Is Your Website Helping Your Business?

If we take a good look at all marketing and advertising venues, we need

to make sure that each thing we do has one common thread: a call to action.

We must ask the viewer to do something. If your business is going to have a

website, then all other mediums that you use should emphatically direct the

viewer or reader to your website. Why? Because it’s more affordable and

accessible than other mediums, you can tell your story much better on your

website than anywhere else. This is why a classified ad that simply directs

someone to your website may yield surprisingly high dividends.

Most websites are not as effective as they could be. There are

many do’s and don’t’s associated with successful web marketing.

If you want to attract visitors to your site and convert them to

customers, here are some important tips.

• Call to action - Every page of your site must direct the visitor to take

action, even if that action is directing the person to go to another page.

If you are selling something, it’s important to ask for the order in several

places on your site. At the very least, you want to direct the visitor to a

response form where they supply you with name, address, email

address, etc. The more information you can get, the better. One way

to obtain this is to provide something free in exchange for their contact

info. Every visitor is an important lead, so you must be able to reach

him!

• Site Structure – All pages should contain navigation links to every

page in your site. These links should appear on the top and bottom of

each page. Most sites typically include the following pages:

1. Home – Welcome prospective customers and give them an overview of your business. It should also direct visitors to take a specific action

2. About us – Information on your company

3. Testimonials – Gives your business credibility.

4. Contact us – Address, email, telephone, contact name

5. News and Events – Latest information about your

business, such as new products/services or awards, special events.

6. Order Now – Enables visitors to order your product or service at

any time.

7. Links or Affiliate Sites – This is a form of cross-marketing, where

other sites with which you have agreed to “trade links” are

available to give your site visitors direct access to related

products.