For the Online Marketer Who Wants More Sales

Would you like to know how to make your website more productive? If so, you might want to pay close attention to the 10 Performance Points below. You may discover some ways to improve your website using this checklist of the key components necessary for maximum profitability.

1. Curb Appeal—Does your home page make the right first impression? Is it appropriate for your industry? Is it blatantly obvious to your visitors why they should stay and learn more? Is the look and feel consistent with the image you want to project? Is your text readable? Does the immediately viewable area contain unproductive dead space?

You only have a few seconds to get and keep viewers' attention. These points are critical if you want people to understand what you do and how it will benefit them.

2. Design Components—Do your graphic elements look professional and load quickly? Are they relevant to the message you want to convey? Are elements such as Flash, JavaScript navigation buttons and other interactive components creating barriers to your site's effectiveness?

Usability studies consistently show that most people dislike Flash intro pages, popup windows and music that starts automatically. Why annoy people needlessly?

3. Home Page Text—Does your home page copy instantly convey the key reasons for doing business with you? Does it contain customer-focused, benefit-laden words, or does it ramble on with meaningless "name, rank and serial number" information?

Does your content build trust? Does it describe how you are different from your competition?

4. Home Page Navigation—Are your links action-oriented? Will they motivate people to click? Is it obvious why someone should click on each link? Is there a logical flow to your navigation structure? Are your navigation arrays confusing? Are they consistent?

You can't make it too convenient for people to learn about you.

5. Site Content—Do you make it easy for visitors to contact you? Do you provide complete details about your company's location, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.? Do you have a privacy policy?

It's surprising how many companies bury their contact information within a website. Why make it difficult for prospects, customers and the media to contact you?

6. Sales Copy—Is your sales copy targeted, relevant and meaningful to a potential customer? Does your copy focus on the reader, rather than on your company? How often do you use the words "you" and "your?" Is your copy filled with confusing industry jargon? For more on effective advertising copy that focuses on the reader, view my July 12 blog post entitled, "Is Being Inner-Focused Hurting Your Business?"

Before they get to know you, most people are only interested in what's in it for them if they stay at your site. Give them good reasons to stay and they will.

7. Compelling Offer—Does your home page make an irresistible offer that will motivate qualified prospects to eagerly hand over multiple contact details? Do you have an automated response system in place to follow up with prospects? How are you keeping track of your prospects? For an example of this, view the free reports and mp3 audio available at the Write Marketing Group home page in exchange for contact information.

A website is only as good as its ability to compile contact information for follow-up, or make sales directly. The more complex your offering is, the more critical it is to have a method of gathering contact details along with permission to re-contact.

8. Call(s)-to-Action—Do your pages each have at least one call to action? What is the most desired result you want from each of your pages? Do you have a newsletter or ezine strategy that delivers relevant, targeted content that is interesting enough that people will actually read it? How do you know if people are reading your messages?

Just like in the offline world, many websites fail to ask the reader to take action. Since you may not get a second chance, it's imperative that you tell people very clearly what you want them to do.

9. Ordering Process—Is your order process easy to understand and easy to use? Is it secure? Do you explain what happens after someone places an order? Have you addressed every question a potential customer might ask? Do your customers get an immediate confirmation when they order?

Confidence and trust are the keys to online ordering success. Make it easy and safe for people to order from you and they will.

10. Search Engine Readiness—Are your home page meta tags in place? Do you have relevant keywords appropriately placed to maximize your chances of getting listed? Are you listed with the major search engines? What is your link popularity? Are your keywords too broad to generate targeted traffic?

Many websites look good on the surface, but underneath—where the code is—they are poorly designed for search engine robots. At a minimum, make sure your title and description tags are optimized to the keywords you want to emphasize.

How did you do? Did your answers convince you that you need help? If so, contact Ben Edwards today at 617-670-1888, ext. 1 for a complimentary 30-minute evaluation.