The Five Keys to a Successful Web-based Strategy
The Five Keys to a Successful Web-based Strategy
By Andrew Neitlich
Both online-only businesses and traditional businesses rely on the Internet for leads and sales. Unfortunately, there are not many guides for the online marketing strategies that work, and the ones that end up wasting money.
Following are five keys to a successful online strategy:
One: Set goals. A website can do many things: provide information, generate sales, generate leads, and collect information for follow up. The goal determines the look, feel, and navigation strategy of the website. For instance, if your goal is to generate leads, then the website should focus on collecting contact information from visitors in exchange for some sort of value-laden, free offer. If you goal is to generate sales, then your site needs to focus on a navigation scheme that compels the visitor to add products to your shopping cart. The business owner needs a clear objective in mind for the website.
Two: Improve conversion. Too many business people start by driving traffic to their website. This is a mistake, because it is no good to have millions of visitors to your site if nobody buys or becomes a lead. It is much smarter to hone your site so that it has a high conversion rate. Once you do that, you will know how much you can pay to attract someone to your website and can focus on attracting profitable traffic. To increase conversion, test and improve your pricing, offers, navigation structure, featured products, promotional offers, copy, and the options on your site for building community and “stickiness.”
Three: Drive traffic to your site. There are many ways to drive traffic to your site once you are confident that you have a website that converts, including: natural search engine optimization, key word placement and density, triangular link exchanges, article and press release submissions, pay-per-click advertising, affiliate programs, and participation in blogs and forums as an expert.
Four: Follow up. If you can collect information about your visitors, like an email address, you can follow up with people in ways that demonstrate your credibility and value. Free email newsletters, email courses, and ongoing tips all provide valuable information to prospects and drive them back to your website.
Five: Metrics. A successful website has its own set of metrics. Everyone with a website needs to set goals for and track key numbers, such as: cost per visitor, cost per order, conversion rate, traffic trends, page views per visit, most likely exit page, most likely entry page, largest referrers, and time spent on each page.
There are simply too many web pages out there and too few portals by which consumers and businesses come to learn about your website. To get noticed and enjoy the wonderful profit potential of the Internet, you absolutely need to understand and implement a systematic web marketing strategy.
The Five Keys to a Successful Webbased Strategy - To learn more about this author, visit Andrew Neitlich's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
The Five Keys to a Successful Web-based Strategy
By Andrew Neitlich
Both online-only businesses and traditional businesses rely on the Internet for leads and sales. Unfortunately, there are not many guides for the online marketing strategies that work, and the ones that end up wasting money.
Following are five keys to a successful online strategy:
One: Set goals. A website can do many things: provide information, generate sales, generate leads, and collect information for follow up. The goal determines the look, feel, and navigation strategy of the website. For instance, if your goal is to generate leads, then the website should focus on collecting contact information from visitors in exchange for some sort of value-laden, free offer. If you goal is to generate sales, then your site needs to focus on a navigation scheme that compels the visitor to add products to your shopping cart. The business owner needs a clear objective in mind for the website.
Two: Improve conversion. Too many business people start by driving traffic to their website. This is a mistake, because it is no good to have millions of visitors to your site if nobody buys or becomes a lead. It is much smarter to hone your site so that it has a high conversion rate. Once you do that, you will know how much you can pay to attract someone to your website and can focus on attracting profitable traffic. To increase conversion, test and improve your pricing, offers, navigation structure, featured products, promotional offers, copy, and the options on your site for building community and “stickiness.”
Three: Drive traffic to your site. There are many ways to drive traffic to your site once you are confident that you have a website that converts, including: natural search engine optimization, key word placement and density, triangular link exchanges, article and press release submissions, pay-per-click advertising, affiliate programs, and participation in blogs and forums as an expert.
Four: Follow up. If you can collect information about your visitors, like an email address, you can follow up with people in ways that demonstrate your credibility and value. Free email newsletters, email courses, and ongoing tips all provide valuable information to prospects and drive them back to your website.
Five: Metrics. A successful website has its own set of metrics. Everyone with a website needs to set goals for and track key numbers, such as: cost per visitor, cost per order, conversion rate, traffic trends, page views per visit, most likely exit page, most likely entry page, largest referrers, and time spent on each page.
There are simply too many web pages out there and too few portals by which consumers and businesses come to learn about your website. To get noticed and enjoy the wonderful profit potential of the Internet, you absolutely need to understand and implement a systematic web marketing strategy.
The Five Keys to a Successful Webbased Strategy - To learn more about this author, visit Andrew Neitlich's Website.
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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