How Your Website Can Increase Profits For Your Small Business

Website Design Features That Will Increase Profits

Given that we're first introduced to a website visually, first impressions are everything. People are often quick to judge you based on your appearance, and the same is true when it comes to website design, development, and marketing.

Easy navigation and a visually pleasing layout will help tremendously when it comes to converting your prospects into loyal customers.

1. Member Login Area:

    When people arrive at a website and see "Member Area" or "Member Login", they       become intrigued by what you might have to offer. We instantly assume if they sell something to someone as a membership, then they must have something worth purchasing and so, are worth following. A small way to make a big impact on how others perceive a website and this intrigue is what helps to drive sales.

2. Well-Thought and Strategically-Placed Headline

     A good headline explains what a company does and why we should use it. Use colour to your advantage as it quickly draws the eye to the headline as a starting point. More importantly, this headline will direct your viewers to a specific call to action. Use if arrows or pointing fingers is another great way to do this same task. Each website page needs a headline that explains the what and why.

3. Calls To Action

     A great marketer will always include easily noticed calls to action.Whatever the purpose of the current web page is, make that more obvious than any other feature or design element on the page. Good examples of this include buttons that tell users what action to take:  Sign Up Now, Get Instant Access, Download the PDF, Register for the Webinar, Show Me The Video, and so on. We see these all the time.

4. Email Capture Form

     It's a known fact that 90% of your web site visitors will never do business with you in any capacity. Capturing email addresses while prospects are on your website gives you a chance to increase those odds and nurture them with high quality content while building a lasting relationship.

     Your effective frequency will vary but virtually none of your visitors will see your product or service just once - and be convinced to do business with you. Adding a simple lead capture form to your website will undoubtedly triple your effectiveness with minimal effort. Be sure you offer an irresistable lead magnet that will attract the type of people that you want to do business with.

     An easy example would be: You're an doctor (oncologist) and you want to attract patients for a case study you would write a report that goes something like this - "What Drugs Should You Avoid When Undergoing Chemotherapy For Colon Cancer?" making the opt-in offer as specific as possible will pre-qualify your leads before you ever send them an email.

5. Threaded Comments and Comment Upvotes

     This is a great way to follow up on website conversations. You should certainly address every genuine comment from every reader and ask a follow up question. It will increase your comment count, your reader engagement and greatly add to your existing content. Be sure to add a "Subscribe To Comments" feature - as seen in most well done blogs and web polls alike.

     Engaging your readers in this way increases their chances of coming back. Remember to always ask questions at the end of an article and similarly ask questions when replying to comments. Up voting and down voting comments as in when viewers agree or disagree with something that has been said. This yet another method used to increase reader engagement.

6. Improve Text Readability

     Text styling is one of the most overlooked features of web design and probably the most important one. If you can't read text on a web page then how could you expect them to become customers. I recently tested betther than 30 area web sites and ran a mobile-friendly analysis, and of these, 21 had text that was considered too small to read.

     Here are some general rules of thumb:

(a) Text links should be colourized and underlined like this - read more

(b)  Black text on a white background is the most readable format

(c) Text width longer than 600 pixels (entire reading area) gets harder to read

(d) Text spacing - use lists, quotes, and the like to empahasize your valued words

(e) HEADLINES should stand out. Use <h> tags

and finally -

7. Make Sure Your Site Has Usability

     Ask yourself Why you want a website and Who will be using it? These are critical questions in the creation process. Your navigation bar is the most obvious starting point so be sure to organize your topics in order of importance.

     The next task is to figure out what content will be dedicated to each of these pages. So, remember that using words that most wouldn't understand will almost always scare off your readers. Use colour effectively and keep your fonts simple and appropriate.

     

  will be using it

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5 Keys to Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Website

SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS ONLINE

Where once having an online presence was considered a luxury and with society focusing it's attention to the digital arena, it has become an absolute necessity

     A methodically crafted website and social media profile can now lay the framework for business success, and conversely, disorder and dysfunction will ultimately lead to disaster.

     Your website and social media outlets should serve as the technological extension of your face-to-face efforts. If the goods and services you provide are in huge demand, your digital persona is the host that greets your patrons, and many a business has been ruined by a poor online first impression.

EASIER THAN EVER BEFORE

     The constantly evolving online world may at first glance appear daunting. Today's technology makes it much easier for a business to create and maintain a formidable internet presence. While getting a website up and running seems simple enough, there's still much more work to do in creating an appealing and engaging personal online brand. There are five important components to building and maintaining a powerful online presence. So I ask - How are you doing with each of these?

(1) Your website should be branded, interactive, and engaging. A website containing a list of information, description of goods and services, and contact information isn't gonna cut it. To be effective you need to keep the viewer's attention so much so as to entice them to want to pick up the phone and want to know more about your business. To do this you truly need to know your target audience enough to "hook" them - and this means creating a website that echoes your expertise and the brand that you are creating. In short - make sure you are keenly in tune with your desired audience and customer-base.

     It is your specific target market that will greatly influence your businesses online branding, from layout, to colour scheme, to functionality. If a clear disparity exists between your business goals and objectives and what it is you're attempting to promote, it will undoubtedly be reflected on your website.

(2) Demonstrate value. If your website, blogs, and social media outlets don't provide tangible value to your audience, they will be ignored. Use these platforms wisely to share breaking news, recent developments and products or services, and even provide helpful tips to your audience. Update your content regularly and provide exciting content that proves beneficial to your online followers.

(3) Email Marketing Campaigns. While social media is a great way to engage your audience - it can only work when they're online and using social media themselves. Email marketing provides the opportunity to consistently interact with your customers and your market so long as they are checking their email inbox. 

     However, if email marketing is over-used, it can be often times treated as spam. To avoid this, it's a good practise to post your updates on a regular basis - be it monthly, quarter annually and so on, so as not to make a nuisance of yourself..

(4) Gain Subscriber Attention. Freebies will always work in this case. One of the most effective ways to build a targeted email list is to offer free content. Examples might include cheat sheets, e-books, special reports, hints and tips, video instruction, and so forth.

     All you need to do is require that your users give their email address in order to gain access to this much valued content. You can even promote these freebies on both your website and social media - and watch your email list begin to grow steadily. 

(5) Use pictures and video to tell your story. You know the saying - a picture is worth a thousand words. A video is even more powerful, certainly in the case of instructional videos. So my advice - embrace it! Create a video introducing yourself and welcoming people to your website. Share pictures and video of your team at work - kinda like a Flickr Photostream. Post images of your latest products or services where possible. Failing to take advantage of visual media to engage your audience is often an overseen mistake.

IN SUMMARY

Guaranteeing that your internet outlets- from website to social media to email lists - are vibrant, functional, and continually updated with the latest information tailored to your target audience will ultimately breed success. Just give it time, patience, and a lot of work on your  part and you will eventually reap the benefits.

     Websites simply don't exist as undeveloped advertising boards; they are now an integral part of the 21st century marketplace and can determine the success or the failure of any business or organization.

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