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Marketing Strategies > Product Development
> Designing a Web Site > Writing
Sales Copy
Part Three: Designing
a Web Site
Designing a web
site specifically designed to sell your product is an essential part of your
success. Everything within your web site should have one specific purpose
-- getting your visitor to take action.
Creating a professional web site specifically designed to sell will take
a great deal of time and effort, as there is much more to take into consideration
than just the design. You must look at a much broader picture and plan each
step very carefully.
Every part of your web site must be strategically designed, from your overall
design to your sales copy; each will play a very important role. Your visitor's
first impression will almost instantly determine whether or not you're going
to make a sale.
Basic Web Site Design Guidelines
Your web site
should be simple in design with the navigational links placed at the top,
left or right side of the page. It should be designed in standard HTML with
no Flash or fancy plug-ins and very few graphics. Unless your graphics
specifically pertain to your product or enhance your site, you probably shouldn't
include them. Your web site should load very quickly and each additional
graphic will add additional load time. In addition, there should be no banners
or outside links of any kind -- nothing that will distract your visitor's
attention.
Search Engine Ranking
You must specifically
design your web site to rank high in the Search Engines. This involves much
more than just including META tags. Your design, text, title and image alt
tags all play a very important role in determining how your web site will
rank.
Title - Your "Title" should contain your most important keyword phrase
that you think potential visitors will use when performing a search.
Description - Your description should contain your most important
keyword phrase and describe your product in detail. You want your potential
visitors to know exactly what you're offering. Your description should be
less than 200 characters.
Keywords - Select the most appropriate keyword phrases that you feel
your potential visitors will use when performing a search - the more targeted
the better.
You can download a great little freeware program called, Good Keywords
http://www.goodkeywords.com.
This program will assist you in developing a list of targeted keywords for
your web site. In addition, it also includes a site popularity tool that
enables you to check your site's popularity.
Heading tags - Search Engines pay close attention to the text displayed
within the "Heading" tags. Place your most important keyword phrase within
a "Heading" tag.
Graphic Alt tags - Your graphics should relate to your web site and
enhance your users' experience. In addition, your graphics should pertain
to your most relevant keyword phrases. Place a readable sentence that explains
what the image is and contains your keyword phrase within each of your graphic
"Alt" tags. For example, if your web site focuses on dog grooming, your graphics
should also pertain to dog grooming.
Text - All of your keywords and keyword phrases should appear throughout
your text. If any of the keywords you placed within your META tags do not
appear within your text, the Search Engines will ignore them. Your keyword
phrases should appear at least three times within your text, but no more
than seven.
Another consideration of great importance is the use of "Tables." If you'd
like to set up your web site using tables, try to place your "Heading" text
above your "Table" code. If this isn't possible, make sure you include your
keyword phrases within your top left "Table cell" to assist you in ranking
higher in the Search Engines.
One final note, always place your most important information above the fold
of your web page. This is the top portion of your web page that is visible
when your page is first loaded, without scrolling. This is the most important
part of your entire page -- use it wisely.
Your web site is your product's storefront and will play a very important
roll in determining your success. Take your time and do your homework before
you begin. You may be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
Copyright © Shelley
Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design
Mastery.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com
And, Ebook Starter - Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book.
http://www.ebookstarter.com
Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to eTips
and receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing
Strategies."
http://www.web-source.net
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print,
in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author
bylines are included.
Part Two
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