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Archives for October 2008

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30 Ways to Increase Sales on Your Business Website

saletimparkinsonAs we discussed in our previous post on traffic, there are three ways to increase sales on a website: 1) increase qualified traffic (number of potential customers), 2) increase the number of conversions (sales) or 3) both 1 and 2. This list focuses on ways you can increase traffic or conversions.  A good strategy would be to pick a mixture you’re comfortable with and continue to add to it as you see success.

  1. Increase your advertising budget
  2. Expand the keywords you target with Search Marketing
  3. Use/Expand Affiliate Marketing
  4. Purchase ads on niche websites
  5. Write articles with valuable information for your potential customers
  6. Start a blog
  7. Join social networks and start conversations in your areas of expertise
  8. Advertise on social networks
  9. Allow customers to rate and comment on your products & services
  10. Create a FAQ section on your website
  11. Add a discussion board to your website
  12. Start a podcast
  13. Target your marketing message to your audience
  14. Change to a customer-centric design
  15. Add support information about all your products and services
  16. Make it easy for customers to contact you with questions or concerns
  17. Create an ongoing newsletter
  18. Offer a free product or service in exchange for contact information
  19. Update your website design to a professional, modern look
  20. Add a sitemap to make it easy for customers to find information
  21. Include a search function
  22. Use structured menus instead of drop-downs
  23. Organize your website information intuitively
  24. Add contact information throughout the site
  25. Use a creative, but professional color scheme
  26. Incorporate all the information needed to make a purchase decision on product and service pages
  27. Solicit customer purchases from every product and service page
  28. Tout company accomplishments on homepage
  29. Announce company news through press releases
  30. Optimize your website copy for search engines

Do you have more ways to increase sales on your business website?  We’d love to hear them in the comments below.

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(photo by timparkinson @ Flickr CC)

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Higher Education

Clock TowerI have heard it often enough to credit it to common belief that in tough economic markets, the smart and the scared go back to school. I wonder what college rates in the US will be by this time next year.

There are some who feel that advanced degrees earned at ivy covered institutions are the cause of all the world’s prescient financial problems.  I am not in that camp.  No, I am firmly planted in the firmament that believes only those with a higher understanding through education can hope to lead the rest of us numbskulls out of this Minitorian maze.

Knowing full well she would never mention it herself, I’d like to share something with our readers.  Sarah was recently accepted to one of our nations highest regarded and most competitive business schools as a Masters student.  Sazbean will continue to be her day job, her hobby, her profession and her pride.  She just now has to find a spare 50 hours a week for classes with professors who have literally written the book on modern business.  Knowing online business as she does, I bet she still manages to teach a thing or two herself.

I only mention this because Im proud and I get to say it here because I control half the blog and she can’t stop me.

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Just Increasing Traffic May Not Increase Sales on Your Business Website

trafficburningimageMany business owners get caught up with the need to increase traffic to their business website in order to increase sales and/or revenue.  Increasing traffic to your website may or may not help increase sales depending on who the traffic is (whether they are potential customers).

Sales from a website are based on the number of potential customers who come to the website (a lead) and the percentage that actually purchase something (a conversion). To increase sales from a website, there are three options:

  1. increase the number of potential customers coming to the site (leads)
  2. increase the number of actual sales on the website (conversions)
  3. both #1 and #2.

While increasing traffic can help, it will only help if the traffic includes more potential customers (leads).  Just increasing traffic, if none of the people are interested in making a purchase, does nothing to help sales.  So it is very important to increase the number of potential customers (leads), which is sometimes called qualified traffic.

Sometimes sales are not happening because information on your website is not clear or potential customers are not sure how to make a purchase. Increasing the number of potential customers who actually make a purchase (conversions) is another way to increase sales from your website. Taking a look at where people may be leaving the site, as well as whether marketing information entices a purchase can help increase conversions.  Advertising should take potential customers right to an “action” page where they have all the information they need and can make a purchase.

Just increasing traffic to a website without increasing the number of potential customers and/or conversions will probably not increase your sales, leaving you wondering why your efforts are not working.

(photo by Burning Image @ Flickr CC)

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