| There was once a time when becoming a serious | | | | well-written copy that contains the words your |
| business owner meant you had to invest significant | | | | target market is using in search engines. This tactic is |
| dollars into leasing commercial space. You might spend | | | | called Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and it is an |
| thousands of dollars in rent before a single sale. | | | | affordable way to get traffic to your website. |
| That's not feasible for many small business owners | | | | Just remember that SEO is just part of your |
| and why the Internet has created such enormous | | | | strategy. You need to offer substance in your copy. |
| opportunity for success for so many people | | | | Explain what you're selling in engaging language but |
| worldwide. | | | | don't be verbose. Effective web copy is shorter than |
| The key is learning how to use the small business | | | | printed copy so you'll need to get to the point FAST. |
| owner's golden online tool - the website. Here are 5 | | | | Also, proof you web pages to ensure that they are |
| tips for creating a website that sells. | | | | free of spelling and grammatical errors. |
| Choose the Right Domain Name | | | | Where do I pay? |
| Your website is your calling card to the world. You'll | | | | Since this isn't a hobby but how you plan to make a |
| want to choose a domain name that is relevant to | | | | living, ensure that you have an easy and reliable way |
| what you're selling and easy to spell so your target | | | | for visitors to purchase your products or services. |
| market won't have difficulty typing your website | | | | You'll want to determine the kind of e-commerce |
| name into their browsers. It's a competitive | | | | solution best suited for your business. Choices include |
| marketplace out there so you'll want to make it as | | | | various easy to use online shopping cart services that |
| easy as possible for your target market to find and | | | | accept credit cards and/or PayPal. |
| remember your website. | | | | Study Your Stats |
| The layout and design of your website is very | | | | It's not enough to just post your attractive, well |
| important. Even if your content is great, if your | | | | written website with its easy to access shopping |
| layout and design is unorganized or amateur looking, | | | | cart. Your website may need to be adjusted to |
| your prospective customers won't feel secure in your | | | | better suit the needs of your market and you'll never |
| abilities. | | | | know that unless you look at your web statistics. |
| If you don't have graphic or website design skills, hire | | | | Many website hosts offer website access tools (like |
| a designer or use any number of popular and | | | | "cpanel") that allow website owners to analyze |
| affordable (some are free) design templates or | | | | statistics on their websites. Examine pages in your |
| themes that are available for various website | | | | website that attract the most traffic and determine |
| platforms including popular content management | | | | what makes one page more popular than the other. |
| systems like WordPress. | | | | Adjust your sales copy and positioning of products or |
| Content is King | | | | services to gauge results. Repeat what works and |
| So while a professionally designed website will | | | | stop doing what isn't working. |
| encourage visitors to explore what you have to | | | | So often business owners give up on a website |
| offer, it is your content that will actually get traffic | | | | without realizing that the potential was there all along |
| to your website and convert them into paying | | | | but all that was needed to increase sales was some |
| customers. | | | | keen analysis and tweaking. |
| Conduct your keyword research and create | | | | |