5 Ways Not to Lose Out on the Web

By: Jason Hagelberg

How many times have you had a great idea for a business or service that you just know would do great on the web? Many of us have had at least a fleeting idea during one of those insomniac moments at 3 in the morning. Blurry eyed and drowsy,
a monumental idea races through your mind. In the morning, you make some calls to get the ball rolling, but getting the idea from your head to the web is far harder than you ever imagined. Where do you start and what steps should you take? Here are 5 steps to begin your success on the web.

1. 1. Don’t get ahead of yourself. After having been up for most of what should have been our sleeping time with this amazing idea bouncing around in our head, we have the urgency the next day to get this idea started and finished right away. There are two important first steps you should do with your idea:
   · First, it is good to take action on the idea right away. Studies show that the longer a person just lets an idea sit about, the less likely they are to act upon it.
   · Secondly, start by researching. Look up related content about your idea, look into businesses that may be your competition, and ask knowledgeable friends what insight they might have to offer.
   


2. You’ll get out what you put in. With the desire to get this idea off the ground as quick as possible, many people just go for the easiest, cheapest, and fastest options available at the time. But remember:
   · You most often get what you pay for. If you look for the cheapest, you will find it, but it’s likely no more and instead much less than what you pay for.
   · Quality can be seen. A website that has been thrown together quickly and without much thought sticks out like a sore thumb, while a well thought out website can engage a visitor and guide them along a path that leads to increase your business.
   


3. Balance visual with functional. The internet is an ideal venue for art, photos, videos, and any digital media, however if you over populate your website with a colors, photos, and flash most users will bounce. Keep in mind:
   · Many users are more attracted to a feeling of consistency across your website.
   · The internet is a great place for digital media. Use it correctly and you can increase user interaction and interest. “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”
   


4. Provide quality information, services, or goods. There is a surplus of websites that offer no quality, but are just there littered with froth. The majority of users turn away from these sites in disgust, looking for a site that actually provides information, services, or goods they are looking for. Don’t just try to trick the user, provide them what they need:
   · Real substance, not just fluff.
   · Get the content taken care of. If you can’t come up with the content needed for part or all of your website, contact a copywriting service that can help you.
   


5. Realize that once the site is built, it won't take care of itself. Once a house is built, is it maintenance free? A website is very similar. It needs upkeep, refreshing, and optimization if you want to be seen. With more than 162 million active websites, your chances of building a website and having traffic flow to it have diminished substantially. The good news is that those 162 million sites are not all aiming at the same market and they have not all taken the steps to optimize content for search engines. What steps should occur after the website is built and launched live?
   · Content needs to be kept as fresh as possible.
   · Keep people involved with you and your business through a blog and newsletter.
   · Search Engine Optimization! People need to wade through all those websites out there and primarily use search engines to do so.
   
   I trust that your aim is not to lose out, so take this insight and put it to good use. If you need help along the way, contact a professional web design company that can help you with consultation, build, implementation, and search engine optimization.

Organic SEO and PPC = Buying and Leasing

By Jason Hagelberg

When researched, you can find many explanations of the difference between Organic Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click (or paid search services). Many individuals highlight one over another, toting it as the key to your website's success. However, let's take away some of the mystery and compare it to a situation most of us can relate to…purchasing a vehicle.

When looking for a vehicle, a great amount of research can be done quickly due to the volume of information available online. Once you’ve selected the type of vehicle, you then have to decide whether you intend to own or lease. Here in lies the great correlation to SEO and PPC.

Organic SEO (Purchasing):
Organic Search Engine Optimization can be related to buying the vehicle. Every bit of that vehicle will be solely yours. Upon full payment you make all the decisions and hope that your research will payoff in light of your investment.

Organic SEO is much the same. All of your changes made during the optimization of your website are yours to keep and do not disappear or decrease once you’ve completed payment. You have paid to optimize your website (which should include your technical structure, on-page and off-page content, and your internal and external link profile) to directly influence the search engine results displayed in the main area of the results page.

If your site is optimized well, you will be reaping the rewards in search results for some time to come, however, keep in mind that just as a vehicle manufacturer continues to upgrade with new models, so to search engines continue to change their algorithms and methods to deliver the best results.

Here lies the limitation for organic SEO - it can not last forever. Just remember that you get what you pay for, and as in buying a car, researching to find the best search engine optimization services will allow your investment to last longer.

Paid Advertising (Leasing):
Pay Per Click and paid advertisement services in general are very similar to a leasing agreement. When leasing a vehicle you can often get more short term bang for your buck than with purchasing. Often times the leasing payments can be lower, and you can generally afford a better vehicle.

This same concept applies to PPC and other paid advertisement services. These can usually produce a higher ranking faster than Organic SEO with a better short-term bang for your buck. Beware, just as many leasing agreements have limitations, so do Paid Advertisement services. Pay Per Click advertising is just what the name describes. You are paying a certain amount for every time someone clicks through the ad to your website.You are not leasing the space for a set amount of time with PPC, but rather leasing for a set amount of clicks. Once those clicks have been used up, you are no longer represented in these results, similar to having nothing at the end of the lease (although you may have nothing after the end of two weeks depending on your PPC advertising budget).

When to use what:

Organic SEO:

For a website you want to rank well for the long-term.

With limited funds – Organic SEO gives you a larger return on investment over a longer period of time.

To give your website a great foundation to build on.

Will force you to have great content. This by itself should increase any conversions you are aiming for.

When done by a good professional SEO Company, will last longer and give you a better return on your investment.

PPC and Paid Advertisement Services:

Are best for short term pushes - feature a limited product or advertise seasonal items.

As a great way to get a new site with a new domain seen quickly.

To help determine interest in a product or advertisement.

Will generally attract more traffic in a shorter amount of time.

What's best for me?

Most sound financial experts will recommend that it is usually better to purchase than lease. It saves you money in the long run and gives you something material for your investment. However, many of these same financial experts will say that there are times when it would be right to lease. The same is true of SEO experts. Without a doubt, if you are looking for longevity in the rankings, it is recommended to go with Organic SEO. The only people that disagree are the avid salesmen of the Paid Search Services. However, it is again important to realize that there are times when paid search services are the perfect thing for a website to use.

The choice comes down to what you are looking to do for your site. If you are trying to get your site to be seen by people in the long run with the best return for your investment, than Organic SEO is the best choice for you. If you are looking for some quick traffic with a new or seasonal item, PPC can be great, but leaves you nowhere when your advertisement dollars are gone. Most websites should start with the base that a good and solid SEO Company can give them through Organic Search Engine Optimization and then target intermittent or seasonal audiences with Paid Advertisements.

In the same fashion as car shopping, do your research. Check out the company that is offering services and find out their results and achievements. Don't get stuck with a “lemon” or nothing to show for your money. Whether going for the lease or the purchase, check into them and do some research. That one small step can usually save you agony in the long run.

If you are interested in learning more about a company that has a solid SEO and PPC background, look into Webtivitydesigns.com, a leading Sarasota SEO Company.

Sharks in Gold Fish's Clothing

By Jason Hagelberg

You have probably heard it said to be watchful of wolves in sheep's clothing? Well, the same can be said of being aware of sharks in gold fish's clothing in the sea we call the internet. I am referring specifically to Search Engine Optimization companies that dress themselves as gold fish, promising to deliver you the top spot and more, and yet use shark-like tactics to do so. These companies prey on people's lack of knowledge of best practiced SEO methods recommended by the search engines themselves. Everyone likes to hear of new methods and techniques to gain on edge on the competition, but what many of these companies are truly offering are merely “black hat” or half-truth methods that use unethical means to try and rank you, and often end up getting you banned or severely penalized. Here are 5 offers I have recently seen from gold fish clothed sharks.

Exciting New Offer #1
PPC (Pay Per Click) campaigns are the best way to increase your organic ranking.

Truth: Whether you choose to take part in a pay per click campaign will neither help nor hinder your organic search results.

Some basics: Sponsored search results are those that generally appear at the top or down the side of the page on the search results page. These links have been bought and they pay a per click price in order to show up in the position that they do. Organic search results are the natural search results that follow and are determined by the search engine's best matches.
What some SEO companies are promising is that if you spend the money to buy these positions in the sponsored results, it will pay off in the non-sponsored search results. This is not even remotely true. Google themselves state that the use of paid advertising will neither help nor hinder the organic search results (article here). This also carries over into the desire by search engine to provide the most accurate results in their organic searches, not merely given top spot to those companies that have more resources. Your organic ranking has to do with best practice Search Engine Optimization methods that optimize your site for better ranking. Although paid advertising campaigns do not hinder your site, they do not help your organic rankings. Be wary of this scheme of getting better natural rankings through pay per click advertising. It is just that, a scheme.


Exciting New Offer #2
We guarantee #1 ranking...

Truth: No one can guarantee you #1 ranking in organic search results.

Again, Google states that NO ONE can guarantee #1 ranking in the three largest search engines (article here). This is an empty promise. Either they mean they can get you a high ranking using more money through a pay per click, which is not the organic search results you are probably thinking of, or they will rank you for a very obscure keyword term or a very long-tail keyword term. These keywords they decide upon are not be terms that you are going to want to rank for, but rather ones that have very little competition.

Exciting New Offer #3
We have secret methods that can outsmart the search engines.

Truth: An SEO company does not need to outsmart the search engines, or have to use secret methods. “Best practice” methods are clearly outlined and just take effort.

These tend to come in the form of secret techniques that some SEO companies claim are not known by others, but guarantee you great rankings. They fail to mention that most of these secret techniques are “black hat”, or unethical, practices that are against search engine optimization best practices. They call them secret often times because they do not want to explain these unethical practices to the customer and can get away with just calling them secret exclusive techniques. These will often include the use of “link farms”, shadow pages, keyword stuffing, and other practices which directly go against the best practice methods that search engines ask you to use.
On the flip side it is important to realize that many SEO companies do have certain good methods that they use and may not be willing to tell the world every step of their process. However, as a customer, you should be aware of the steps being taken to optimize your website. A good SEO company has no secrets to keep from their clients and should be ready, willing, and able to explain any action they take on your behalf.
Also, search engines are not evil or out there to be “defeated”. It is important to realize that most search engines have one main goal and that is to make search engine results ever more accurate. Yes, they want to make money and pay their employees, but they can only do this by having the best ranking system. Therefore, generally, the better a site is optimized by “best practice” methods, the better it should rank. Scammers may rank well for a short time, but they are often knocked back significantly over time. This is not a position that a company paying for these services should ever find themselves in.


Exciting New Offer #4
We can perform all of your SEO needs without even touching your pages.

Truth: A well Optimized site is essential for best practice SEO.

It is always intriguing to see advertisements that claim they can rank you with little or no changes to your original site. On the flip site, a site overhaul is generally not needed either. However, there are many little changes that can be made to a site to give it well optimized base. These practices do include making sure that your Meta data is accurate, giving good titles to pages, creating a well-formed site structure and page names, giving your keyword or phrase the proper weight in your content, and optimizing your link flow. All of these changes are made to the site and lend weight to your ranking. These changes also help in advertising your site. Meta tags are used less and less by search engines in terms of ranking, but can make a huge difference in getting people to visit your site because most search engines use your description meta tags and title as your introduction to your website. You need to optimize these to catch people’s attention and bring them into your site.
There are also SEO companies who only concentrate on inner site optimization without focusing on “off-page” factors. These “off-page” factors, that a good SEO company will take into account when optimizing your site, include good editorial links pointing into your site, external articles that can link back to your site, and association with other websites that are in your same line of work.

Exciting New Offer #5
We guarantee you top rankings no matter what your keyword or key phrase, for a low set price.

Truth: Keyword and key phrase selections make a difference in the amount of work that needs to be done to rank a site well.

You may say then, that they have it figured in doing whatever needs to be done for any keyword and still include it in that low price. The fact is that they either have a very high set price, will have hidden charges for more difficult keywords or phrases, or have a cookie cutter list of “black hat” practices that they use for every site. These “black hat” practices may get a ranking for a short time, but more times than not, the site that is using these methods will be banned or severely penalized. And where are these companies when your site is banned? They are long gone with your money.
A well researched set of keywords and phrases, on the other hand, will make a great difference. It is important to realize that more descriptive key phrases will not only give you areas to rank better in., but will also give you better customers that are searching for what you have to offer. Research shows that people interested in buying generally have longer and more definitive search terms, whereas “window shoppers” tend to have shorter search terms.

What are you to do?
Be wary of those that promise you great things for little or no investment. More times than not, you get what you pay for.
If it sounds too good to be true, than it probably is.
If they don’t have past clients to show you work done for, be concerned.
If they guarantee overnight results, it’s not going to be pretty.
Look for companies with experience, a well laid out plan, and open communication.

If you want to see what a good SEO company looks like, visit Webtivity Design’s Search Engine Optimization layout. We describe our methods for getting people ranked and we are available to further explain our best practice methods. We have been working in the Web Design field for over ten years and have constantly strived to make our services the best available.

Continue to check back to our blog for more information regarding Search Engine Optimization techniques and principles.

How You Can Make Web Design Attractive to Your Audience

By Rebecca Star

In order to make your web design stand out, you must have a concept and a plan. Along with that, it's important that the design is compatible with the web browser that you're using. A web design is used to create a web site with web pages.

Before the design goes on the website, you need to know what information will be on it. You should know what the target market is going to be. In addition to that, you should know what the purpose is going to convey. Having the right content is very important. The purpose of this is to attract as many visitors as possible.

Having a purpose will also show what the website is going to focus on. It will convey what benefits the visitors will get from it, which is the main focus anyway. You should also set goals as what you want and plan for future content. This may include an overhaul of the site with a new design.

You must know who the information is directed to. For instance, if you have a website for vegetarians, you can't have information that is talking about fried chicken.

These people will be visiting your website in hopes of finding information that's relevant to what they're looking for. So if they're looking for information on vegetarian dishes, then they'll stick around. It's important to understand and convey what your visitors want.

The content that goes on the site must be understandable and concise. The visitors will want to read and print any information available about the related subject. Don't make the content technical where they have to get a dictionary to look up every other word.

That will turn visitors off in a heartbeat. Another thing is not to have a lot of items posted on the website. This can make for a confused person. They'll feel it's too much to navigate through and find somewhere else to go.

To get a little more fancy, graphics, animations, sounds and videos can give the web site and web pages a boost. If using these, you will have to use plug-ins such as QuickTime, Flash or Java run-time environment. You can also find plug-ins with web pages that have XHTML or HTML tags.

Whatever images or graphics that you use, make sure that they are compatible with the current web browser. There's nothing more frustrating than having a slow web page load because of graphics or other stuff.

With practice and careful skill, you can have a great web design that you visitors will like in not time.

Three Ways to Make Your Online Business Unique

By Scott Oliver

Setting yourself apart from the crowd is something that's becoming more and more difficult. With the ever increasing number of online businesses, it seems like everything has already been done and it seems like you will never make yourself stand out to customers. But is this the truth? There are always new ways to identify yourself in relation to your competition, if only you take the time to consider your options. Here are three ways you can make your online business unique - and they will certainly grab the attention of your customers too.

High Quality, High Quality, High Quality

While this seems like something that's a given, you would be surprised at just how many online businesses are selling inferior products. At first glance, their product selection might look appealing, but when the customers receive the items, they realize that they paid much more than they should have. Instead of starting out with a cheaper product (like many new online businesses do) and then upgrading to a high quality product once you have a customer base, start off with the best. This will not only bring in customers that feel quality is important, but it will also establish you as the leader in quality in your market.

Before you even begin to sell your product, be sure to order the items for yourself to see what the customer will be receiving. This is going to help you see whether or not you need to be looking for a new vendor or if you should possibly be selling something else that's more appropriate for your customers.

Choose a Unique Logo or Symbol

When you want to stand out from the rest of the competition, you need to establish yourself as something that can be easily identified. Many companies will accomplish this by choosing a simple logo or a symbol to identify their company - for example, which company do you identify with a set of golden arches? Try to find something that is related to your business or something that is slightly outrageous in order to grab someone's attention. And then be sure that you are incorporating it into everything related to your business - marketing, advertisements, etc.

If you are selling a certain kind of product, try to choose a generic form of the product to be your logo or your symbol. Brainstorm for a bit about what designs might work best for your company and then test them out on your friends and family to see what they think too.

Choose a Certain Price for Everything You Sell

There's a reason why dollar stores are so popular - the prices. If you can, try pricing all of your products with a certain price or price ending. This will create an immediate advertising focus, while also making it easy for your customers to see what you are selling your products for. For example, you might want to sell things that all end in 99 or perhaps you can sell everything for $7, but sell 3 for $7 and then 1 for $7, depending on the actual value of the item.

You might also want to have specific sales in which you price everything the same. This will help you be unique, but won't cause you to overhaul your pricing scheme.

Uniqueness is something that only you can choose, but there are plenty of opportunities to set yourself apart from the crowd. Find the one thing that makes your business different from everyone else and be sure to point it out to your customers. Even if it's not 'new,' it will still help you stay in the minds of your future customers.

Effective Website Copy - Simple Strategies That Work!

By Pamela Jacob

Where do I start? What do I do, I am so overwhelmed...

This is what I hear from clients time and again. Just trying to structure the pages/copy that is needed when you are trying to develop your website can seem difficult a best. As humans we can make the simple seem really complicated, I do this myself - but it doesn't have to be.

Sit down and really look at your business goals and what you want to accomplish with your website.

There are really very few things a website can do. Think about it a website can:

1. Market you or your business

2. Provide the image that you want for your business (brand you and/or your business)

3. Sell a product or service

4. Provide information

5. Collect information

It can do one or a combination of all of these things depending on what is needed.

Pretty simple right!

Most of us have one of two types of businesses a service to render or a product to sell - and we believe or should believe that what we have to offer is better than the competition.

You do believe that what you have to offer is better than your competitor's right?

If not your are at a dis-advantage -- Note: You need to be authentic, if you are just going through the motions guess what? People will get it, they will be able to sense that even you don't believe in what you are trying to sell them. IF you don't believe in what you are doing, stop right here and find something else you believe in. Don't waste your money in building this business. Spend some more time and find your passion...

IF you do believe you are unique and offer something that is superior then move on and answer these questions.

Why are you superior, what makes you or your product(s) unique?

The answer to these questions should be the basic text for all your marketing material(s) be it your website - brochures - flyers or anything that you are putting together to market your business.

Research your competition - see what you like about what they have to say and notice what you don't think is so great. Do not steal from them, do take away ideas that you think can help you in forming the text you will be adding to your website.

Now go back to the original question:

Why are you unique - why is your product unique? What makes you head and tails above the rest?

Make a list - some examples can be:

• Superior Quality

• Amazing Talent

• Unprecedented customer service (in my opinion all businesses should offer this no matter what!)

• Free shipping

• 24/7/365/ Service

• Money back guarantee

• Higher Quality - You get what you pay for...

• Better Price

• Unique Items

• Free support after the contract is finished

• Free Consultation

• Experience in your field

This is truly step one and once you have this step down then you need to start the process of writing the copy/text of your website and all other materials needed to market your business.

Make sure you have your visitor in mind.

Do not, I repeat do not worry about how great or grand you are frame the text in what you can do for your potential client/customer.

Asking questions when starting out on the web page is a great way to engage your visitors they will actually start thinking about what you can do for them.

What is the pain that a prospective visitor may be feeling?

What problem(s) are they having, how can you solve those problems for them with your products or services?

A good example to show you how this works is below: fill in the blank with your own product or services

Ask Questions...

Are you frustrated with _____________?

Did you have a ____ who just couldn't get the job done?

Are you disappointed because your (product/or service) isn't giving you what you wanted?

Show them you know the frustrations they are feeling...

So many businesses hire a _____ who will promise them the world and then disappear when the contract just doesn't go as promised.

Some businesses hire a so called _______ only to be let down by bad advice and a ___________ that doesn't work.

Give them a solution to the problem...

Well worry no longer, Don't let any of these examples stop you _______.

I will pick up and ____________, or adjust it to give you the results you're seeking.

Simple - Concise - To The Point

That is what you need to do when putting together the text for your web pages.

Of course their are exceptions to every rule and if you are putting together medical advice or Questions and answers for your clients write on - you get the point...

No pun intended!!

This article should help you in pulling together your website and making it a really effective tool for your success.

Memory Refresher: What is the one other thing you absolutely have to have on your website - I cannot stress it enough??

An opt-in box - give your visitors something of value so that they have something to remember you by and you have a targeted potential database: name and email(s) for future campaigns, sells and promotions - your database is gold...

To Your Success!

Tips When Choosing a Server Hosting Plan For Your Online Business

By Mike Selvon

If you have thought about creating a website for your business so that you can expand your market, then you most likely already know that one of the first things you must arrange for is your website server hosting. There is a huge variety in web hosting plan options that you can choose from, from free webhosting to expensive managed dedicated servers, and in the coming months and years there will, no doubt, be even more choices.

Having web server hosting for your website provides your online business with the exposure it needs in order to reach your target market. Web hosting plan packages offer a wide array of options and are a very flexible and convenient way of choosing the exact web hosting services that your company needs to be more effective and successful.

Fortunately, for the internet entrepreneurs who want to compete and grow their web businesses, server hosting plans are constantly getting better, the servers are getting faster and the services are getting less expensive all the time. But, it is important to realize that not all of the hosting companies and hosting plans offer all the tools and services that you might need; so shop carefully.

One of the most important things that must be considered when choosing a company to provide your web server hosting is reliability. This is often referred to in terms of "uptime" or "downtime."

If you decide to choose low cost hosting, then there is a good chance that your web hosting company will have more downtime, which means periods of time when your website will not be accessible to your site visitors. This is why it is important to choose your host based more on their track record of reliability for uptime instead of strictly basing the decision on cost alone.

Consider how it will appear to your website visitors if they follow a link to your site only to receive an error message, instead of being able to view your website. Many people make the mistake of spending a great deal of money, time and effort to drive traffic to their websites, but then use cheap or free webhosting.

When their cheap, web server hosting company is down, all of their efforts to send traffic to their sites is wasted and often companies find it hard to recover from such problems. Your site will lose credibility, not the web host.

The best advice for people who are just starting out in a new, online business venture is to choose server hosting with a dedicated hosting service company that has a very good reputation and track record. Even if you don't need dedicated server hosting to start out with, and few companies do, you will at least know that you are with a hosting service provider that will be able to keep up with the growth of your company.

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See what Webtivity Designs can do for you »


Looking for a website?
Need a Domain Name?
Did you know that on some websites if you search for a domain name (like bobshouseofbeer.com) if you don't register it right then they will buy it from under you? Not us, Search for available Domain Names free at Webtivity Domains

Tips When Finding a Domain Name

By Mike Selvon

If you have arrived at the stage where you have a business that you would like to present online, then you will need to build a website and take care of domain name registration. The domain name that you choose will be your unique website address and you will use it in your advertising and marketing to attract visitors to your site. Right now, because there are so many people starting internet businesses, it can be challenging to find the right domain for your site.
There are many domain registration companies that provide name registration services for domain names. The registrars all have access to and search through a centralized database that contains all of the records of current domain names.
This database includes basic information about who registered the domain, or hostname, and when the registration will expire. When registering a domain, the minimum period of time is one year, yet most registrars allow the domain to be registered for up to ten years.
Most people will choose a domain name that reflects the theme of their website that they plan to build. Their domain web hosting also uses that website address. Others prefer to register a domain that includes all or part of their name, making it very personal.
Choosing a domain or hostname, is an important part of starting a web-based business. The name you choose for your domain it is the main thing that people need to remember so that they can find your website and it is what you will be promoting through your advertising and marketing efforts.
In essence, the domain name for a website becomes the "brand" that is most visible through marketing strategies. As anyone who has been around marketing can attest to, branding is a very important and fundamental element in building a name and reputation for any kind of business entity. This is why it can be a challenge to find the perfect name for your site, and why there is so much competition to register names that are descriptive, short and memorable.
Once you have found a good hostname that is available and you have had it registered, be sure to keep your contact information current with the registrar that you used and make a note of the date that your registration will expire. If you have been able to secure a good name, then be careful not to let it expire.
If you don't renew it because you didn't receive the renewal email notice from the registrar, then someone else could easily come along and register your domain. When that happens, all of the marketing and advertising you have done will no longer benefit you and your website, but will go to the new owner of the domain.
After the domain name has been registered, the next thing you will need, if you don't have it already, is a domain web hosting package that will provide the server space where your site files will reside. Your new domain needs to be forwarded to the web servers of your hosting provider, then in short order your site will be live and ready to receive visitors.

The Power of Using Web Analytics

By Karra Maxim

Who are your customers? Who is coming to your site and how are they getting there? How many of them are purchasing services or products? How do you know?

If you don't use web analytics to track the behavior of traffic to and on your site, then you won't know the answer to any of these questions! If you don't know the answers to these questions, then you won't know if you need to change your advertising sources, upgrade your products or services, or rearrange the content and pages on your site. In order to know what is effective and what isn't, you have to analyze your traffic.

How do you analyze traffic? The best way is through tracking software. Tracking software will let you know some key information about your traffic. One of these is 'bounce,' that is, when a visitor comes to one page on your site and doesn't explore further before leaving. If most of your visitors bounce right off your site, it doesn't matter if you get 10,000 visitors a day. What you need is targeted traffic, visitors who land on your site and stay there, exploring what you have to offer.

You may find that your bounce rate on one page of your site is extremely high, while other pages exhibit a lower rank. Now, not only do you know that this is happening, but you know exactly where it's happening and you can fix that page so that it entices people to stay.

The next thing that your web analytic software can do for you is check out where your visitors are coming from. How many typed in your address directly? How many came through a link on a search engine? How many linked to you through another site? You may be paying for advertising on a site that is creating any traffic for you. Now you know and you can cancel that advertising subscription and save yourself some money. You may see that you are getting a high amount of traffic from another site. Perhaps you will choose to target similar sites for link backs in hopes of getting the same results.

Where do your visitors go once they get to your site? Are they landing on the pages you want them to? Are they filling out your forms or purchasing your inventory? How many are returning and how many come just once? It is with this information that you will be able to use web analytics to further figure out what it is that your site needs in order to convert visitors into buyers. This is called a conversion rate, the percentage of visitors to your site who make a purchase or subscribe, and it is critical in building a successful website for your business. In fact, it is the entire point of web analytics and the reason for carefully and accurately tracking your visitor's activities: to raise your conversion rate as much as possible.

Improving your conversion rate starts with tracking and web analytics. Without the accurate information, you cannot analyze the activities of your visitors. When you analyze the activities of your visitors and compare the results to what you would like to see happen on your site, page by page, then you can make changes to achieve those goals. After you make changes, check your numbers and use web analytics again to figure out what needs to be changed next. In this way, you can stop wasting your time and money on advertising and SEO techniques that aren't drawing or maintaining traffic and stick to what works, pulling targeted traffic and turning customers into repeat customers.

10 Unmistakeable Signs Your Website Needs an Overhaul

By Cathy Goodwin

Most business people know they need some kind of web design. Learning HTML and CSS means learning a whole new language (and if you don't know what those initials mean, you probably hired a designer).

But many people are convinced they know how to speak and write. So, they reason, why bother with a copywriter? They'll just write their own words.

Sometimes that works. But if you're making one of these 10 mistakes, your copy -- the words on your website -- are killing your business.

1.Your headline says, "Welcome."

Hey, come on. Visitors who come to your website know they're welcome. You created the site. You bought a domain. You're paying for web hosting. Of course they're welcome! Let's cut to the chase.

In fact, if your headline does say welcome, don't bother with the other tips. Move directly to find yourself some copywriting help.

2.Your sign-up box is hidden at the bottom of your page and/or you don't offer an irresistible freebie to motivate visitors to leave their contact information.

No sign-up box at all? Ouch. Read no further. You're using the web like a billboard, not a means to interact, communicate and build relationships.

3.Your home page doesn't communicate what you do and why you're different.

Never mind the vague stuff like, "I help people reach the dreams their souls yearn to find." How about, "If you're huffing and puffing to climb a flight of stairs, you may be climbing directly to a heart attack. I specialize in clients who think "exercise" is a 4-letter word and couldn't tell you where to find the nearest gym. Ask me about my 90-Day Fitness With Finesse Program."

4.You keep getting compliments on a beautiful site, but nobody's calling you.

Congratulations! You've got a work of art, but you really need a direct response advertisement.

5.You've got something at the top of your home page that isn't a headline.

A nice photo? A logo? Are you making visitors scroll down to get to your message?

6.You haven't created a path for visitors to take through your website.

Menus are great but you also need to suggest a logical sequence, from your home page to your "free stuff" and "contact" pages.

7.Your bio reads like a history lesson: where you've been, what you did, and where you went to school.

Sure, those features are important. But your bio should demonstrate why you are the best person to provide your service. Show, don't tell.

8. Your testimonials say you're "interesting" and "helpful."

Get convincing, results-oriented testimonials signed by real people. If you're a b2b, get URLs. Edit your testimonials to show how you got results.

9. No success stories.

Unlike testimonials, success stories showcase your process and need not refer to specific, identifiable people. Often this section will be the strongest client attraction magnet on your whole site.

10.You keep getting queries for the wrong service.

You're targeting HR managers. But you keep getting calls from individuals who just got handed a pink slip or the performance review from hell. Or you now offer marketing communication services and you still get calls about the time management service you offered five years ago.

When you overhaul your target market, mission or position, your copy deserves an overhaul, too. Confusion rarely leads to customers.

Bottom Line: Coy isn't what you learned in school. Your English teacher might faint dead away if she saw what you're creating. Copy for websites comes from direct mail copy -- those long mail pieces you like to toss. It's called "direct response" because people either ask for more info immediately -- or wander away forever. With TV and magazine ads, you can win customers through repetition: you're in their face.

Not so with direct response: you get one shot. And copy helps you make the most of it.