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The 7 Components Of Effective Website Design And Marketing
by: Chris Swemba
1. Target Audience: (Who Buys From You?)
The foundation of effective web marketing is the 'who.' Determining your
target audience, their needs, wants, level of knowledge, goals, etc is critical
to creating a website that will be effective at either lead generation or
e-commerce.
2. Core Message: (What Exactly do You Offer?)
Flowing directly from who you want to target, is the question of what you
want to say to them. Your core message delivers your value proposition in
a clear and compelling way. Your core message is not a mission statement,
or an executive summary of your strategic plan. Your core message is essentially
a list of the reasons that people do business with you - written from their
perspective.
3. Site Structure: (Is it Easy to Navigate)
Many websites are little more than on-line brochures. Visitors are free to
click between this page and that, reading a little here and a little there.
The result is that a site visitor develops very little emotional attachment,
and the 'back button' is increasingly enticing. Sales people intuitively
understand that their message must be delivered in the right sequence - A,
B, C, then D, which leads to E. A website that is carefully structured can
accomplish this same effect, building understanding and buy-in, step-by-step.
At the end of that 'presentation' the visitor takes the next step willingly.
4. Calls to Action: (Ask People to Buy!)
Asking a site visitor to take the next step is the 'call to action'. This
is the "contact us", "join our mailing list", or "sign up today" option,
which informs the site visitor of the correct next step. Most people are
grateful to be guided through the process of evaluating a product or service,
so if you tell them that the next step is to sign up for a 30-day trial,
many of them will.
5. Lead Capture: (Get Their Contact Info)
Actually capturing contact (and qualification) information from leads is
relatively easy with today's technology. Some simple web scripts and an effective
'off the shelf' business database are all that are needed. Many companies
set up automated responses, saving time and energy, and ensuring that their
sales people spend personal time with only the most qualified leads.
6. Good Graphic Design: (Makes You Look "Bigger"!)
Unfortunately, many companies spend 90% of their web budget on graphic design,
and only 10% on 'the other stuff'. Graphic design serves two purposes: 1)
to establish credibility, and 2) to entice visitors to read your text.
Credibility is established when a company uses effective graphic design and
'looks big'. On-line it's hard to tell, but poor graphic design leads visitors
to believe that your company is small. Once credibility is established, visitors
will spend some time evaluating your specific message.
7. Site Promotion: (How Will You Get Visitors?)
Once your site has been optimized to maximize conversion rates, using the
strategies listed above, site promotion activities should be used to drive
increased traffic onto your site. Site promotion ranges from listing your
website on your business cards, through expensive and time consuming Search
Engine Optimization strategies to increase your ranking on sites like Google.
The area of site promotion can be a minefield to those new to web marketing.
Perhaps the 3 most cost effective strategies to investigate are:
• Email Marketing
• Search engine submission and marketing
• Reciprocal linking
Each of these strategies are relatively inexpensive, and place your prospect
just one-click away from your website and possibly a sale.
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About The Author
Chris Swemba is the founder and CEO of Kinetica Media, an internet marketing
company that develops and implements affordable internet marketing and website
design services. Please visit
http://www.kineticamedia.com
for more information on our website design, logo design, email marketing
and search engine marketing services.
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