There are no "secret solutions" to making your business
a
success on-line. However, we do know what will keep it from
being successful. We have compiled a list of "potholes"
for
you to avoid.
Pothole #1 - Not having a clear defined business plan
Have you tested your product or service to ensure it is
wanted in the market? You could be promoting a dud or dead
product and millions of dollars in marketing will still
produce little or no sales.
More Info:http://www.ngyellowpages.com/manual/step1.htm
Pothole #2 - Not offering Valuable Free Content
Is your website just a sales letter for your product? If so,
you are probably getting a lot of short stays at your site.
If you provide valuable free content and offer genuine,
quality assistance in a timely manner, their confidence
level in your business will rise. Sharing your knowledge
with your customers may seem, at first, as a way to lose
sales, but your business will be more successful in the
long run, trust us.
It is a fact that offering free valuable content keeps
visitors at your site and can also produce repeat visitors.
This is what is known as a "sticky site".
More Info: http://www.webmarketingnow.com/design/sticky.shtml
Pothole #3 - Using Free or Sub-standard Web Hosting
If you are serious about your business, don't use free web
site space that is offered by the likes of AngelFire, Tripod,
GeoCities, HyperMart, Free Yellow, Xoom, etc. You think that
you will be successful? Think again. The phrase, "You get
what you pay for" rings true when it comes to web hosting.
More Info: http://www.webmarketingnow.com/tips/free_hosting.shtml
Pothole #4 - Not having your own domain name
While you may think this goes along with the "pothole"
above,
it doesn't. Just as many people pay for their web hosting
through their ISP, but they still don't have their own domain
name. What does not having your own domain name say about your
business? "I can't afford $35 per year." That's what
it says.
More Info: http://www.ngyellowpages.com/manual/bonus.htm
Pothole #5 - Non-professional Site Design
If your site offers one of the best products in the world, but
it looks like your twelve-year old child designed it, your
sales will suffer. This also has to do with your page copy as
well. It must be precise, accurate, and compelling in order to
motivate the visitor into purchasing. A professionally designed
site with effective copy can be a serious business on-line.
For page copy writing, we strongly suggest using Dr. Kevin Nunley.
More Info: http://www.drnunley.com/
Pothole #6 - Speed of Site
Not optimizing your graphics, poor layout, improper use of
HTML - even your choice of host providers effects the speed of
your site. Bottom Line: You must load in 20 seconds or less on
a 28.8kps connection or you WILL lose visitors. Not sure of your
site's speed? Take our free Tutorial!
http://www.webmarketingnow.com/tutorials/speed.htm
Pothole #7 - Browser Compatibility and Use of Java, Music,
Flash,
Video, etc.
You should check your server logs to find out which browser is
most widely used on your site and design around it. Don't have
a
web server log? Or know what one is? Use WebTrendsLive
http://www.webtrendslive.com/ on your site - it's free and the
best log analyzer on the market.
More Info: http://www.webmarketingnow.com/tips/browser-comp.shtml
Pothole #8 - Not contacting your customers (i.e. Opt-in mailing
list) monthly
On average, it takes a visitor three visits to your site before
they will buy your product or service (okay, the figure is
actually 2.7 from Forrester Research). How do you get them to
keep coming back to your site if they don't bookmark it? Remind
them through a newsletter or e-mail message. However, you must
have their permission first - that's what "Opt-in" is,
permission
e-mail messaging.
More Info: http://www.webmarketingnow.com/tips/opt-in.shtml
Pothole #9 - Not Marketing Your Site Daily
Without marketing, no one knows about your product (i.e. no
prospects). Without prospects, there cannot be sales. Many
e-Business owners have the strange notion that by simply setting
up shop on the web and registering with search engines they will
receive a ton of traffic. Folks, this is hard work. Every visitor
to your site is a small victory.
If your goal is to sell $10,000 of a $10 product each month,
and
your conversion ratio (visitors converted to sales) is 1% of
total visitors, you will need 100,000 visitors each month in
order to reach your goal. 100,000 visitors per month is not an
easy task.
More Info: http://www.webmarketingnow.com/search-engines/registration.shtml
Pothole #10 - Assuming you will "get rich quick"
on-line
Making a profitable business on-line is not easy. Just look at
Amazon.com - they still aren't profitable. A successful business
on-line can't be created overnight. Anyone who tells you differently
will also ask you for money. Don't fall for it.
The "get rich quick" mentality has been popular for
a long, long time
and is getting very popular on the web. Compared to their old
forms
of advertising, scam artists now can reach a world-wide audience
for
pennies on the dollar on the web.
Realize that you will have to work, and work hard at your on-line
business to be successful. See our On-Line Marketing Manual for
more
info. http://www.ngyellowpages.com/form.html
While there are many, many more potholes, these are the ten
we feel
you should steer clear of.
"Frames are another nightmare. If you have a site that
uses
them, really consider getting rid of them. If you are building
a site or redesigning, drop the idea of frames right now. In
many cases, frames are unnecessary navigational crutches. They
always pose significant problems for search engines. It is
simply poor marketing to use them, in many cases," says Sullivan.
Search engines really do not like Frames. It seems that only
four
of the "Big Eight" search engines support frames. We
suggest that
you visit the major search engines and see how many framed sites
appear in the Top Ten in your industry.