesn't cause them to be loyal. You have to earn it. No two ways around it. You have to earn your prospect's trust. And if your website is a tool that you are using (and you practically have to use it in today's market), to represent yourself, then you have to make sure that it does the job of earning your prospect's trust.
About half, maybe even eighty percent (you know the 80/20 rule don't you?) of all business owners that read this next part will leave our website (if they haven't already). Not because what you'll read is vulgar or rude, just because they are looking for a 'quick fix' to earning more money.
You must provide your prospect with original, authoritative content that was written by you. And your website has to facilitate the delivery of that content for you.
That's it. Think about it. If your website is 'tricking' your prospect into telling you who they are, what does that say about you? If you are promising a 'free report' if they tell you who they are first, what guarantee does the prospect have that the free report is worth it? Why would that prospect be loyal to you? Why would they stick with you if another business approaches them?
If you don't invest in educating the prospect, helping them, serving them before you meet them, how confident are they that you'll do it after they decide to work with you???
We believe in doing business the old fashioned way. We earn it.
We take a hard look at how you do things now and consult with you on how you can do it better. We have departed from the virtual business model to provide you with the highest quality technological solutions with the personal interaction of a personal representative.
Each one of our clients works with a personal technology consultant who will look at their current business/marketing plan and then will direct them in how to enhance their business using sound business principles and the latest technology. And they'll consult with you initially for free.
Our website solutions are built on these four basic principles to business website success and are priced extremely reasonably appropriately.
Have questions? Fell free to contact us by phone, email or using the quick contact form at the top of this page.