by Rick Erling

Does your website create website traffic and generate enough sales leads? If you are like most CEO's, sales and marketing management I speak with on a daily basis, the answer is probably no.

If you perform a Google search on "sales and marketing strategies" you'll be pleased to find over 62 million web pages devoted to helping market a business and increase sales. Spend just five minutes looking at the search results and two items become very apparent . . .

1. You can't expect to compete in business today without leveraging your reach with online digital marketing tools.
   
   
2. If you're not appealing directly to the person who is reading your ad, you risk them seeing it without realizing how it relates to them.

Considering there are over 65 million pages devoted to "sales and marketing strategies" validates the importance of creative writing and how to appeal directly to your customers' need to increase traffic and conversions.

Keep in mind that when people meet in a live in-person business meeting, we introduce ourselves with some statement about what we do, and why we should work with one another. In a live meeting it's important to show very quickly that we understand their issues and needs, and that we have ideas and solutions to address these.
 
Your website is a virtual meeting tool. It must accomplish the very same objectives of an in-person meeting. It must convey common points of interest, whether personal or professional. The virtual visitor must begin to feel that they can relate with you, and this helps to build the beginning of a business relationship. Studies show you have 8 seconds to build this relationship before they click to the next site listed in the search listings. If the visitor doesn't feel they can relate to you, if they're overwhelmed, confused, can't easily navigate your site or simply not interested in your site, they'll leave in very short order -- 8 SECONDS!

Keeping the above strategy at top of mind, here are the top seven smart ways to get your business noticed on the Internet.

1. Keep it simple.

Get rid of Flash and fancy intro pages! Studies today show you only have 8 seconds to convince a prospect how you can help. Does your website describe your product or service in a succinct, compelling and visual fashion in that timeframe?

With thousands, perhaps millions of Google hits for a given search term, prospects are looking for exactly what they've typed in or they move on to the next search result.

2. Value First, Brand Second

Don't make the mistake of dragging your business value behind you by leading with the brand name of your product, service or company. Push your business value out in front of you and set yourself above the competition by using "Value Forward" methodology!

3. Call to Action

Once you've got their attention you must have calls to action like an offer of a free white paper, webinar, or newsletter to harvest prospect contact information.

4. Easy Navigation

Your website must be easy to navigate with less than 7 navigation buttons on the home page.

5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Make sure your site appears high on search engines' results pages. By including the right keywords and phrases, your site will appear higher up on Google, Yahoo! and other search engines.

The key to keywording is translating what your product or service does into appropriate "Value Forward" keywords and phrases that will turn your visitors into qualified sales leads. 
  
6. Pay Per Click (PPC)

Your sponsored or PPC listing on a search engine results page (SERP) must call out to the person reading it. If you're not appealing directly to the person who is reading your ad, you risk them seeing it without realizing how it relates to them.

In many situations it may even be necessary to develop new landing pages to help increase site level conversion.

7. Podcasting and YouTube

Podcasting and YouTube are new and simple technologies that you may want to take a look at. All you need to get started is a decent microphone, a digital audio or video recorder and editing software.

This is a great strategy for many small businesses for several reasons. A voice, or video reference or testimonial rather than words on a website can convey conviction, credibility and personality.

Are you interested in insuring your solutions, products and services are conveyed in a compelling fashion on your website?  Yes, your web designer will provide the actual website design and artwork, BUT it's up to you to know what the content should be. Most importantly, you need to supply content that will trigger search engine hits and drive qualified traffic to your website. 

When you're not experienced or don't have the budget to have web strategy, marketing, sales or systems people on staff, or simply don't have the bandwidth, get help! Smart business owners surround themselves with consultants that are strong where they are weak. Please consider having us help with your sales, marketing, and website strategies improvement projects.

8. Track Your Customer Conversation Ratio or C.C.R.

It is not how many unique visitors come to your website that is important. It is how many you can identify as prospects. Most companies today spend large amounts of marketing dollars on tradeshows, advertising, email marketing, direct mail and corporate branding; driving thousands of potential buyers to their website . . . yet they don't know who is there and don't have engagement devices to capture their name. To generate more leads, track your C.C.R. through your daily audit logs as well as the names of those who sign up for your free information.