Your're Not After Clicks…You're After Sales
Your're Not After Clicks…You're After Sales
Of course! You see, on the web you have a choice - you can pay Google or Yahoo tons of your hard-earned cash for PPC clicks, or you can search engine optimize your site to drive new customers to you. And I'll give you a hint – search engine optimization is much cheaper!
But many small businesses and website owners make the mistake of just concentrating on traffic and search engine optimization. They get the traffic, but it doesn't convert into buyers. What good is a ton of traffic coming to your site, if it doesn't improve your website results?
You've ultimately got to look at your bottom line. If you're spending tons of cash, hours of your time and all your energy on driving traffic to your site with SEO, but not making sure it converts into buying customers, you're just chasing your tail.
Remember, you're not after "clicks" – you're after sales!
So how can you convert those clicks into sales? How can you get the maximum return on your investment when it comes to converting those visitors into buyers? While there are many factors that go into Conversion Optimization for your site, here are 3 basics that you MUST ensure happen on your site in order to convert visitors into customers and increase your sales:
1. First, you need an effective sales message that grabs your surfer by the mouse, turns them upside down, and shakes their credit cards out of their pockets!
Your sales message has to grab attention and seductively hypnotize your prospect into buying your product or service. You've got less than 7 seconds to grab their attention, so "good enough" will not do. Remember, people don't like to read ads. In fact, the average Internet surfer does not like to read much at all, so you've got to know how to capture their attention.
Your marketing message can only grab your surfer's attention when it addresses their desires directly. For example, if your website is a self-improvement website, your marketing message will address things such as how to attain wealth, more health, a better job, weight loss, find a soul mate, or strengthen relationships.
You would not use headlines that talk about repairing your car for less than $100 or how to clip discount coupons. The key to converting your visitors is to find out what they want! The easiest way is to simply ask them. E-mail your list and ask them to e-mail you their most important questions. Tell them to give you feedback and what kinds of changes they'd like to see happen. This will give you a gold mine of information on how to market and craft your sales message on your site in such a way that your target customers will be eager to buy.
2. Secondly, where your messages are placed on your site is critical. Important messages about what your company does, and the actions you want your customers to take must be strategically positioned on your website to ensure they aren't overlooked by your customers. Make sure that all critical information appears "above the fold" so your customers don't have to scroll down the page to figure out what your company does and whether you offer what they need.
Something many people forget when they design their site is that different computer monitor resolutions will display your site differently, making it important that you check what your website will look like in all common resolutions. An easy way to do this is to visit www.AnyBrowser.com (http://anybrowser.com/ScreenSizeTest.html) and perform a screen size test. This way you can be certain that your site will look great, regardless of the computer monitor your customer is viewing it on.
3. Finally, the overall navigation of your site is critical to your conversion success. Is it easy for customers to find what they are looking for? If they have questions, is a phone number provided in an obvious location for them to be able to give you a call? Do you let your customers know the types of payment options you offer, your delivery policies and when they can expect to receive their order? By ensuring that your customers can easily find the information they need to do business with you, you'll improve your conversion optimization and your sales.
Keep in mind that conversion optimization is a process – not an event. Just as you test your direct mail efforts and your PPC campaigns, you will want to test alternate messaging, placement and navigation options to continually try to improve your site's conversion optimization. To help with this, our friends at Google have developed a free tool called the Google Website Optimizer (http://services.google.com/websiteoptimizer/) where you can identify your "control" page and then test a variety of different headlines, messages and images to determine which performs best.
As with any type of testing – I recommend that you test one variable at a time so you can be sure which changes you make have the greatest impact on your conversion rate.
Another thing you want to do is to study your competition. Study your competitors that are several steps ahead of you. When you do this, you'll have an outline of what already works. Don't copy them, of course – but study their messaging and positioning as well as their site navigation to learn what is working well with the customers you aim to reach.
You don't have to re-invent the wheel. When it comes to having a profitable on-line business, a combination of search engine optimization and crafting effective marketing messages that convert into buyers is important. Search engine optimization combined with Conversion Optimization is the most powerful duo you have in your Internet Marketing bag of tricks in terms of finding new customers, increasing your sales and improving your website performance.
Yourre Not After ClicksYoure After Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Caroline Melberg's Website.
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It's no secret that in today's world, on-line success depends in large part on how much traffic you drive to your website. The amount of traffic you get depends on your search engine optimization. When your site is primed for search engine optimization (SEO), you get tons of traffic coming to you for free. Great, right?
Of course! You see, on the web you have a choice - you can pay Google or Yahoo tons of your hard-earned cash for PPC clicks, or you can search engine optimize your site to drive new customers to you. And I'll give you a hint – search engine optimization is much cheaper!
But many small businesses and website owners make the mistake of just concentrating on traffic and search engine optimization. They get the traffic, but it doesn't convert into buyers. What good is a ton of traffic coming to your site, if it doesn't improve your website results?
You've ultimately got to look at your bottom line. If you're spending tons of cash, hours of your time and all your energy on driving traffic to your site with SEO, but not making sure it converts into buying customers, you're just chasing your tail.
Remember, you're not after "clicks" – you're after sales!
So how can you convert those clicks into sales? How can you get the maximum return on your investment when it comes to converting those visitors into buyers? While there are many factors that go into Conversion Optimization for your site, here are 3 basics that you MUST ensure happen on your site in order to convert visitors into customers and increase your sales:
1. First, you need an effective sales message that grabs your surfer by the mouse, turns them upside down, and shakes their credit cards out of their pockets!
Your sales message has to grab attention and seductively hypnotize your prospect into buying your product or service. You've got less than 7 seconds to grab their attention, so "good enough" will not do. Remember, people don't like to read ads. In fact, the average Internet surfer does not like to read much at all, so you've got to know how to capture their attention.
Your marketing message can only grab your surfer's attention when it addresses their desires directly. For example, if your website is a self-improvement website, your marketing message will address things such as how to attain wealth, more health, a better job, weight loss, find a soul mate, or strengthen relationships.
You would not use headlines that talk about repairing your car for less than $100 or how to clip discount coupons. The key to converting your visitors is to find out what they want! The easiest way is to simply ask them. E-mail your list and ask them to e-mail you their most important questions. Tell them to give you feedback and what kinds of changes they'd like to see happen. This will give you a gold mine of information on how to market and craft your sales message on your site in such a way that your target customers will be eager to buy.
2. Secondly, where your messages are placed on your site is critical. Important messages about what your company does, and the actions you want your customers to take must be strategically positioned on your website to ensure they aren't overlooked by your customers. Make sure that all critical information appears "above the fold" so your customers don't have to scroll down the page to figure out what your company does and whether you offer what they need.
Something many people forget when they design their site is that different computer monitor resolutions will display your site differently, making it important that you check what your website will look like in all common resolutions. An easy way to do this is to visit www.AnyBrowser.com (http://anybrowser.com/ScreenSizeTest.html) and perform a screen size test. This way you can be certain that your site will look great, regardless of the computer monitor your customer is viewing it on.
3. Finally, the overall navigation of your site is critical to your conversion success. Is it easy for customers to find what they are looking for? If they have questions, is a phone number provided in an obvious location for them to be able to give you a call? Do you let your customers know the types of payment options you offer, your delivery policies and when they can expect to receive their order? By ensuring that your customers can easily find the information they need to do business with you, you'll improve your conversion optimization and your sales.
Keep in mind that conversion optimization is a process – not an event. Just as you test your direct mail efforts and your PPC campaigns, you will want to test alternate messaging, placement and navigation options to continually try to improve your site's conversion optimization. To help with this, our friends at Google have developed a free tool called the Google Website Optimizer (http://services.google.com/websiteoptimizer/) where you can identify your "control" page and then test a variety of different headlines, messages and images to determine which performs best.
As with any type of testing – I recommend that you test one variable at a time so you can be sure which changes you make have the greatest impact on your conversion rate.
Another thing you want to do is to study your competition. Study your competitors that are several steps ahead of you. When you do this, you'll have an outline of what already works. Don't copy them, of course – but study their messaging and positioning as well as their site navigation to learn what is working well with the customers you aim to reach.
You don't have to re-invent the wheel. When it comes to having a profitable on-line business, a combination of search engine optimization and crafting effective marketing messages that convert into buyers is important. Search engine optimization combined with Conversion Optimization is the most powerful duo you have in your Internet Marketing bag of tricks in terms of finding new customers, increasing your sales and improving your website performance.
Yourre Not After ClicksYoure After Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Caroline Melberg's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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