Educating Your Visitors - The Power
of Giving and User-Friendly Websites
I've been involved in sales and marketing for over twenty
years - half my adúlt life. And sometimes I still get confused
when I browse the Internet and visit websites searching for
information, or to make a purchase. I'm absolutely amazed at
how complicated some marketers make doing business on the internet.
Let's talk about searching for information for a moment. After all, most people go online not to purchase anything, but rather to search for information to solve a problem they have. Knowing this is important, because if you understand that the Internet is driven by information and information seekers, as a marketer, you can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.
1. You can provide information seekers with the information
they're looking for.
2. You can educate potential prospects and turn them into customers.
Educate Your Visitors First
If you visit my website, you won't see any banners or advertising of any kind. Why? Because I built my site as a free marketing resource to educate my visitors. I'm not selling anything, so the only thing you'll see on my site is free information... lots and lots of free information.
So how do I monetize my site? How do I make any money? Well, people read my marketing articles on highly-respected websites like SiteProNews, then they visit my website. And between the advice I dispense in my articles and on my site, as well as select small business forums, people can determine for themselves if I know what I'm talking about. Once they become convinced of my expertise, they inquire about my marketing consulting services... become satisfied clients, word-of-mouth kicks in, and voila... my cup runneth over!
In other words, I create content to educate people and help them solve a particular problem. And I do this without an agenda - without asking for anything in return. But a funny thing happens when you educate people - provided the information has value and is accurate. You enhance your credibility and boost the value of your products and services.
And this method of marketing works regardless of what you're selling - even if you sell something as nondescript as a glue stick. Yes, a glue stick! Become the glue stick expert. For example, you can create content about the glue stick industry and related products. Educate people about glue sticks. Enhance your company's credibility, and boost the value of your products and services.
1. Have fast-loading pages. Slow loading pages are annoying to
searchers and affects their ability to access
of Giving and User-Friendly Websites
A SPN Exclusive Article By David Jackson (c) 2012
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Let's talk about searching for information for a moment. After all, most people go online not to purchase anything, but rather to search for information to solve a problem they have. Knowing this is important, because if you understand that the Internet is driven by information and information seekers, as a marketer, you can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.
2. You can educate potential prospects and turn them into customers.
Educate Your Visitors First
If you visit my website, you won't see any banners or advertising of any kind. Why? Because I built my site as a free marketing resource to educate my visitors. I'm not selling anything, so the only thing you'll see on my site is free information... lots and lots of free information.
So how do I monetize my site? How do I make any money? Well, people read my marketing articles on highly-respected websites like SiteProNews, then they visit my website. And between the advice I dispense in my articles and on my site, as well as select small business forums, people can determine for themselves if I know what I'm talking about. Once they become convinced of my expertise, they inquire about my marketing consulting services... become satisfied clients, word-of-mouth kicks in, and voila... my cup runneth over!
In other words, I create content to educate people and help them solve a particular problem. And I do this without an agenda - without asking for anything in return. But a funny thing happens when you educate people - provided the information has value and is accurate. You enhance your credibility and boost the value of your products and services.
And this method of marketing works regardless of what you're selling - even if you sell something as nondescript as a glue stick. Yes, a glue stick! Become the glue stick expert. For example, you can create content about the glue stick industry and related products. Educate people about glue sticks. Enhance your company's credibility, and boost the value of your products and services.
content quickly.
If your pages load slowly, this may frustrate visitors and cause
them to exit your site, not ever to return.
You can quickly check your page speed at Page Speed Online, a free web application offered by Googlelabs. This tool tests the speed of your page and gives it a score from 1-100, based on the performance of your page. The Page Speed Score indicates how much faster a page could be. A high score indicates little room for improvement, while a lower score indicates more room for improvement. In other words, the higher the score, the better. The Page Speed Score does not measure the time it takes for a page to load - just whether or not it loads quickly. If you score on the lower end of the scale, read "How to Speed Up Web Pages," to learn what you can do to speed up your pages.
2. Have a crystal clear identity. Have you ever landed on a website and didn't know what it was about? How did you feel? You didn't like it did you? And I'll bet you probably clicked out of there pretty quickly. Well, your visitors don't like it either. Don't let your visitors have to try and figure out what your website is all about. Make it crystal clear, right from the beginning. Having a big, descriptive headline on your home page is an excellent way to announce what your website is about. Also, choose relevant keywords for your pages, as opposed to trying to trick people just to get eyeballs. Keep your keywords relevant to your web pages.
3. Keep it simple. Don't worry about trying to impress with all kinds of unnecessary whistles and bells. (Does anyone really need flash?) Focus on usability, sales and conversions. Simple website designs convert.
4. Stay away from clutter. Have a clean, user-friendly site that makes it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for. Remember, white space is a good thing. Also, if your website has a lot of content and/or pages, add a search box, to make it easier for your visitors to find what they're looking for.
You can quickly check your page speed at Page Speed Online, a free web application offered by Googlelabs. This tool tests the speed of your page and gives it a score from 1-100, based on the performance of your page. The Page Speed Score indicates how much faster a page could be. A high score indicates little room for improvement, while a lower score indicates more room for improvement. In other words, the higher the score, the better. The Page Speed Score does not measure the time it takes for a page to load - just whether or not it loads quickly. If you score on the lower end of the scale, read "How to Speed Up Web Pages," to learn what you can do to speed up your pages.
2. Have a crystal clear identity. Have you ever landed on a website and didn't know what it was about? How did you feel? You didn't like it did you? And I'll bet you probably clicked out of there pretty quickly. Well, your visitors don't like it either. Don't let your visitors have to try and figure out what your website is all about. Make it crystal clear, right from the beginning. Having a big, descriptive headline on your home page is an excellent way to announce what your website is about. Also, choose relevant keywords for your pages, as opposed to trying to trick people just to get eyeballs. Keep your keywords relevant to your web pages.
3. Keep it simple. Don't worry about trying to impress with all kinds of unnecessary whistles and bells. (Does anyone really need flash?) Focus on usability, sales and conversions. Simple website designs convert.
4. Stay away from clutter. Have a clean, user-friendly site that makes it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for. Remember, white space is a good thing. Also, if your website has a lot of content and/or pages, add a search box, to make it easier for your visitors to find what they're looking for.
About The Author
David Jackson is a marketing consultant, and the owner of Free-Marketing-Tips-Blog.com - Powerful, free marketing tips to help grow your business! http://free-marketing-tips-
David Jackson is a marketing consultant, and the owner of Free-Marketing-Tips-Blog.com - Powerful, free marketing tips to help grow your business! http://free-marketing-tips-
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