Tag: web page design

It’s Alive! Putting Life Into a Dead Web Site

The “It’s Aliiive!” line from the scene in which Dr Frankenstein’s monster comes alive has been parodied thousands of times. I am borrowing it for an upcoming speech to my Toastmaster’s Group.

In my speech I will be discussing the alchemy necessary to turn a dead web site into a living marketing machine capable of generating tens of thousands of dollars worth of effective advertising at a fraction of the normal expense.

Unfortunately most business web pages are deadly dull one way communications. Many are little more than an electronic brochures. Retailers will maybe have their hours posted, and maybe a help wanted form to recruit entry level clerks. Professional sites tend to read like resumes. And neither offers much of a chance for interaction with the person browsing. Oh, they may offer an email address or even an email form to ask questions, but surprisingly often these email go to an email account that only gets checked intermittently since so few people use it.

If your web page is to be more than a stale brochure taking up cyberspace you need to add a little chemistry to the equation. You need to add something. In this case it will take more than adding vinegar to baking soda to get your web site to fizz. You need three ingredients, added in combination to bring your web site to life, to turn it from a dead brochure into a powerful living marketing machine.

And those three things are an ethical bribe to capture your viewers interest and email address. A double opt-in autoresponder system that can build a data base of your opt-ins respond to them. And a series of follow-up messages that can drip on your visitors over time.

These three elements when properly combined make up the magical molecule that is the sorcerer’s stone that can transform a dead web page into a marketing marvel.

The ethical bribe must be relevant to your business and appeal to your browser, its content will vary depending on your business type. A retailer may offer coupons, a business with a longer sales funnel will want to offer information the buyer needs to understand the issues surrounding their buying decision.

The auto-responder itself is the heartbeat of the system. I recommend www.BuildRelationships.aweber.com

The follow-up is then critical. The purpose of bringing your web site to life is to be better able to converse with your prospect. They came to your web site originally for some purpose. They were intrigued by your ethical bribe. This suggests that they are at least potentially customers. Now you need to followup with them. Tell them what they need to know and/or make them an offer they can’t refuse.

But don’t do it once. Instead think about the life time value of this person who like your web site has been transformed. Before they were a browser, now they are a prospect. Treat them to relevant information and treat them well.

Any web site can be set up to take simple orders or list the hours you are open. It takes an auto-responder system to convert a dull lifeless internet brochure into a living and breathing marketing machine. Do you want your web site to be dead and dull, or do you want it to be alive?

Listen to the Podcast of “It’s Alive.”
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It\'s Alive!

Which is Worse no Meta Tag Keywords or the Wrong Ones?

This afternoon I am giving my short version of my “trade show as web pages” talk to the board of a local business group. My goal is to find additional speaking opportunities where I can present to larger audiences of business people. Because as my report says, I think most small business web pages stink!

In preparation for the meeting, I checked the web site of the host location as well as the associations meta tags. I offer businesses a free worthwhile tip just for listening to my pitches and felt I should offer the same to these good people as well.

It turns out the association had no keywords or site description in their meta tags at all.

But perhaps even worse was the host locations web site. It is a private housing facility offering student housing. Its meta tag keywords were totally irrelevant to its web site and mission. It included keywords of voting, survey, course evaluations, census, segmentation, and others that clearly were intended for a totally different site.

Presumably someone copied a desirable format as a template and plunked the residence halls content on someone else’s framework.

I’m not sure which is worse to have no keywords or bad ones. What do you think. I’d appreciate any comments you might have as I will probably use it as a bad example in future presentations. I will of course keep the people involved secret so as not to embarrass anyone.

As I spend more and more time looking at local business web sites, I find such omissions and or errors are not uncommon. Usually, people just plain have ineffective keywords.

Some will argue that meta tags don’t matter, but they would be wrong. While Google may spend less attention to them than in the past, a good 40% of all computer searches still use other search engines that do.

Outside the internet marketing niche’s internal wars, most main street businesses are too busy getting product out the door and struggling to meet payroll to worry about meta tags. Their web pages are built by their son’s or nephews of techies who may know how to put a page together but are clueless about how to market.

No wonder most small businesses are disappointed with their web pages. They don’t get the traffic they should, and then when they do get traffic, most people don’t seem to do anything.

In the resources section of this blog, I offer a report for sale called HTML in Simple Terms. It’s only $9.97 and well worth the price if only to get the information on pages 16-18 on Using Meta Tags.

My guess is that over 80% of all small business web sites need work in this area alone.

Web Pages: It’s what happens afterwards that counts

This is the fifth of five posts comparing web pages to a trade show. In the first we compared the multiple reasons people have for being at a trade show and how people browsing the web have varying interests as well.

We then discussed exhibitor’s booths and drew comparisons to web page design, booth location with keywords and exhibitors signage and the importance of the the web real estate that is “above the fold.”

We then talked about attractors, how they bring people passing by to the booth and how their goal was to transform prospects into leads. I suggested and maintain that this is precisely the purpose of both a trade show and a web page.

And yesterday, I discussed the people at a trade show and how this was one area where a trade show had a distinct advantage over a web site. It’s much easier for people to be interactive. To ask and answer questions. I went on to talk about an empty trade show booth with just brochures left behind. I think you would agree with me that having people interact with prospects is far more effective than a stack of brochures, however nice they may be.

Unfortunately, most business’s web pages are just that, electronic brochures. This is a shame as its not difficult at all to begin the process to change that. The key component is an opt in box that can either be tied into the web page design, ideally “above the fold” and promoted with an valuable attractor. Of note, its possible to add a “light box” style Opt In form, that doesn’t require you to make any changes to your existing web site.

For many businesses the best type of attractor is a free down loadable report providing useful “How to,” or “What to look for” information. Think about the types of questions the people at your trade show booth would be most likely asked and answer them in a short and concise format.

The goal of both a trade show and your web site is to transform the web browser from being just another face in the crowd into a “lead.” A lead is someone the trade show people call or mail to after they empty the sweepstakes box of all those names that didn’t win the “free siding” or what ever they used to capture people’s names and contact info.

The advantage for the web site is that it’s easy to capture your leads name and email address, if you offer the viewer something they want. What I call an ethical bribe. And once you do, you can design a series of follow up emails to provide them additional useful information they need to make a wise buying decision.

There are two types of emails a business owner might send these new leads. This first set is a structured series of email that are pre-written and are “dripped” on the recipient at appropriate intervals. These are “evergreen” messages that once written and installed in an auto responder can be left to do their thing over time. Once set up they run on auto pilot.

These can be simple or sophisticated. An initial email for instance could ask the recipient if they want specific info an several different topics. If they pick one or more they can opt into as many different specialized series of followup messages as may be desired. This is useful for firms with multiple product lines.

Designing and creating this initial series of follow-up emails is the biggest investment in the entire process. A top notch auto responder service such as AWEBER can cost under $20 a month and will reliably capture the lead from your web page or even permit people to sign up even if you do not have a web page. Once the initial series of emails is created, will work day in and day out for you for peanuts.

A second type of follow-up message is the broadcast message. These can be used to advertise special sales, or send out holiday greetings or any other message you want. The combination of preloaded evergreen messages and occasional broadcasts can fulfill many purposes and can serve to not only win new business, but effectively stay in touch with existing customers as well.

This ongoing aspect of maintaining periodic contact with current and past customers is one of the best uses of an auto responder, and one that will generate significant new sales for any business that takes the time to creatively apply it to their specific circumstances.

Follow up is the name of the game in new sales and in developing repeat business. As I said in the title, it’s what happens after a person has been to your web site that counts, when you get around to counting your bottom line.

Check out the page above that discusses my services. I can help you apply these concepts to your business and help it grow, even in these challenging times.