Fire Up Media

Each day, more people use the Internet to either find a business to buy from or to learn more about a business or product before making a buying decision. There are a multitude of companies and individuals that end up gaining that business. Are you one of them? These tips are helpful for any web site looking to enhance their online presence and elevate their business above the others out there

Make sure that you have the "Abilities"

You offer a compelling product at a great price.  But, can people find it?  A visitor goes to your web site, but how easy is it for them to find what they want before they go to your competition?  Unless your web site is both findable and usable, you may never get the opportunity to pitch your product or service.

Findability is the quality of being locatable or discoverable

• Use Search Engine Optimization techniques to place well in organic search engine results
• Employ a Search Engine Advertising campaign to target and direct search engine users

Usability is the level of ease of actually using your web site

• Make sure your web site design is unique and attractive for your audience
• Use clear and directed navigation to get clients where they want to go

Be proactive and engage your audience

Web site visitors have a short attention span.  The decision to spend time on your web site is made in a matter of seconds.  Without a compelling reason to browse your web site, let alone go to it in the first place, it doesn't really matter that you have a web site at all!  You need to offer your web sites visitors something beyond a "brochure" to read and decipher, let them feel an emotion.

Use media other than static pages on your web site

• Use video testimonials to sell your story or video demonstrations to make your offering tangible
• Show examples and stories through photos and blogs

Add new content frequently and consistently

• New content gives people a reason to come back and learn more
• Search engines will come back, too - keep up with your findability

Don't let your visitors slip away - convert them

Many web sites get visitors and traffic, but without much else.  You're not in the business of getting people to just visit your web site – you need them to do something.  If you depend on people contacting you, make it easy to do so.  Some things work and others don’t, so learn what is and isn't working to maximize your conversions.

Create a conversion point

• Display your telephone number prominently for the visitor to call
• Urge visitors to fill out a quick and simple contact form

Track and measure your results

• Use your web site statistics to track your conversion ratios over time
• Test different ideas and study what works better than others

Spread the word

Make sure that people know that you have a web site!  Although people have an expectation for you to have a web site, make sure to still tell them and encourage them to visit it - or even better, to link to it!  "Grassroots" efforts can help spread awareness of your web site to others you may not otherwise reach.

Use your social networks to your advantage

• Use social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, or Network Every Woman to talk about your web site
• Post a message to your social networking contacts about recent blog posts, testimonials, etc.

Use your offline communications to reinforce your online presence

• Press releases, newsletters and other print communications can support your online content
• Make sure to tell anyone that you interact with to visit your web site, they are more than likely to do so than if you didn't!

Rinse and repeat

Your web site is almost like a living and breathing organism - it won't stay healthy if you don't feed it.  Add and update content on a regular basis, keep track of your performance and results, and continue efforts to drive traffic to your web site.  Web sites require attention, but they can flourish into an effective marketing effort for your business.

Reuse and recycle relevant content

• If frequently creating new content is tough, try rewriting small parts of it - it will appear fresh
• Reinforce the same concept over a series of blog posts - it shows consistency

Just as fashion is seasonal, adjust your web site accordingly

• Depending on the time of month or time of year, change your message and content on your web site
• Use past results from tracking and measuring to determine when, where, and how to place content