Build A Website That Actually Makes You Money!
By Ford Saeks
Is your website bringing in the sales you expected? Are you getting the number of leads you’d hoped for? Does your site make it easy for customers to buy your goods?
If your answer to any of those questions was no (or even maybe!), I’ve got six sure-fire secrets you can implement right now to turn so-so websites into real money-makers. Some of these may seem like common sense, but after reviewing hundreds of sites for various companies, trust me… too many sites suffer from these costly and easily avoidable mistakes.
Secret #1: Get more domain names. More domains make it easier for prospects to find you. You want domains that are easy to remember, spell, and read. Use domains to track promotions, use them in Pay-Per-Click advertisements, and most importantly—buy as many variations on your name as you can think of to keep competitors from using them to confuse and steal your customers!
While the “.com” extension is still your best choice, don’t forget to purchase variations on your domains that feature hyphens and other extensions (.net, .org, .info. and the new .mobi).
Secret #2: Create a list of your top 50 Keywords. Keywords help visitors find you in the search engines. Think about what words YOUR prospects would type into a search engine to find your business. Those are your keywords. When prospects search for something, sometimes they may search a broad term using only one word. For example, maybe they type in “seafood” (that’s a keyword). If they type in multiple words, that is called a keyword phrase (“seafood restaurants New York City”).
Create a list that you can use later when building or redesigning your site. Use your keywords when writing content and naming the actual html page (“seafood_newyork.html”). Use those keywords in online articles, specific web pages, HTML Meta tags and create distinctive page titles for every page on your site (page titles are the words that show up on the top edge of the web browser). Look at your home page; what keywords does it show?
Secret #3: Help the search engines find you. The search engine’s job is to provide the best search results and user experience for their customers. Having compelling content on your site is key! Map out your site content, looking at your keyword list to make sure you’ve used them throughout your site. A word of caution: don’t arbitrarily jam keywords on pages. After all, your content needs to be readable. I’ve seen some people try to cram as many keywords into the content as possible. This not only confuses and turns away prospects, but the search engines are smart enough to know what you’re doing and your site could get banned. Not a good thing… Another great way to help search engines find you is to add a blog to your site and a sitemap (go to Google and type “Google sitemap” for helpful sitemap tools).
Secret #4: Build your database. Make it easy for the customer to use the site and spend money. Use an ethical bribe—give away a premium or something of perceived value like a free report, white paper, or download in exchange for their contact information. Improve the “personality of your site” by using people in images if appropriate. Test your sign up forms and customize the landing pages and messages. Include “Thank You” pages for purchases, and use them to upsell or give new customers free bonuses. You can even use opt-in messages for newsletters and ezines as an opportunity to promote your products.
Secret # 5: Keep the Graphic Designer and Web Programmers in Check. Remember that you are the marketer… you need to control the entire website-design processes. Don’t let a designer talk you into sacrificing easy navigation for fancy special effects. Avoid that ‘circus’ look of too many fonts, sizes, and colors. You want (and are paying for!) a site with clear and redundant navigation. Before you hire any web design firm (or other vendor for that matter), check their references. Review samples of their work. If you don’t see clear marketing messages and actions steps on those websites, find someone else.
Secret # 6: Set up your tracking methods and calculate your visitor value. This is also known as “Value-Per-Visitor” (VPV). Take your sales dollars for a given period (usually a month), then divide by the number of visitors to your site to determine your VPV. For example, if you made $1,000 worth of sales in a month, divide it by 5,000 (the number of visitors you had) to discover your VPV is 20 cents. How much is each one of your site visitor’s worth? This will also help you determine how much you can spend in Pay-Per-Click too. You can learn a great deal from your site by tracking everything. Use your site statistics to help you identify areas where you need improvement on your site and turn more clicks into customers.
I hope you’re excited about all the ways you now have to increase your website’s performance. Each of these ideas can make you a lot of money if you take the time to implement them.