Everythink Excellent

You’ve probably seen articles that cover the "Top Ten Web Design Mistakes" or something to that effect. They all seem to say the same things, don’t they? No animation, keep the appearance professional, use easy navigation, and so on. You’ve done everything those articles told you to do, but your site still isn’t making the progress you’d like. What’s wrong?

You know, out of all the ebooks I’ve seen - and all the articles on Web design I’ve read - one thing is rarely mentioned. You would think, since this element is absolutely vital to any Website’s success, that it would be the talk of the town. That one vital element is… your customer.

Before you read another article or ebook on Website design, consider these facts:

* Your customer is the reason you are in business.

* Your customer pays your bills.

* Your Website should be specifically and intentionally designed to meet your customer’s every need.

* In order to design your site to meet his/her needs, you must first know who your customer is.

Once you discover who your perfect customer is, and what needs he/she is looking to you to fill, you can apply all those other techniques in the "Top Ten Web Design Mistakes" articles with great success. But the questions remain - "Who is your target customer" and "What does he/she want from you"?

It’s simple really. Just ask a few questions like:

* What types of customers visit my site?

* What is the common denominator of all these site visitors?

* What brings them to the point of needing my products/services?

* What problems do my products/services solve for my visitors?

The answers to all these questions will reveal an amazing portrait of your customers, of what they want, and of how you can supply what they need.

When you implement your design, or make changes to your existing design, do EVERYTHING with your target customer in mind. Does your site design need to be "fun" or "business-like"? That depends on whether your visitors are looking to fill a need for entertainment or professional services. Should you use vibrant pink and lime green shades, or muted blues and grays? Senior citizens would most likely shy away from "fad-ish" colors, but teenagers wouldn’t get very excited over dark, drab tones. See? It all depends on your customer. Every decision you make about your Website design should focus on and revolve around one thing… your customer.

Now, rather than repeat what thousands of other authors have written, I’ll just ask that you go back and read those "Top Ten Web Design Mistakes" articles once more. But… this time, apply their advice with your perfect site visitor in mind. You’ll be simply amazed at the results you’ll get once your focus is clearly set on the primary person involved… your customer.

An important question to answer when creating or revising a Web site is "What are the goals of this site?" because the answer will drive your Web site design and marketing decisions.

In Part 1, Understand the Decision Making Process, I took a look at understanding your site visitors’ decision making process and providing them with the right information, thus converting more visitors to purchasers.

Here in Part 2 I will present some tips for attracting targeted Web site traffic and ideas for profiting through information sites.
Attracting Targeted Traffic to a Sales Web Site

In Part 1, Karon Thackston explained the multi-step buying decision and why many of your visitors may not yet be ready to purchase. If you own a sales site, those early in the decision process are not likely to buy from you.

There are ways, however, you can attract better targeted visitors to your site (i.e. Web site traffic composed of more people approaching the purchase stage). One way is to have a presence on information sites that attract visitors in your targeted audience. This because on the information sites visitors are gathering information and evaluating options. In other words, they are preparing to make a purchase.

Michelle Horstman, owner of Choice Promotional Products, www.choicepromotionalproducts.com, says, "I do get hits from advertising on ‘informative’ sites such as www.barmitzvahfindit.com, where they have a vendor area."

For those on a limited budget, Michelle suggests purchasing advertising on sites that participate in pay-per-click programs like Overture or Google AdWords.

"When you list with Google and others on your own, you may have to pay more than your ROI would justify." She explains. "However, when you advertise with an informational site, that site can afford to pay more for the clicks, since they are supported by multiple vendors/advertisers. Ask the site if they’ll offer a trial period so you can see how much traffic it is producing."
Targeted Web Site Traffic for Information Sites

If you run an information site, the majority of your Web site traffic will be interested in researching the subject, too early in the decision process to purchase. So how can you both attract targeted Web site traffic (i.e. visitors in the early decision stages) *and* earn revenue?

You can attract information seekers by structuring each page in your Web site so it gives information on a specific topic. This expands the list of key words through which searchers might find your site.

Other ways to earn revenue from traffic to an information Web site:

    * Initiate the two step process James Maduk explains in Part 1.
    * Participate in a few select affiliate programs, which you can promote on topic-specific pages in your Web site.
    * Join a targeted advertising network such as Google’s AdSense.
    * Sell your own advertising space.

In any case, targeting Web site traffic in the "right" decision making stage creates a win-win situation. Your visitors find the information they need and you profit - through sales, advertising, or affiliate revenue - by meeting those needs.

If you’re not marketing your local business online, opportunity is passing you by. So many people focus on the Internet’s global reach that its potential benefit to local business is often overlooked. Global information is great, but people’s day-to-day lives are local. Now that so much information is available online, more consumers see the Internet as something useful instead of a passing fad.

Here are 5 ways that consumers are using the Internet:
E-Mail

According to Messaging Online, there were around 891 million email addresses at the beginning of 2001. By now there are probably 1 billion or more. Almost everyone has an email address, or knows someone who does. It’s fast becoming as common as the telephone, and just as necessary. Even if you don’t have a website, you can use email to communicate with your customers. Send them useful information, coupons, and special offers. If you don’t, someone else will.
Pre-Sales Research

For many consumers, the internet has become the great equalizer. They no longer have to take the word of a salesperson — all the information they need to make an intelligent decision is online. Consumers can research everything from products to retail services, and make sure they get the best deal. But unless your business is online, it’s unlikely they will find you.
Online Shopping

U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the first quarter of 2002 were almost $10 billion, and will top $44 billion by year’s end. Clearly, plenty of Internet users have gotten comfortable with spending money online. Top picks include books, travel, music, clothing, Computers, movies/videos, consumer electronics, and health products. But if your business isn’t online, you won’t get any of those e-commerce dollars.
Community & Local Information

Community information is like a magnet — it draws locals online. People care about their communities and want to know what’s going on around them. They’re also looking for weather forecasts, local headlines, entertainment listings, and sporting events info. Savvy business owners recognize this and revamp their websites to include local information and real-time content, available from companies like www.moreover.com and www.yellowbrix.com. Content is the #1 reason users return to websites.
Internet Auctions

An estimated 22 million people in over 100 countries are flocking to auction sites such as Yahoo, BidBay, uBid.com and the granddaddy of them all, eBay. The listing fees are a small price to pay for the kind of exposure businesses can get. About 1.4 million items are up for sale every day on eBay, in every imaginable category, including services, cars, and houses. Consumers can also search by region and category at http://pages.ebay.com/regional/hub.html - "eBay Local Trading", where major cities are setup as regions. If you’re selling anything at all, especially consumer products, you should definitely check out eBay.

These are some of the ways consumers are using the Net. For local business owners, the message is clear: your customers are online…and so is your competition. How much longer can YOU afford to wait?
About the Author

Sharon Fling is the author of "How To Promote Your Local Business On the Internet," and publisher of "Local Business Today", an electronic newsletter that gives business owners tips, tools and resources for targeting local customers. For more information, visit http://www.geolocal.com or send a blank email to: subscribe@localbizpromo.com?subject=TRAART