Your Web Strategy For Success

Web Strategy For Success
Building a successful web strategy is both an art and a science. To simplify the process, we break it down into five steps. You need to attract the right visitors to your site, engage their interest, build their trust, lead them to take action and measure the results.

Building a successful web strategy is both an art and a science. To simplify the process, we break it down into five steps. You need to attract the right visitors to your site, engage their interest, build their trust, lead them to take action and measure the results.

1. Get the right people to your site. If you’re not attracting the right visitors you’re not building your business. Rather than relying on any one method, consider a variety of techniques to bring targeted traffic to your site including:

– Search Engine optimization
– Pay-per-click campaigns
– Email marketing and email newsletters
– Links to related, non-competitive businesses
– Real-world promotions, advertisements and PR

2. Establish your credibility.
Just as you would in the real world sales environment, start to build rapport with your visitors as soon as they arrive. Establish your credibility. Show that your company understands their needs and offers the products and services to meet them.

Your site must have a professional look and feel that reflects your company and marketplace. The copy should speak to your visitors in an appropriate “voice” and emphasize the benefits– “What’s in it for me?”

3. Give your visitors what they need.
Provide appropriate information and options at the right time. How do people make the decision to buy your product or service? As much as possible, your site should support the personal and psychological variables of your potential clients. Offer alternatives for those who:

– already know what they want
– have an idea of what they want, but need more info
– are browsing and need direction

4. Motivate them to take action: conversion rates.
This is what it’s all about. Conversion is the process in which you persuade visitors to take the action you want them to take: signup for a newsletter, submit a form, or make a purchase. How can you improve your conversion rate?

Make the action steps obvious in your copy– its color, style, and position on the page. Minimize elements that detract from the action step, and provide reassurance with your privacy policy, guarantee, and testimonials. You might even consider a FLASH demo or web audio to guide visitors through the conversion process.

5. Measure the results.
With web analytical tools you can learn what’s working and what’s not. When you’ve identified a problem area, make revisions or updates– but be methodical. Change only one thing at a time so you can figure out if it actually helps.

Author Bio:
Barry Harrison is the author of “REDiTIPS” eMarketing Newsletter and a partner in Resolve Digital, Web Strategy for the Real World.