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Why Most Web Sites Don't Work!
The most common reasons why most web sites are
ineffective from a business perspective.
Welcome to the latest edition of the WSI Inside Edge--your regular report on Internet trends and advancements that can turn your business into a more profitable e-Business!
After you have read this edition:
If you would like more information about improving your web site, please call 01548 531899, visit our business website development web site at www.wsi-webdesigners.co.uk or use our contact form and we'll get straight back to you.
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Why Most Web Sites Don't Work
All successful business owners know that the Internet is a key marketing and sales tool. Unfortunately for many, once their new web site has been launched and initial interest has died down, no new business seems to come their way from it. They notice that their monthly maintenance payment to their web developer is going out but the business leads and sales generated by their web site have dried up.
Many sites are built to impress but not to do what they should do. That is to –
BE FOUND and CONVERT PROSPECTS into CUSTOMERS!
A pretty web site that isn’t found by the Internet Search Engines is just that – A pretty web site!
In today’s competitive marketplace, successful businesses cannot just hope that potential customers will find them on the internet, they have to put the right measures in place to make sure they are found. This means that they must have the right Internet Marketing campaigns in place to DRIVE new customers to their site and that when found the site will convert these prospects into customers as efficiently as possible –by design.
Below are a number of key reasons why most web sites don't work:
Poor understanding of Business and Customer needs
The first step in any web site design should be understanding your customers. What are they looking for and more specifically what terms they are using to find your products and services. Without this information, their search requests on Google etc will not find your site. Search engines match web sites to the terms that people use when they are looking for information, products and services. If they don't match up, the web site doesn't get found.
How competitive is the Online Marketplace that you are going in to?
When entering a competitive market, it's wise to know just how competitive it is - in advance - not afterwards. When you find out after the event and you discover how tough it really is, it's too late. By knowing how competitive the market is, you can gauge the likelihood of success, how much you may need to spend, what your potential market share may be and how much profit you may expect. Also, by knowing and targeting areas where online competition is less, your chances for success are much improved. Many web sites are built without this forward research and planning and their chances of success are just as unpredictable.
Not being found by the Search Engines.
Once you've decided what product or services you want to promote (those that match what your customers are looking for and that aren't fiercely competitive are ideal) you need to build your web site. A common mistake is to use technology that looks very flash and have lots of moving pictures and Intro Pages. These web sites usually block search engines from reading them and they are therefore unable to categorise them. This means that searchers will not be able to find them. Search Engines can only read text not pictures. As a result web sites should have content rich pages that relate to the products and services that their customers are interested in.
A picture may speak a thousand words - but NOT to a Search Engine.
Poor Visitor Conversion.
The measure of any web site is how many new customers it brings to a business. Bragging rights about "hit rates" mean nothing. It's about how many visitors are converted into customers that matters. Many web sites do not focus on this primary aim, some are unclear as to what their purpose is or what they want visitors to do.
Simple information about Phone Numbers, Email addresses and what action visitors should take are often hidden and difficult to find and end up with visitors reaching for the exit button.
Converting visitors into customers should be the primary design aim of any web site and it should not play second fiddle to pretty pictures.
Also, many businesses like to fill their web sites with the details that relate to them rather than how they can solve their customers problems. Searchers are goal oriented and if they believe they have found a company that is likely to solve their problem, they will do business.
Management Information is poor or non-existent.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Guess work is never a good foundation upon which to base business decisions. Most web sites may track the number of visitors but not much else. This provides very little information upon which decisions are to be made.
To make informed business decisions you need information on:
Visitor numbers, what search terms were used to find your site, what pages they visit, how long did the spend on them, from which page do they most leave your site, are people getting to the checkout page with a trolley full of goods and leaving without purchasing, how many reach your conversion goal, where are the searchers physically located and much more.
All of this provides the right sort of business data that allows decisions to be made on information rather than guesswork.
For more information re Business Website Development please click here.
Make sure your web site works.
Call us now on 01548 531899 to arrange your FREE web site review or email jim.stewart@wsi-webdesigners.co.uk
To learn how you can build targeted traffic to your site and help turn your web site visitors into repeat customers, contact WSI today. We can assess the needs of your business and make your web site work for you.
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This edition of the Inside Edge has been brought to you by Jim Stewart, WSI Internet Consultant.
For more information about WSI Internet Solutions for your business contact us today!
www.wsi-webdesigners.co.uk
mailto:info@wsi-webdesigners.co.uk
The Pheasantry,
West Charleton,
Devon, TQ7 2AB
Tel: 01548 531899 |
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