Make Your Website a Business Profit Center, by Janis Pettit

You probably spend lots of time and money building your small business website. Are you getting the results from it that you hoped for? Even if you don't actually sell products and services from your website, you can make it a traffic magnet. Many small business owners have websites that are simply glorified brochures. They get little traffic and are simply suspended in cyberspace collecting cyberdust. I've seen this happen too many times. Clients have come to me perplexed as to why they are not getting new clients from their website. After all, they're not internet marketers. They're busy running their business.

The problem is that they had no idea how they would get traffic to their site before they built it. Lots of people figure if they build they, "they" will come. Perhaps they hired an inexpensive web designer who didn't have any knowledge of web marketing, strategy, traffic building or search engine optimization. For me, it's like when my car breaks down. I know nothing about cars and I go to a mechanic that's been recommended with the hope that they know what they're doing.

A web designer designs websites. Some offer a more comprehensive service, but most don't. You need to educate yourself a bit about building a profitable website before you even begin and it's not always the best idea to use the cheapest designer.

Here are some basic ideas I'd like to share with you from my www.smartrack.net program.

First of all, it's important to pick the right domain name. Sometimes you need several domain names besides your actual company name. Having a domain name that is based on the most popular keyword phrase that people use to find your type of services is just a small step toward making your website attractive to the search engines. You can buy domain names for as little as $2.95 a year.

Research keywords and keyword phrases that you think would be used to find each page on your site, and compare how many searches are done monthly and how many websites come up in a Google search for that keyword. Tools such as www.nichebot.com allow you to do this easily. Keywords are extremely important on every page and are best determined before you build your website. However, you can always edit your website content and metatags anytime after your website is live.

Learn how to write web content that's customer focused and search engine friendly. Always make visitors understand right up front that you understand their challenges or wants, since that�s why they're there. Then show them what the results or benefits would be if they used your service. There is a system that's fairly simple to follow which will allow you to do this. Search engines today are looking for websites rich in content on a specific topic with keyword-focused pages. Remember that your job is to engage each visitor, so they want to come back again and again.

Make sure you have a data capture form on your home page that encourages visitors to join your mailing list. Offer them something of value in exchange. Once you have that information, you can contact them regularly so they get to know your business. By sharing valuable knowledge, tools, resources and special offers, you will engage them and keep your business top of mind.

Is your website user friendly and easy to navigate? Can a visitor find what they need in with one or two clicks of the mouse? Ask a middle school child to find specific information on your website and time how long it takes. Many online sales are abandoned because too many steps are involved or the process is too complicated.

Pepper your pages with testimonials. It's important to establish your credibility and expertise at every opportunity. Toot your own horn and don't save it just for a testimonials page. It shows visitors that it's worth doing business with you.

Provide valuable information on your website. So many small business websites list products and services and talk about how wonderful the company is. Visitors want answers to questions. Simple surveys can let you know what visitors are looking for so you can give them a free taste of it, which will gather interest. Give them a reason to come back by providing fresh information, resources and tools regularly.

Your website is always a work in progress. If you want your website to be a prospect and profit magnet, it must continually be updated and improved. Think of it as a real profit center in your business and spend the time that you would spend on any profit generating part of your business. You will receive a substantial return on investment from your efforts.

Have access to the control panel and check your visitor statistics regularly. Many of the hundreds of small business owners I've worked with didn't even know they could do this or how to do it. You need to know if the changes you make to your website are making a difference in traffic and how many of those visitors are signing up for your mailing list. Having access to your hosting account and statistics will put you back in control of your website.

I admit this is a very general overview of what you can do to begin to make your website a profit center in your business, but hopefully it will help you take a good, hard look at the money you may be throwing away and it will motivate you to make some positive changes that will produce powerful results.

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Make Your Website a Business Profit Center

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Website Design