Website Best Practices

1. Get traffic to your website

• Use Google AdWords (or other permissive pay per click advertising)
• Identify people who will spread the word for you (think existing customers)
• Content is queen. That means focusing on content that matters to your audience, that makes them want to come back again and again. This will create organic SEO as well.

2. Tell a remarkable story

• Your story must be in sync with you original marketing message, as you have a very short time to make a first impression. Mainly because people don't remember the second one.
• Note I say "remarkable", not average, very good, or good enough. If it doesn't stand out, doesn't sound edgy enough, rewrite it.
• Your story should be able to be summed up in 10 words or less by your customer, employees, or anyone else who interacts with your organization.

3. Treat People Differently

• Contrary to popular belief, treating people the same is like preaching a "one size fits all". Marketing to everyone the same means no one feels special. You will be ignored.
• Instead offer a free prize (purple cow) or other emotional bonus. Surprising your customers (in a good way) is the real reason people buy (and stay) with you.

4. Test and Measure

• What you can't measure you'll find hard to market. And there's really no excuse in today's Internet age to adopt some form of quantitative system to gauge customer activity.
• Web analytics is pretty much a given, but don't forget to look at your offline activities as well. Find out who's buying from you, when, where, and why. Keep track of this data in a customer relationship management (CRM) software.
• While logic/rational data is what CRM's are best known for, don't forget to also track emotional/sensual information as well. People tend to make their decision based on emotions and justify it later with facts (cognitive dissonance)
• And if you don't have a website, blog, or other forum of online presence - what are you waiting for? With that being said approach your online presence as a living tree - needing constant care and attention. That means updating a on a frequent schedule

Still need help? Give me a shout (top left) and I can steer you in the right direction.