Recently I read an informative article on Open Forum regarding common mistakes websites make and thought I’d summarize and share the knowledge.  By now, most business own and operate via a website.  Some have spent thousands in building out the site and some have utilized sites like Yahoo Shopping templates to start their business.  Whichever way you have created your site, here are some common mistakes to avoid. 

• Failure to differentiate – You have less than 10 seconds to capture your visitor’s attention and keep them on your site.  Most businesses do not provide a clear value proposition to their customers on their site.  Whatever differentiates you from the hundreds of other sites on the web should be presented clearly and visibly to your visitors. 
• Failure to monitor – Do you want your customers to stay and browse or turn right out the door after they come in?  You need to know exactly what they are doing when they are on your site.  Free tools such as Google analytics provide statistics such as bounce rates, page views, traffic sources, conversion rates, and much more.  These insights will enable you to understand how visitors are interacting with your site, allowing you to make appropriate changes, and ultimately generate more revenue with higher conversions.
• Failure to convert – If your visitor does not take any action on your site, then it has failed its purpose.  As you come to understanding your site analysis, you’ll know what your visitors are interested in when they are at your storefront.  You’ll be able to get them engaged in your products and services, resulting in higher conversions.  Your call to action (‘Buy Now’ or ‘Submit’ buttons) should be displayed prominently and clearly, and preferably towards the top of the page.
• Failure to generate repeat traffic – Don’t forget to get your customers to come back and visit.  You’ll need a reason to engage your visitors with new valuable and useable content.  Whether you use email, blog, video or any other social medium to create the loyalty among your visitors, make sure you allow for them to share your content with others. 

Hopefully you’re not making any of these mistakes on your website.  Here’s to higher conversions and increased revenues!

Cheers,

Julia

Social media.  You hear it all over the place.  What is it, and are you taking advantage of it for your business? 

The nature of social media is to share.  It is a place where conversations take place.  It is a place where a community is built.  It is a place where people try to influence others.  These activities are what marketers try to create, and it’s all happening within social media.

So which tools and sites are the most popular for businesses?  I’d say YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are all sites where you can easily create a presence.   With the influx of information available online, creating these social channels will help your business stand out among the rest.  The advantages of using social media is to increase exposure (of your business and brand), traffic (a source for leads/customers), and search rankings (ultimately lowering marketing costs).  So no matter what you do with your business in 2011, integrate these cost effective (if not free) methods of social media into your marketing plan.

Cheers!

Julia 

PS.  With all of the social sites out there, make sure your online reputation is accurate by monitoring your business credit score.  Sorry, I couldn’t resist plugging our product!