Whenever business dies down a bit or you find yourself with some
time on your hands, take advantage of the lull by going through
your site with a fine-toothed comb. The simpler and more
user-friendly your site is, the more sales it will generate.
It's as simple as that. So you should always be thinking about
how you can remove any unnecessary clutter, confusing links or
visual eyesores to let your sales copy stand out.
In order to figure out what works and what doesn't, below
you'll find a list of the 10 critical elements your site
should include:
Essential Element #1: An Attention-Grabbing Headline. The
first thing people see when they visit your site should be a
compelling headline that describes the most important benefit your
product or service offers. The headline is the key element
of your site. It's what will persuade visitors to stick around
and check out what you have to offer.
Content Continues Below
Your headline should be well-written: It should be clear,
concise and to the point. It should also be enticing-you want to
pique your visitors' interest and make them eager to learn more
about what you're selling. You can do this by emphasizing what
your product or service can do for them.
Once you've crafted a compelling headline, format it so that
it stands out from the rest of the text. It should be the first
thing that catches your visitors' attention. Use a large font
size, bolding, italics, a different color-whatever suits the style
of your site.
Essential Element #2: User-Friendly Navigation. Nothing
will drive customers away faster than confusing or complicated
navigation! Your customers should be able to know where they are on
your site at all times, and should easily be able to find pages
they've already visited.
Make sure your navigation bar or menu is clearly accessible and
easy to understand. It should be exactly the same on every page of
your site, and be located in exactly the same place. Your customers
shouldn't have to hunt for it.
Remember: When it comes to navigation, consistency is the
key!
Essential Element #3: Effective Salescopy. The words you
use to describe your product and its benefits are the key to the
success of your business. Your salescopy is the only contact
you'll have with the vast majority of your visitors. That's
why you have to make the most of it!
Your salescopy should:
- Immediately draw the reader in with exciting benefits and
enticing copy so you can lead them toward the sale.
- Establish your credibility-nobody will buy from you if they
don't feel they can trust you.
- Describe the benefits of your product or service and explain
why your visitors need it.
Essential Element #4: A Clear "Call to Action."
If you want people to buy your products or services, you have to
tell them how to do it. Don't leave them guessing. You have to
explain exactly what you want them to do, and you have to make it
easy for them to do it.
If you want them to buy a product, present them with a call to
action like this:
"CLICK HERE NOW to order your six-month supply of Product
X."
Provide your customers with clear, easy-to-understand
instructions on how to make a purchase, and let them know what they
can expect when they click on the link that leads them to the order
page.
Essential Element #5: Well-Chosen Images. Images can
really help people visualize your products or services and their
benefits. Be sure to include photos of every product you sell.
Attractive product shots can really boost your sales.
If you have a lot of products for sale, use
"thumbnails" that link to larger images. This will make
your pages load more quickly. If you're selling electronically
delivered products such as ebooks or software, you may want to
create simulated product shots to represent them. This makes your
product more tangible to your visitors.
Essential Element #6: A Strong Opt-In Offer. Most
first-time visitors don't make a purchase. However, the fact
that they've come to your site in the first place means
they're at least curious about what you have to offer.
In order to pursue a relationship with these potential
customers, you should collect their e-mail addresses by encouraging
them to subscribe to a free newsletter or a free download. This
will give you the chance to send them updates and information,
develop relationships with them, and enable them to trust you
enough to buy from you.
Opt-in offers like this are a great way to turn visitors into
customers and really maximize your sales. Your opt-in offer should
be clearly linked to each page of your site or, if possible,
actually included on each page. One less click means losing fewer
potential subscribers.
Essential Element #7: Testimonials. The best way to
establish credibility is to provide evidence that your product or
service really works. And the best way to do that is to include
testimonials from satisfied customers that explain how your product
or service has helped improve their lives.
Be sure to include the names of your satisfied customers as well
as where they live. You should also post a small picture of them
beside their testimonials. This will personalize their messages,
add credibility to their statements and demonstrate that
they're real people who've enjoyed real benefits from your
product.
For instant credibility, it's a good idea to have a few of
your best testimonials featured right on your homepage. However,
you should also have a separate testimonials page as well. The more
satisfied customers you can show to reluctant shoppers, the
better.
Essential Element #8: An "About Us" page.
People are often hesitant to buy things online because they miss
the personal interaction of doing business face to face. The best
way to overcome their reluctance is to include an "About
Us" page that provides information about you, your staff and
your business. Be sure to include pictures of yourself and your
staff members. This shows your customers they're doing business
with real people and will help ease any worries they might
have.
Essential Element #9: An FAQ Page. It's a good idea
to include a "Frequently Asked Questions" page on your
site. This is where you'll list the questions most commonly
asked by your customers and provide answers to them. It allows your
visitors immediate access to the answers they need before
they'll consider buying your product or service.
Essential Element #10: Your Contact Info. In order to
close sales and establish your credibility, you have to provide
full contact information on your site. This includes your mailing
address as well as fax and phone numbers. Businesses that only post
e-mail addresses on their sites come across as unprofessional and
possibly even disreputable.
And make sure your contact information is clearly visible on
every page of your site. This will make it easy for customers to
know how to reach you if they want to get more information or buy a
product.
Final Thoughts
To keep your site in top form, it helps to review your site
every now and then and create a list of "must do" actions
you can take to optimize its performance. Figure out where you can
get rid of nonessential clutter and simplify the sales process.
Don't forget, streamlined sites generate more sales.
Also take the time to browse through other sites (including
those of your competitors) to see how your site compares and get
ideas for improvement. What do you like about these other sites?
What do you find annoying about them? These visits will help you
get an idea of what to include and what to avoid on your own
site.
After you've made some improvements to your site, ask some
friends to go through it. How hard is it for them to get from page
to page? Can they easily find their way back to pages they've
already visited? Are they confused by any aspect of your sales
process? Do they find your site appealing? Remember: You can never
do too much testing.
Corey Rudl, author of Insider Secrets to Marketing Your
Business on the Internet and founder of www.marketingtips.com, is widely recognized as an
Internet marketing expert because what he teaches are not
theoretical approaches to online marketing but real examples of
what works.