By Ronda Suder
You may have a sound business and your sales are great. But why settle for great when there’s always room for improvement? Or maybe your business needs a boost, and you’re looking for ways to increase sales. Whatever the case, consider the following 10 tips to ensure you're getting the most sales possible from your Web site.
- 1. Call to Action. Do you have a clear call to action? And if you do, is it posted at least once on each main Web page? If the answer is no to either or both of these questions, this is the first, and one of the most important, places to start tweaking. Your call to action should be specific, clear and encouraging for the consumer.
- 2. Use a Three-Second Headline. You have three seconds to grab a potential customer’s attention when they log on to your Web site. Your headline should speak to the visitor's needs, be catchy and be centered in the top-middle of your homepage.
- 3. Keywords and Effective Text. The text content of your Web site should be catchy and to the point without too much hype. In addition, the keywords that your visitors would type in search engines when looking for the business or product you sell should be scattered throughout your site. However, they should be naturally placed throughout the site, meaning they should not be placed simply for the sake of placing keywords on your Web site. This lets visitors know they've reached the right Web site and helps search engines list your site with the right keywords.
- 4. Contact Page. Every site should have an easy-to-find-and- use contact page where visitors can inquire about more information.
- 5. Links. Links sprinkled naturally throughout your Web site connecting visitors to other relevant pages on your site can aid in visitors finding pertinent information and can be useful in highlighting the pages and content you want visitors to focus on most.
- 6. Visuals. Visual aids can add validity to your site, but you don’t want to overdo it. A simple photo on the upper right or left hand corner of your home page should be the minimum and can often be enough. Depending on your business, this could be your logo, a photo of yourself or the company owners, or a photo representing your industry or product.
- 7. Subheadings. Subheadings serve two purposes. For one, the bold subheadings on your page are well-liked by search engines. Second, they can draw visitors in to the content of the site to help them want to read further.
- 8. Articles and Blog Links. Well-written, site-relevant articles and blogs can peak readers' interest, provide useful information relevant to your business and aid in keyword SEO.
- 9. Easy to Navigate. Any Web site, regardless of its intent, should be easy to follow and navigate. Be sure your links make sense, are in the right order and are easy to find on the page. Typically, the main page links are found at the top of the page or to the left of your page content.
- 10. Add Testimonials. Testimonials provide readers with proof of your credibility and success. Testimonials should be action-oriented, specific to your business and easy to find on your site.
If any one of these items is weak or lacking on your Web site, taking the time to make the adjustment will be advantageous to your business to ensure you have the most professional Web site possible.
About the Author
Ronda Suder has more than nine years of experience as a professional writer. Her company, RRS Communications, provides creative and technical writing services, including consulting and writing services to Internet marketers and businesses with a focus on articles, keyword, SEO and Web site content. She has a Master’s in Human Resources and Industrial Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with extensive training in writing and editing.