Website Promotion - An Easy Step-by-Step Guide
It's easier than you think!
Website marketing is not all that difficult. However, it does require a plan. Just like (I hope) you have a marketing plan for your business, you should have a marketing plan for promoting your website.
Take a weekend and put the website marketing plan together using the tips and useful information on my website. Then follow it ruthlessly or at least put someone at your company in charge of implementing your website promotion plan. The results will be worth it.
The following list will get you well on your way to creating an online monster that really sells your products or services.
First, you must seduce people into visiting your website
I give away a copy of my Easy Step-by-Step Guide to Promoting Your Website to attract people. I also offer this free newsletter on writing website copy and SEO.For you, it could be a White Paper, or a Product Guide to whatever you sell, or a How to Minimize Your Costs When Buying (blank) Service. Google will eat it up and so will visitors looking for your product or service.
Regularly update your website content
If people come to your website and find the same old thing every time, they won't be back. Google feels the same way. If there's never anything new on your website, why would they recommend anyone go there?Forget about registering with search engines
Not to worry. The search engines make their money by giving people the best results for their searches. That means they are constantly searching for new content. They will find you.
Put your website URL on everything
I have a picture of my car in the banner at the top of this page. My website URL is on three sides of the car in big, bold (but tasteful) letters. Never miss an opportunity to put your URL on everything that goes out your door. (Including the door.)
Find a way to participate online
That could be a newsletter like Small Business Marketing Secrets, or it could be a blog like WordsmithBlog (you must post to a blog at least three times a week and add to it regularly).Another option is to post articles on all the online websites that collect them. I know of one company that has a full time person who does nothing but write and post articles relevant to the company's business. She posts up to fifty articles a week. It's the only advertising the company does and they are swamped with work. Makes you think, doesn't it? What kind of return are you getting from your advertising?
Get some quality links to your website
Quality links are links from important or very popular websites that are very relevant to your business. I know of another firm that sells a limited selection of medical products. And they have only ten incoming links to their website.However, they are at the top of Google's listings because the websites that link to them are huge information websites like the Centers for Disease Control. The quality of the links coming to your website is way more important than the quantity.
Fill your website with "Calls-to-Action."
This is one of the most important things you can do. I don't know how many websites I have come across that have all kinds of information on the website but not one word about "call us right now" with a phone number or "email us now for more information" with a link right there.
There should be several calls to action on every page of your website. And the best place for a call to action is within the text, not at the end of the page or off to the side.
In other words, if you'd like to have all these improvements on your site, you should call me right now at 612-226-7667 or email me to get a free consultation on turning your website into a 24/7 sales machine. You've got nothing to lose and a whole lot of business to gain.
Create an effective Contact Us page
To return to our article, don't just settle for a "Contact Us" page. Odds are, most people would rather move on to your competitors than click on a Contact Us page.Why? Because they know from experience that, more often than not, they will have to fill out a form or there's just a phone number and address on the page. That's not selling. The sales person who never asks for the sale is the one who goes home empty-handed.
Search engine optimization or getting people to your website, will be covered in the January '08 newsletter.
Identifying Website Gaps: The Unforeseen Opportunity
By Duane Coleman
The Internet is a cost-effective lead generation and sales tool and, unlike most off-line media, its effectiveness is easily measurable. It's also easy to identify gaps in performance.
I define gaps as the difference between current performance and potential performance (potential performance - current performance = gaps). Another term for gaps is "missed opportunities," which can equate to lost revenue. Gaps can be significant, depending upon the number of transactions, average sale size and other factors.
For example, an organization has generated a conversion rate* of 1.3% for a pay-per-click advertising campaign. This organization has the potential to achieve a 3.0% conversion rate. The difference of 1.7% equates to over $4,500.00 in additional profit per month or $54,000.00 in incremental net income over a 12-month period.
Additional detail:
Key Metrics ............................................Current ..........Potential
Click Through Rate (CTR)*.........................35%.................1.0%
Conversion Rate**....................................1.3% ................3.0%
Sales Transactions/Month..........................11....................70
Cost per Sale............................................$47.69...............$26.67
Revenue per Sale....................................$100.00 ...........$100.00
Sales Revenue/Month..............................$1,057.88........$6,975.00
Net Income............................................. $553.35............$5,115.00
(sales - click costs, etc.)
Additional Monthly Revenue $5,917.13
Additional Monthly Net Income $4,561.65
Additional items that can be measured for gaps include search engine rankings, keywords, click through rates, abandonment rates, copy, etc. You can also measure gaps against the competition, in addition to market potential.
Once you've identified the gaps, it's time to act
Identifying the gaps is the first piece of the puzzle. What's more important are the steps you take once the gaps have been identified.
I've seen many business owners attempt a number of tactics over the years and have found that those that have been the most successful have taken a strategic approach to their website.
In most cases, these successful website owners have leveraged the experience of Internet marketing professionals, SEO professionals, professional web copywriters and others.
Beginning with an assessment, or gap analysis, these professionals can pinpoint the gaps and develop a comprehensive strategy to plug these holes.
If you are interested in identifying the gaps in your website, contact a reputable Internet marketing firm. The services of these professionals more than pays for itself as performance improves dramatically and profits multiply.
*Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of clicks the ad receives divided by the number of times the ad is shown
**Conversion Rate: The number of conversions divided by the number of ad clicks
DLC&A Internet Marketing is a Twin Cities based internet marketing firm. They develop and implement search engine friendly internet marketing strategies that generate sales leads and revenue for small and medium sized businesses.
For additional information, please contact 763-242-2454 or info@dlcainternetmarketing.com or visit DLC&A on line at www.dlcainternetmarketing.com.
Thank you for reading this issue of WordsmithBob's Small Business Marketing Secrets, published monthly. Bob has been helping businesses turn their websites into 24/7 sales machines since 2000.
If you want to create a website that actually leads to sales or sales leads, please contact WordsmithBob or call 612-226-7667.
Visit my BLOG for more tips and tricks for websites, Internet marketing, copy writing and marketing in general.
Need help developing an effective slogan, "hook" or 60 second commercial for your firm? Contact WordsmithBob.com right now!
In This Issue
• Website Promotion - An Easy Step-by-Step Guide
• Identifying Website Gaps: The Unforeseen Opportunity
• Website Marketing Tip
• Get web saavy!. Visit WordsmithBLOG!
Special Offer
Get a free, no-obligation, website analysis (a $300 value)
Website Marketing tip
The two biggest mistakes you can make with your website is to give people too much information on the Home page and not enough information deeper in the site.
You want to create pages of helpful information in your website and use the Home page as a "table of contents" to guide people deeper into your site.
However, don't write the Home page like a list. Write subheads that people can scan to find the subject they want. Then write a teaser to let them know that this is what they're looking for and they can find more information if they follow the text link...
For more on this subject, read the article:
The Power of Placing Links Within Your Text
Bob McClain or WordsmithBob, has been studying and perfecting his skills in:
• Web writing
• Web marketing
• Web copy
• Search Engine Optimization
since 2000.
He is also a restaurant reviewer for Twin Cities Dining Guide.com in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a volunteer with The Rose Ensemble in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and a member of the Power Networkers chapter of BNI.