A Money Making Web Site or Blogs ‘Must-Have’ Features

The basics will always be Titles, Descriptions and Keywords. Don’t ever forget about them, just don’t focus on them either. Should you do keyword research? Yes. Is it a bit over-rated? Yes.

Get “visual”…fast. Whether youre running a high-end tennis shoe site or a drug rehab, visitors are banging away at the keyboard because they desperately want to get a look. For the vast majority, it will be a first look, first impression. No matter what-keep it real. Do not show pictures of products you don’t stock, and don’t play “geographics.” Showing shots of the beach when you’re actually located there or a few blocks away is permissable. However when one or even two cities seperates you from the closest sand, you are NOT “by the beach.” Use photos sparingly, but enough to present a fairly complete picture of your inventory or location.

Journey to the Sale.
It is said that a possible buyer needs to see an item about 1/2 a dozen times before committing. Therefore your job is NOT to sell, but to keep your customer engaged, interested, informed and “in the loop.” And this tactic aplies to both online and brick and mortar stores. Practice those habits, and apply them well, and your sales will come…big time. A site visitor or store visitor that genuinely feels “part of” is a customer who will choose to spend their discretionary income with you.

How Can I Contact Thee? Let us count the ways…

Always, always, always go a little over-kill with contact information, preferably on every page of your website, complete with physical mailing address, telephone number and an email address that reaches you. People may want to contact you about sales, general information or technical problems on your site. Its a great idea to have standard messages go to two people, especially after-hours or on weekends. Don’t forget that if its tech related (even email!) a website or blog will be held to a higher standard than Target or Macys even though both have very big budgeted IT departments. And offer multiple online payment options. The boomers really are getting better, so lets just keep that ball rolling…enough options like credit card, PayPal or other online payment service.

Search engine optimization and better rankings are not magic pills that will help meet or beat this years sales goals. SEO can’t keep your customer on your site or make them buy. SEO can make the general public aware of your offerings, events, and help establish your identity. SEO cannot develop relationships. And, having visited your site or blogat least once, the onus is on you or others that you’ve delegated to get in the habit of relationship building. Through that process you can ensure that your client is interested in your products or services, and you can begin to narrow down the selection in an almost invisible pre-sell. Your relationship building is what will make John Q. Visitor hang around.

That same relationship will enable and empower you to motivate a visitor into purchasing additional items, same style-different color, “stock-up” based on price-point, sales, etc. With ad and marketing budgets slim right now, getting the very most from a sale is just that much more important. Besides, chances are high that you sell more than one product or service. This is your opportunity to be the “educator.” Or, if you prefer, pre-selling for a rainy day. Have lots of information on higher-end, competing products handy and near-by or in a specific area of your website. Get some Guest Post Reviews, and maybe some collateral from the manufacturer. Provide the latest brochures and catalogs. On your website or blog, provide easily visible links, and maybe even set-up a poll or invite feedback on a recently hot item. It’s all part of the e-customer as “one of us…part of the club…one of the guys/gals.”




Fully Understanding Your Demographic

Styles, buzzwords nad trends change…fast. If you’re a designer, graphic artist or even an SEO you either need to constantly be on top of all things “current”, or… have your own mini-think tank made up of friends and family and representing different age groups. In a couple of areas, I was literally years ahead of the curve. Other areas, like Facebook and Twitter, I was more of a “late-bloomer.” As a writer, that wasn’t a problem because the story was never about me. As an SEO I would be doing a huge disservice to my clients if I did not have first-hand knowledge of microblogging, social networking, tagging, and even relationship marketing.

Designers are faced with entirely different challenges. If you design a website with the goal of attracting customers, but you don’t really know who the customers are and what they want to buy, it is unlikely your site will be much of a success. An e-commerce website is an extension of a storefront, yes. But its so much more than that. There are sites that i probably have not spent money at in over a year… but I visit the site at least weekly. Again, there are some sites out there that are cool enough, geeky enough, kept fresh and present a openness that is actually inviting. They are rare, and even harder to find, but when you do find one, you’ll know. Much like a great neighborhood bookstore, an old candy store or coffee shop, a few diamonds exist in cyber-space as well.

Take the time to find “your place” in cyber-space, whether it be a community, a water-cooler blog, or even a hobby site. Make it yours. And if you can’t find one, build what you have in mind and watch as others come hang out at your place.

And if you’re faced with the task of making sales in whats shaping up to be a rough winter, remember its never too late to start building relationshps. Once that parade starts marching, it tends to take on a life of its own.

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