Are,You,Running,Your,Website,V DIY Are You Running Your Website Visitors Away?

When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in

Small businesses are flocking to the Internet. The web is fast becoming a major channel for leadgenerations and sales of products and services. Additionally, thousands of people are turning tothe Web to start their own home-based businesses.After spending hundreds and even thousands ofdollars to build their web presence, the vastmajority of businesses coming online aredisappointed with the promised results of theirwebsites. I’m sorry to say, but most of theseunder-performing websites were build by graphicdesigners and technical developers that have noreal marketing experience. In committing thesemistakes many small business owners areunwittingly driving their website visitors away!Having reviewed literally hundreds of websites forsmall business owners, I have seen the exact samemistakes being made over and over. The followingare 5 of the most common website design mistakesbeing made today – and tips on what you can do toavoid them. Mistake #1 – Not Clearly Differentiating YourselfFrom The CompetitionHow many websites have you been to that look thesame, say the same thing, have the same functions,and generally are just the same-ole website? Probably a lot. People go to your website to getinformation to solve their problem and to find outhow you can solve it for them.If your visitor doesn’t have a clear understandingof why you are different and that you are the onlysolution for them to logically choose, they willclick on over to your competitor.One of the most common website mistakes is notclearly differentiating themselves from theircompetitors in a meaningful way. Meaningful in asense, that whatever difference you claim to havemust benefit the customer. It needs to besomething that they desire.If you’ve done your job right, you visitor willfeel that they would be foolish to not buy yourproduct or service.Mistake #2 – Content focused on only you and yourbusinessNo one cares about you or any of your awards. Allthey care about is how you can help them solvetheir problem. I see this time and again – smallbusiness webites owners focusing all their contenton their company and how good they think they are.The moment you start to understand that peopledon’t care about you, and what they really careabout is how you can solve their problem, yoursales will begin to increase. Why? Becausegenerally speaking, deep down, people are totallyimmersed in their own problems. Your job is toget into that person’s mind as the solution ofthose problems. Here are some tactics that you canimplement to make your prospect begin to see youas the solution to their problems:-State your prospect’s problem then agitate it-Address each potential objection in your copyand an FAQ area-Do the “I and We” test (If you have I in yourcopy more than half of the times you use "you andyour"…you need to re-write your copy)-Show testimonials and case studies of peoplethat have achieved positive resultsMistake #3 – Confusing Navigational InstructionsThe cyberworld is impatient and unforgiving. If avisitor lands on your site and gets confused, sheis only a mouse click away from another site. Providing good navigation on your website is amust if you want to convert your visitors intocustomers. Here is a 3 step formula fordeveloping a good navigational scheme for yoursite:-Determine your “most wanted response” (MWR)-Provide a pathway to your MWR-Provide a closing page i.e. an irresistibleofferMistake #4 – No use of compelling headlines andsub-headlinesIt is said that 80% of the success of a directmail letter is attributed to its headline. It isno different with website copy. The Web hasbrought us universal access to photos and graphicsbut in the end, it’s the copy that sells…period. The trick to getting your visitors to read yourcopy is to use dynamic, attention-getting headlines and sub-headlines.The sole purpose of your headline should be tomake sure your visitor wants to continue readingthe text below it. Each and every page of yourwebsite should start with a headline.Mistake #5 – Dull, Mind-Numbing ContentMany web developers just don’t know how to writeweb copy. Most small business sites provide copythat is boring and useless. The site is aboutwhat the small business does and NOT what problemyour services solve for the customer.Here are some suggestions to liven up your webcopy:-Include stories of real people -Use case studies -Use surveys, studies, charts, graphs and evidence -Use thumbnail photo galleries…make sure they are thumbnail and not full size…a slow loading site is a no-no!While this list doesn’t cover all of the possiblewebsite mistakes, it does describe some of themost expensive, destructive and most common madeby many online business owners. Just by followingthe suggestions above, you will find that yourwebsite visitors will land on your site and feelfree to stay awhile and browse around. Thus,beginning the process of converting a visitor intoa customer.====================================================Irene Brooks is the Founder of 3-D SuccessPartners, and editor of the 3-D SuccessNewsletter. To get your free lifetimesubscription go to http://www.3-DSuccessCoach.com