Think Big Blog

So the summer is ending (quickly, we might add) and the kids are heading back to school. The summer schedule is now over, and businesses have begun to pick up their pace and get back into their steady groove. This means decision makers are back from their summer vacations, budgets are being finalized, and commerce as we know it is back on track. For many businesses this time of year represents a time during which to access the current state of the business and set out plans for the coming months. This self assessment is critical in order for a business to take stock of what is working and set goals for itself in terms of increasing efficiency and profit – even in this economy.

This same type of process is important for every business – whether it’s a small, privately owned business or a large publicly traded organization; and it even holds true for web sites.

Web sites may measure their success in different ways but the importance of taking a business’s temperature time to time is just as important if a business is traditional bricks and mortar or a virtual business. For web sites, this time of year may be a good time to:

* Look at the pattern of web traffic over the summer. Did it increase? Decrease? Stay the same? Were any of the changes seemingly connected to anything particular happening on the site? For instance, was there an increase in web site traffic during a promotion you were running? Did web traffic drop off when a sale ended?

* Identify what worked and what didn’t. Based on this information, it is important to set goals for the coming months in terms of planning for things that worked to increase web traffic and looking for new ways to bolster visitors to the site. Do you have a forum? A blog that you continually update? Are you giving your visitors a valuable experience?

* Determine if you would be well served by a professional web site optimization firm. When planning for a fall budget it may be wise to consider procuring the services of a professional web site optimization firm that can help your site raise its rankings on the search engines and ultimately increase web site traffic.

In the last post we talked about the challenge facing web sites to not only increase web site traffic but convert those who are visiting their site into long term customers that will ultimately support the financial viability of the company. To this end, web sites must strike a balance between their upfront efforts and what they are ultimately able to offer on the backend.

In terms of striking a balance, the first thing that web sites must address is their marketing. Advertising and marketing efforts are just as important for web sites as it is for traditional businesses, although web sites go about it a bit differently. In order for a web site to be effectively marketed to the appropriate audience, web site owners typically work with a web site optimization firm to maximize search engine optimization efforts, raise the site’s page rankings on the search engines, and increase web site traffic. Once this traffic is generated, the next item of importance for web sites is:

2. Delivery. Once a web site is able to attract visitors the next step is converting visitors; something that the site will only be able to do through delivering on what they have promised. This may include:

• Providing the products, services, and information that have been promised and doing so in a way that is clean, attractive, and easy to access.

• Providing the user as much value for their time spent as possible. This means going above and beyond in providing such things as blogs, online forums, information about the industry, giveaways – anything that will be perceived as valuable by visitors.

• Providing a highly functional site that loads quickly and is easy to navigate.

• Providing an attractive site that is fully representative of the image your company wants to project. Remember that this is often the first impression you will make on a prospective customer; design accordingly.

As avid Internet users we are all accustomed to the practice of logging on to a site, looking around, and logging off in a matter of minutes. Perhaps the site in question wasn’t exactly what we were looking for; perhaps it was too slow to load; perhaps we had to jump through too many hoops in order to find the specific products, services, or information we required; or maybe it was just plain boring. Whatever the reason that people logon and log off sites, it is this very action that web sites must address when it comes to garnering long term relationships with customers. Web sites don’t want visitors; they want customers and find a way to convert those who logon to their site into long term customers is what every web site ultimately wants to achieve.

So how do web sites do their due diligence to increase web traffic but do so in such a way that is likely to appeal to those visitors who will stick around over time? Through targeted marketing.

A web site is like any other business; its advertising and marketing must be razor sharp – especially in this day and age when we are so visually desensitized. And, even more importantly, a web site (just like any other business) must be very sure they are able to deliver on what they have promised. If they manage to deliver effective marketing and advertising and increase web traffic but fall short in delivery, their upfront efforts are essentially wasted. The balance, therefore, for a web site is to do the following:

1. Marketing. In the short term, web sites want to increase web site traffic. To this end, they will participate in comprehensive search engine optimization efforts to raise their page rankings with the search engines, utilize reciprocal linking, and work closely with a web site optimization firm to further these efforts.

In the next post, we’ll continue to talk about a web site finding the appropriate balance to not only increase web site traffic but turn visitors into customers.

In the last post, we talked about the current state of the economy and how during such times the competition between businesses explodes. With few customers to fight over, one business has to be many steps ahead of their competition in order to continue to remain a viable force in the marketplace; and web sites are no exception.

In order to ensure that they at least weather this current economic storm, web sites must employ all of their options in terms of reaching their target audience, increasing web site traffic, converting visitors into customers, and developing long term relationships that will see them through to a better economic climate.

To this end, web sites can do the following to ensure that they are not only being found but they are giving users what they want once they get there, including:

* Working with a web site optimization firm to increase search engine page rankings. You can have the greatest web site in the world but if no one can find you then your efforts have essentially been wasted. Search engine optimization is a tricky game; there are many methods employed to naturally raise a site’s rankings on the search engines. Some web site owners choose to go pay per click in order to achieve fast results but overall, search engine users are much more inclined to visit those web sites that are delivered through organic results. In order to achieve these rankings, web sites often work hand in hand with a web site optimization firm in order to best market their site and make use of such methods as the inclusion of keyword rich content and reciprocal linking.

* Providing the user a well rounded experience. Once the user finds your site through the search engines you need to be able to deliver on the back end. Don’t just give them the products and services that they want – make them easy to find; don’t just give them a litany of information about your business – provide them with industry-related information in the form of blogs, thereby elevating the value of their experience; don’t just talk at them – talk with them through the use of forums.

* Giving them something to come back to. A one and done web site doesn’t give the web site owner anything in terms of long term relationships. And long term relationships are what build long term success. Change out your content, update your information, give visitors something fun and interesting to read each and every time they logon, and make use of giveaways and contests to engage participation.

It’s no secret that the economy is in a bit of a struggle these days and the effects can be seen from the average American household to the large corporation. Businesses have had to make serious choices in order to help bolster their bottom line and this has impacted the jobs of many people around the country. While we may not automatically think of web sites as the average business, in reality they are more than average in today’s business environment. With more and more people working online, a web site has become tantamount to the corner store fifty years ago; everyone goes there for everything they need.

So how is this economy affecting web sites? With consumers in possession of less disposable income they are shopping less and less; certainly those web sites that are engaged in the sale of products and services have felt the pinch and have responded accordingly.

During economic downturns you will always see an increase in competition in the traditional world of business; just as animals will fight harder for the only available food during a famine. Consider for example the mortgage industry which is suffering tremendously at the moment. Just a few short years ago we were seeing a housing boom and the market was rich; there was more than enough business to go around and while competition is always alive and well in a capitalist society, the pressure was somewhat off because essentially everyone was fat and happy at the time. Today, of course, the housing market is much slower and mortgage companies are fighting for business – doing what they can to out step the competition.

This same philosophy holds true for web sites. When there are few people shopping there is less web site traffic. The pressure becomes to increase web site traffic in spite of the economy so that a web site can remain viable and ride out the current economic wave.

In the next post, we’ll talk about some of the ways in which web sites can remain profitable and increase web site traffic.

Businesses of all kinds go through transitory periods and web sites are no exception. These transitions can be difficult for all involved; the web site owner and the staff associated with its operation, as well as the clients and visitors which the web site serves. In updating a web site – adding products, services, and site features – there is always the possibility that web traffic will suffer as a result; at least in the short term. But as the saying goes, you need to crack some eggs to make an omelet and taking a few steps back – in order to increase their functionality – can ultimately help a web site remain viable in the long run.

Helping to smooth this transition phase and retain web traffic, a web site optimization firm can be most helpful to a web site in holding up the marketing end while the web site does what it needs to do in terms of functionality and product and service offerings. A web site optimization firm can work closely with a web site ownership team to identify priorities in terms of what they want to communicate to possible users and how best they can continue to serve their clients will still doing what they need to do through their transition.

Most importantly, a web site optimization firm will remain engaged in ensuring that the web site in question remains high in the page rankings as provided through search engines and that the site receives the web traffic that it needs to stay viable in the marketplace. This kind of focus can be priceless to a web site team that is focused on its own goals; knowing that they have professional leadership in maintaining SEO efforts can take the pressure off during an already stressful and chaotic transition time.

The Internet has changed the way business is conducted in several ways. Maximizing Internet exposure is paramount to the success of many merchants and businesses. As such, these businesses are extremely focused on various means to increase web site traffic.

When a company can increase web site traffic the end result is an increase in revenue. Most merchants and businesses will employ a web site developer to construct a user friendly web site encompassing the entirety of their company. However, finding ways to increase web site traffic will quickly come to the forefront of a business’s web site plan.

Without traffic, a web site serves no real purpose. The primary focus becomes discovering creative and effective means to achieving web site traffic.

One productive avenue to increase web site traffic is advertising. A variety of advertising mediums exist to accomplish this feat. Pay per click advertising allows a business to have their web site advertised on search engines and pay only for the number of times their site is accessed through these advertisements. These advertisements are driven by keywords and phrases entered in the search engines to ensure a company is exposed to users with an interest in their products or services.

Keywords are another very effective tool to increase web site traffic. Keywords are single words or phrases that relate to the business. When a user keys in a search word or phrase, web sites containing the same or very similar text will be displayed for the user to choose from. The companies at the beginning of the search engine results typically get the lion’s share of inquiries. Companies who wish to increase web site traffic need to continually update their web site with legitimate content reflecting the most common search phrases related to their business in order to be one of the top results in the search engines.

Businesses and merchants can increase web site traffic in very affordable ways. By simply updating a web site on a regular basis and paying attention to key phrases can raise a web site to the top of the search engine results and therefore increase web site traffic without cost.

Right now retail businesses are feeling the crunch of the economy. This means that while stores may be receiving quite a bit of foot traffic, they are not seeing too much purchasing happening. These are difficult times but savvy businesses that keep their head understand that this foot traffic derived from browsing would-be customers will allow them to pick right back up where they left off when the economy gets back into swing. All businesses are wise to promote a fair amount of foot traffic as it keeps their company fresh in the minds of customers and viable even during a tough economic stretch. Web sites should be just as invested in making sure that their site is visited on a frequent basis even if people are not purchasing right off the bat. Keeping the foot traffic alive online involves making a commitment to search engine optimization to be sure; but it also involves making a commitment to giving customers what they want once they arrive on the site.

To this end, now may be a great time for web sites that are interested in keeping their business afloat to introduce a new product or service and promote it on their site (as well as on as many third party sites as they can find).

By promoting a particular product or service a web site is creating its own content essentially, making it much easier to yield comprehensive search engine optimization. By writing about the products and services a site is promoting they are creating a buzz and a buzz is always helpful in terms of increasing web traffic. But it’s not just about more web site traffic; creating a buzz about a product line is helpful in solidifying a company’s reputation and helping it weather this current economic climate.

Business is not always going to be booming; no matter what the industry. Every business has had their share of ups and downs and they have celebrated the good times and gotten through the bad times as best they could. Surely when cash flow is limited there is some purse string tightening that needs to happen; but this doesn’t mean that all marketing efforts should cease entirely.

For web sites that also experience slower times – such as now during a shaky economy – the desire to increase web site traffic is still there. Now may be the time, in fact, for a web site to work with a web site optimization firm in order to put long term marketing efforts into place to stimulate web traffic and maximize the site’s opportunities for longer term success. After all, sometimes you have to struggle through the short term problems to have long term viability.

A web site optimization firm will help a site take their search engine optimization efforts to the next level – including keyword rich content, blogs – written and video, informative resources, reciprocal links with other highly reputable sites, and other marketing efforts that will help a web site increase web traffic.

Search engine optimization is always important no matter what the state of the economy, as web sites count on the search engines to deliver them with visitors.

And while it may seem counterintuitive to work with a web site optimization firm when times are slower it actually makes sense to take the downtime to reevaluate what is working in terms of increasing web traffic and reorganizing those efforts that are not working. With a web site optimization firm a web site will be able to reevaluate their long term marketing plans so that they can sustain their traffic through highs and lows.

In the last post we discussed the present state of affairs in terms of the economy and how it has affected individuals to businesses as we all struggle to make ends meet and make the most of our situation. For businesses, this is a particularly rocky time as there is little disposable income left over for those who would normally shop for goods and services that are over and above the bare essentials.

Businesses are suffering - traditional businesses especially - and doors are closing everywhere we look. Those businesses that operate online have a bit of a leg up on their traditional competition however; they are able to offer their customers alternative benefits as we all wait for the economy to improve.

For web sites to increase web traffic even in these tricky times they can look to provide the following for their visitors:

• Blog content that focuses on a particular topic or industry. If you can’t provide customers with products and services you can at least provide them with information – that which they will return again and again to read. And by keeping the content new and fresh web sites are able to maximize their opportunities to build a strong fan base that loyally returns.

• Contests and giveaways. Now, more than ever, consumers are looking for a deal. With periodic giveaways, web sites can ensure that they are offering something of value for those who will hang in there with them through the recession.

• Offer an opportunity for visitors to speak amongst themselves. Forums are a great way to draw a crowd and keep them coming back for more. If you are providing interesting information then readers may choose to comment and that is how a community is formed.

By employing unique methods of marketing during this time period a web site can be sure to increase web traffic even when business is slow and put themselves in a position to re-engage customers once they are back in the market to buy.