5 Ways To Make Sure Your Website Is Selling For You

Your business website is essentially your storefront, business card and most significant marketing piece all rolled into one.  How your visitors/customers are affected by your website is very important to your success.  When you provide a memorable experience people are sure to return time and time again.  These 5 keys are just a few ideas that can help you to enhance your website so it sells for you.

#1 - Make your website interactive.  

As the internet continues to grow and evolve it's becoming more important to create a community around your business so it's necessary to engage people when they visit.   

    •    Provide a forum
    •    Post surveys or polls
    •    Enable visitors and customers to review items.  Example: "How valuable was this article?" with a scale of 1 to 5 stars or a ranking from 1-10.
    •    Publish video and audio content as well as written content.  This gives users another way to connect to you and your personality.

 #2 - Provide value on your website.  

People go online for a number of reasons.  To research a potential purchase, to seek solutions for a challenge they're having and/or to be entertained.  The good news is your content can provide both the information and the entertainment and when written well can also inspire purchases.  

    •    How to articles, videos, and audio
    •    Tips articles, videos, and audio
    •    Case studies
    •    Workbooks and reports
    •    Interviews with experts
    •    Product reviews

 #3 - Easy navigation is essential! 

It takes a visitor about 20 seconds to make a decision about whether they're going to stay on your website or leave. If your is easy to get around and things are easy to find people are more likely to hang out - the longer they stay on your site the more likely they are to make a purchase or to return again.   So................ 

    •    Keep your site simple.
    •    Keep your pages uniform with the same options and appearance.
    •    If you have a lot of content, great!  Use drop down menus and organize your content by topic for easier access.
    •    Offer a search function where users can search for products, services, or content topics quickly and easily.
    •    Provide a way for users to easily go back to previous pages.  A back key is an option however if every page has the same options and drop down menus, including the ability to quickly return to the home page, a visitor will always be able to find what they need.
    •    Test your website's appearance on different browsers to make sure every visitor has a good experience.

 #4 - Make your website easy on the eyes.  

Ever visit a website and the text was so small or the colors so incompatible that you couldn't read a word? Font, design and color are very important factors when designing a website.  Make sure:  

    •    Your colors are easy on the eyes,
    •    Your graphics aren't distracting
    •    Keep formatting like underlining, bold and italics to a minimum.
    •    Spacing between sentences and paragraphs is adequate
    •    Font size is large enough for people to read and font is easy to read

 #5 - Make your website a soft sell.  

People do expect to be sold and often they're looking for something - however if they don't know you they are going to be wary.  Instead of hitting website visitors with a hard sell, provide information, give something away, solve a challenge and show them the benefits of your products or services.  Remember that people want connection and that means to you, not just to what you are selling. Always remember that capturing your visitors email information on your website is of great importance and that people love freebies.

Creating a website that sells requires a structured approach and a desire to create the best experience possible for your visitors