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Your Web Strategy
for Success Building a successful web strategy is both an art and a
science. To simplify the process, we break it down into five steps. You
need to attract the right visitors to your site, engage their interest,
build their trust, lead them to take action and measure the results.
1. Get the right people to your site. If you're not attracting
the right visitors you're not building your business. Rather than relying on
any one method, consider a variety of techniques to bring targeted traffic
to your site including:
> Search Engine
optimization > Pay-per-click campaigns > Email marketing and email
newsletters > Links to related, non-competitive businesses >
Real-world promotions, advertisements and PR
2. Establish your
credibility. Just as you would in the real world sales environment, start
to build rapport with your visitors as soon as they arrive. Establish your
credibility. Show that your company understands their needs and offers the
products and services to meet them.
Your site must have a
professional look and feel that reflects your company and marketplace. The
copy should speak to your visitors in an appropriate "voice" and
emphasize the benefits-- "What's in it for me?"
3. Give your visitors
what they need. Provide appropriate information and options at the right
time. How do people make the decision to buy your product or service? As
much as possible, your site should support the personal and psychological
variables of your potential clients. Offer alternatives for those
who:
> already know what they
want > have an idea of what they want, but need more info > are
browsing and need direction
4. Motivate them to take
action: conversion rates. This is what it's all about. Conversion is the
process in which you persuade visitors to take the action you want them
to take: signup for a newsletter, submit a form, or make a purchase. How can
you improve your conversion rate?
Make the action steps
obvious in your copy-- its color, style, and position on the page. Minimize
elements that detract from the action step, and provide reassurance with
your privacy policy, guarantee, and testimonials. You might even consider a
FLASH demo or web audio to guide visitors through the conversion
process.
5. Measure the
results. With web analytical tools you can learn what's working and
what's not. When you've identified a problem area, make revisions or
updates-- but be methodical. Change only one thing at a time so you can
figure out if it actually helps.
------------------------------------------------------------- Barry
Harrison is the author of "REDiTIPS" eMarketing Newsletter and a partner in
Resolve Digital, Web Strategy for the Real World.
Engaging Web
design Effective Internet Marketing Essential Content Management
Tools
Visit his site at http://www.resolvedigital.com
or mailto:barry@resolvedigital.com
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