Your web site is like your car. Both are significant investments that require the right features and regular and proper maintenance to ensure maximal satisfaction and performance.
Your car is a finely tuned machine. You bought it not only to get you from point A to point B but also perhaps to have some fun and look good as you go. If you purchased your car new its engine had no wear. To keep it running like the day you bought it you maintain it regularly: you change the oil every 3000 miles, you inspect its belts and hoses, you check its fluids and rotate its tires (or at least you should). Without such attention the money you spent on your car will eventually seem like a mistake as it sits idly in your garage because it won't start.
Your investment in your web site deserves the same care you give your car. While the purpose of your car is to get you from place to place, the purpose of your web site is to help you develop new business and become more successful. It doesn't matter if your business is retail sales or professional services, your web site is supposed to act as your store front on the Internet. While your web site doesn't need its oil changed or tires rotated it does require maintenance to ensure it performs as the marketing tool you intended it to be when you paid to have it developed.
Here are five things you can do to tune up or add to the marketing function of your web site.
Fresh content
Fresh content will keep your visitors coming back to your site just like the oil and gas in your car help ensure it starts every time you put the key in the ignition. If you neglect to maintain fresh supplies of either, you're asking for trouble. Your visitors seek fresh content. Once your visitors realize they've gotten all their going to get out of your site they will not return.
Add new, relevant and helpful content to your site as often as you can and you will keep your visitors happy and returning.
Keywords
Your keywords are the words your visitors use when they think about the products or services you provide. They are like the make and model of your car - they are what get noticed. Your visitors use keywords and phrases to perform searches at sites like Google and Yahoo! to find what they need. They recognize and respond to these words when they see them featured in search listings, advertisements and other promotional materials. Make sure you know your keyword phrases and incorporate them into the Title, Meta Tags and copy of your web site.
Copy
The advertising copy of your web site can be likened to the amenities of your car. Your car has a stereo, cup holders and convenient storage space to address your wants and needs as you drive. The copy of your web site should do the same thing. To maximize the marketing function of your web site's copy make sure it focuses on the problems, wants and concerns of your clients. Your visitors will be more likely to identify you as the solution to their problem if you demonstrate to them that you understand their needs.
Require Action
Just like your car requires you to step on the gas to make it go, your web site requires your visitors to take the action you want them to take in order to function as an effective marketing tool. No one has to tell you to step on the gas. Your visitors need to be told what to do. Tell them to "buy now" or "request our catalog". If you don't they might ever know that's what they're supposed to do.
Get Contact Info
Getting contact information from you visitors is like remembering the keys to your car. If you can't get into you car and start it, you're not going anywhere. Likewise, if you don't learn who your prospects are you can't continue marketing to them. Most people who visit your web site will not buy from you the first time they stop by. In most cases, it takes between six and eight marketing contacts with a prospect before they choose to purchase something. Your prospects are no different. If you acquire their contact information you will be able to repeatedly market to them.
Take the steps you need to maintain your web site and it will run smoothly and get you where you want to go.
Copyright 2005 Jeremy Cohen, Better Marketing Results
The author, Jeremy Cohen, helps small business owners and professional service providers attract more clients and be more successful by helping them deliver a web site that sells and improve their marketing materials to generate more interest in their products and services. Get his free marketing guide, Jumpstart Marketing: More Profits, Clients and Success: http://www.bettermarketingresults.com/marketing-services.asp
Alto Pass chicago limos ..Do your web pages, sales letters or personal presentations include... Read More
Want to know what the worst thing to say on... Read More
Your home page is the most important page of your... Read More
Not too long ago while looking for businesses that do... Read More
No, that's not the real question. The real question is... Read More
If you have a business, big or small you may... Read More
What is a Website Template?Many smart and savvy businesses are... Read More
Want to know what the worst thing to say on... Read More
Usability isn't only for Web design. It's also applicable in... Read More
Do know your audienceIt's important to know your audience. If... Read More
Before deciding on which web design company to choose, you... Read More
Congratulations! You've got a brand new site and it's doing... Read More
First impressions are extremely important if you hope to do... Read More
You know that I'm always extolling the virtues of an... Read More
The Basics You have a flourishing business ? everything is... Read More
If you have a website, you want your visitors to... Read More
Don't make a splash!Are you thinking about using a splash... Read More
So how do you know when your graphic designer costs... Read More
There are plenty of web sites out there in which... Read More
The way you design your web site affects your visitors'... Read More
What pages need to be included on your website? The... Read More
When creating an e-cover the what's the first thought that... Read More
You have only 10 seconds to impress your potential buyer.... Read More
Hello, how is your website doing?Are sales flowing in?If you... Read More
One of the challenges of moving a web site up... Read More
Alto Pass cool limo ..Being a writer, when I was asked to do some... Read More
The trend today to overuse animation in a website's opening... Read More
For many webmasters the title of my article may seem... Read More
I taught myself HTML back in the mid-nineties and was... Read More
The best things don't come easy. - QuotedThe finished web... Read More
We've all read the countless publications about effective web site... Read More
Graphics are fun, but if you put in too many... Read More
10 Basic Things Your Website Should Have ...__ all short... Read More
It seems more and more webmasters are using CSS for... Read More
In my last article entitled, Maximizing The True Value Of... Read More
Remember the day that you got your new computer (or... Read More
Well, you've got your product, started your home business, and... Read More
The landing page or entry page of your visitors is... Read More
1. Assemble a web site development plan that is integrated... Read More
Web advertising has taken many forms, including those that appear... Read More
This is a very perfunctory look at the website code... Read More
Are you using the best colors for your web site?... Read More
Making a successful online business can be a long and... Read More
The first immutable law of effective navigation: It's gotta be... Read More
An ongoing challenge for webmasters today is to provide fresh... Read More
A search for "web design" on Google returns more than... Read More
You can create a website that attracts customers, not repels... Read More
Web usability is perhaps the most important factor in any... Read More
We can't emphasize enough the importance of including keyword-rich content... Read More
Then it was a choice among crayons, paints and palettes... Read More
Web Design |