If you expect it to do that,  you need to take care in developing the website. It isn’t good enough to merely put up a page and say “Here I am.” Your home page needs to perform two functions:

• Clarify what products and services you have to offer
• Show visitors that you are the person to provide those products and services

Linking from that home page to a further explanation of your services and your products is good, and does add content to the site. But that isn’t enough.

If you want to be found by the search engines, you need to add some content pages. Further, those content pages have to have some “meat” so that the human visitors to your site will also benefit from them.

You can purchase content on line for pennies – but I don’t recommend it. Most of it will be what I would call “lame content.” I’m sure you’ve seen it – a few hundred words on a page that essentially say nothing.

If you don’t like to write and don’t want to hire a copywriter, you can also pick up articles  on EzineArticles.com – you can even use some of mine. But do be careful. Before you choose an article to use, make sure that it reflects your opinions about your subject, and that its advice is current.

For instance, right now in real estate, things are changing so fast that good information from last year could be completely false today. So carefully read the articles before you choose them.

Next, your content needs to tie in with your niche market, and it needs to demonstrate that you have the knowledge to help your prospects solve their problems. For instance, if you are a real estate agent specializing in short sales, you should include an article with advice about buying or selling short sales. If you sell waterfront mansions, you need an article or two with advice about buying or selling waterfront mansions.

If you’re an insurance sales person specializing in commercial liability policies, then your content should offer advice in that area; but if you sell life insurance you need something completely different.

Content, then, is not simply something to attract search engines. It should be something that enhances your personal image with the people who visit your site.

If you’re in business, it’s also a good reason to reflect on the past year’s marketing efforts and begin to implement necessary changes to make the New Year brighter. (Or, EVEN brighter if you’re already doing well!)

Look at what you did, where you spent your dollars, and the results you saw from those efforts.

Commit to doing more of what worked while you eliminate or repair what didn’t work.

Today, your website is a vital link and should be the hub of all you do – on line or off line. This is the place where customers and clients can come to learn more about you and what you offer. It’s the place that affords you all the space you need to showcase your products or your services, or both.

Even if you’re a small-town merchant or service provider, you need a website.

But it has to be done well, or it won’t help you at all.

If you already have a website, give it a critical eye this week and make the necessary changes. If you don’t have one yet, get busy with finding a good URL and getting going.

Check out these 5 Secrets to Effective Web Copy before you get started.

Then, wander around the web a bit and look at your competitors. Which of their sites is easy to navigate and pleasant to use? Which sites are irritating? And why are they irritating?

Often it’s because there’s too much clutter or the navigation links are confusing and unclear. Sometimes they take too long to load because they added flash and video and way too many graphics.

Capture ideas from the sites you like – and make note of the elements you didn’t like, so you don’t get talked into repeating those mistakes.

While you’re at it, look at sites for products or services different from yours – some of the best ideas come from other industries.

One more thing…

Before you stop working on your website, do the final step: Check your links.  Every one of your links.  It is unbelievably easy to make a mistake creating those links, and it makes you look bad when people keep coming up with “page not found” errors.

You have just over 3 days to whip your website into shape… so do it!

P.S. If you have trouble getting that web copy to come out right, get in touch… web copy is what I do.

The Importance of Content in Attracting Customers

“The content is very important”.

It’s true that this line has become monotonous, but you would still hear it more often from all the marketing icons. The reason is quite plain and simple; when you have a web presence, Content is the thing that attracts customers and retains their attention. It is the one and only means, which would bring customers to your website and turn leads into sales through all your advertising campaigns. This is what you are selling, and you should hit right on the bull’s eye for it. No place of compromise when it comes to content of your website.

If you do not feel confident enough of writing great content yourself, it’s better to hire a good writer to do it for you. But before choosing an appropriate copywriter, you should know whether he possesses Search Engine Marketing (SEM) / Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) copywriting experience or not. This is the most important point, as your have a commercial website which is selling your business, and your main aim is to bring traffic to your website. So an adept person, with an experience of SEM/SEO, can do wonders for your business.

With clear, concise and compelling information presented attractively about your product and service, you hope to move the visitor to view your web site favorably when determining their action.

So, give importance to the content you have on your website and do all the things necessary to promote your web business. Hard work always pays; contrary to no work, no pay. Learn and analyze what other people are doing. Learn about success stories and implement them in your business plans. Everyone is making money on the web; so can you. Some are making less and some are making more but there is a whole world out there to be explored. Get started today!

But how can you apply it to yourself and your business in this extremely tough economic climate?

Start by using every low and no-cost method available to promote your business!

Craig’s List offers free ads, local bulletin boards offer space for your card, service groups and the Chamber of Commerce offer opportunities to speak and share your expertise. Local non-profits offer volunteer opportunities to expand your sphere of influence.

And then there are the social sites – which offer great opportunities to show your expertise in your field while you create links back to your website – which helps your search engine optimization.

But… before you start working on getting people to visit your site, work on the site!

Go there – and read your copy as if it didn’t belong to you.

Does it clearly show what you can do for your visitors? Or, like so many sites, does it just talk about you?

In a time when so many are tightening their belts, you have to make yourself stand out as THE choice. And the way to do that is to appeal to the emotions that will cause a visitor to your site to believe that he or she doesn’t just want what you offer – he needs it.

It sounds awful and selfish, and many people will claim that it isn’t true in their case – but the truth is every person is tuned into station WIFM – “What’s in it for me?” Your website’s job is to answer that question – clearly.

One quick way to determine if your site is doing it’s job is to count the number of times you say “I” or “we” or some variation of that. Then count the number of times you say “You” or “Your.” If the you’s don’t far outweigh the I’s, you need to get to work fixing your copy.

A second failing that I see – primarily on real estate websites – is a tendency to hide, and to promote the location instead of the agent.

I call them Chamber of Commerce sites – and on some of them it is nearly impossible to find the agent’s name – and even harder to find any contact information for that agent. My question always is “What’s the point?”

Someone searching for an agent in your town already knows they want to move there – they don’t need a glowing description of Colorado mountains or Florida sunsets. What they need – and want – is to find an agent who knows their way around and can make the home buying process easier for them.

Home sellers also don’t need to know how wonderful their town is. They need to know that an agent has the experience and expertise to market their home well.

So… why do the majority of real estate agents promote their town instead of their services? I haven’t figured that out, but if you have, please tell me, because it makes no sense!

If you’re promoting your town instead of your services, re-think your position. And if you want to increase the number of closings you attend this year, re-write your landing page. And if you need assistance, get in touch.

Meanwhile – if you are in real estate – or in any business that draws customers from a local base, take a look at the e-book I wrote just for you: It’s called How to Promote a Local Business, and it offers a system that will not only create loyalty among your current clients, but cause them to bring you referrals. It costs less than lunch at the local fast-food joint… but could easily double or triple your business over the next few months.

One thing is certain: Some people will make money in the months to come. And you should be one of them.

As I was deleting away today I thought about the similarities between the marketers I believe and the ones I don’t. I’d love to see what you have to say about it too — maybe just to see if you agree or if I’m just a cranky old battleaxe.

Here’s some of the things that now elicit a “yeah, sure” from me and cause me to consider that marketer as less than honest:

• “Not long ago I was dead broke, living on the streets” – or in my in-law’s basement, crammed into my Mom’s boat, in my car, etc. (How many guys like that can there be?)
• “I learned how to make money on line and now one e-mail brings in $20,000 so I only work for 5 minutes in the morning while I write a new e-mail.”
• “This wonderful free report is going to tell you all you need to know to (fill in the blank).” But then if you click you get a message telling you that if you really want to know anything, you need to buy this other report — and its only $97 if you order it right now, before you see the free report and get a chance to see if I really have anything to say.
• “This offer absolutely expires at midnight” — but if you go to the site the next week it’s still there.

There are still several marketers out there sending great ezines that I read faithfully, but I’m deleting the ones who use the tactics I listed. I just don’t trust them.

So what do you think? How do you decide which marketers are for real? Share your thoughts with the rest of us please.

And in the meantime, if you happen to need a web copywriter, call me! I promise to promote your business, show the world why they need you, and keep my opinions out of your copy!

Until next time – I wish you success,
Marte
writer@marte-cliff.com
208-448-1479

A few weeks ago I listened to a great seminar presentation on the subject and set to work on my own sites. I managed to get web copywriting from nowhere to page 2 on Google, and then got fundraising copywriting on page one. And that was with a few simple changes. Wow.

Now I just learned more. Did you know that when you ask for links from other sites, the links should contain your keywords — not your site name, (unless it uses your keywords) and definitely not a “click here.”

Now I’m working on trying to convince my copywriting clients to upgrade their title tags. When I write the copy, the content is geared to SEO, but I don’t have access to their pages to change the title tags. For that I have to do what my husband says I do best: nag.

A high search engine ranking may not make much difference to a lot of businesses, but for those whose customers begin looking for them on the web, it’s vital.

One of those businesses is Real Estate. When I wrote the copy for Mouse House Tours a few months ago I called NAR and found out that 74% of buyers begin their home search on the web. But since I’m often writing for individual Realtors, it seemed like a good idea to update the information. Yesterday they told me that the number is now 80%!

That means your web presence is not incidental — it’s what’s called a “Really Big Deal.” Since there are some major players using SEO to drive traffic to their referral sites, you have to make extra effort to optimize your own site.

Don’t groan — it really is a lot of fun. And if you need a web copywriter to help, call me.

By the way, Mouse House Tours does offer optimized virtual tours, and the offer they make is pretty fantastic. You should check it out if you have a house to sell. (And no, I’m not an affiliate. Just a believer. If you read what I wrote, you’ll see why.)

But back to your site. Since links back to your site are so important, and since it isn’t easy to find the time to find relevant sites and ask for a link exchange, you can do other things.

You can cross link between your own sites, and you can post comments on blogs. Blog posts — with your links — do help raise your popularity rating with Google, so you should take the time to do it.

A good place to start is right here.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll repeat: You are welcome to add your contact info and tell the world what you do on this blog. The only restrictions are the normal ones — I won’t post any kind of hate messages, and I’m not into “adult” content.

If you love a challenge as much as I do, start working on your site! Find out your ranking today, and then see how far you can raise it.

Yours for success,

Marte

writer@marte-cliff.com
www.marte-cliff.com