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  1. The Steven Covey Guide to Highly Effective Websites

    March 9, 2010 by Jeune Ortiz

    In his #1 best seller, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen R. Covey presented a framework for personal effectiveness. The same habits can be applied to your website to harness their power and improve your website’s effectiveness.

    Habit 1: Be Proactive
    Proactive people use their resourcefulness and initiative to find solutions.

    Being proactive when it comes to your website means monitoring it daily or weekly to make sure that it is performing the way you want it to. If your website is performing poorly, don’t wait to act. Bad websites don’t get better.

    Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
    Develop a principle-centered personal mission statement.

    You might be thinking that mission statements went out in the 80’s, but they are still critical to getting an effective website. What mission should your website accomplish? List out the top three goals you have for the website and prioritize them. That brings us to the third habit.

    Habit 3: Put First Things First
    Spend time doing what fits into your personal mission, observing the proper balance between production and building production capacity.

    When applied to your website, this means working on your top goal first. Focus on getting your website to produce results for you. Be sure to balance your results with the correct systems and manpower to keep up.

    Habit 4: Think Win/Win
    Seek agreements and relationships that are mutually beneficial.

    Giving out your best tips and content may sound like giving away the bank. But in reality, giving creates good will between people. Consider creating information-packed ebooks, whitepapers, or guides to help your site visitors with their most common problems. In return, ask for some of their information (name, email, title) so that you can get something that will help you.

    Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
    First seek to understand the other person, and only then try to be understood.

    Your website should not be a one way street. If you mention “us” or “we” or even “I” at least once or more in every paragraph you’re suffering from “us-we-itis.”  Move your focus to your potential clients and talk about their problems. Let them know you understand their issues. Then tell them know how working with you will benefit them.

    Habit 6: Synergize
    Through mutual trust and understanding, one often can solve conflicts and find a better solution.

    Consider finding professionals that can help you with your website. You have enough on your plate taking care of your business without having to also put on the hats for copywriter, marketer, and search engine expert. When you stop trying to do it all yourself, you will be amazed at how much gets done and how well it works.

    Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
    The seventh habit is one of renewal and continual improvement, that is, of building one’s personal production capability.

    The beauty of websites, versus anything on paper, is that they are never static. The content and visitors create a dynamic venue for action and communication to take place. After your website is launched, it needs to be maintained and monitored for continual improvement. A truly effective website is one that is always striving for improvement.

    We’ve been designing and building highly effective websites for more than a decade. If you’re ready to create synergy and bring your website up to the next level, contact us. We can help you achieve your mission.

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    Category: Web DesignComments (0)

  2. Your Brand New Website Isn’t Making a Big Splash–Now What?

    March 8, 2010 by Jeune Ortiz

    Fist, don’t panic. Getting a new website affects all kinds of factors, and there can be a lag time before your new site starts picking up the same traffic and making the same kind of sales you had on your old site. Here are typical problems to look for and what to do about it.

    1. Your traffic has decreased. It’s important not to look at traffic in terms of quantity only. Quality leads are what will improve your sales. If your new site has a reduction in quantity, but the keywords are more appropriate, and people are staying longer, you’re going to have a better chance at converting more–even with less traffic. Be sure to look at your web site stats to quantify and qualify your traffic.

    If you decided that you needed a new domain name to go along with your new website, make sure everything is pointing to the new site correctly.

    2. No one is contacting you. If the traffic is there, but you’re getting a low response from your contact form, you’ll need to double check these items:

    • Calls to action: It sounds basic but calls to action summarize what the person should do next if they want to move forward.
    • Weak web design: Do your contact buttons stand out clearly or do they get lost? Are your clickpaths confusing?
    • Weak copy: Is your copy persuading people that you are the right choice for them? Does your copy answer their pre-sale questions?

    A great tool for determining the cause of low conversions is to find out how people are using your site. Google Analytics is a good start, but also adding an application like Crazy Egg http://www.crazyegg.com/ (click mapping software), or Clicktale  http://www.clicktale.com/ (let’s you watch actual user sessions).

    3. Your search engine rankings have slipped. Again, make sure all your old pages are being re-directed properly. Also, qualify your past rankings. If you were ranking for keywords that miss the mark of what your company does, then going down for those keywords might not be a loss. If you have gone down for important keywords, then check to make sure your new copy and meta tags have those keywords. Have your web designer create a Google sitemap to help the robots pick up on new pages sooner.

    If you need help doing any testing or troubleshooting contact us. We’ll be happy to do a website assessment and consult with you to improve your website’s performance.

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    Category: Web DesignComments (0)

  3. You Don’t Have to Buy Credibility if Your Cart is Designed Well

    March 5, 2010 by Jeune Ortiz

    If you have a shopping cart on your website, you’ve no doubt read articles about what makes a cart good and what helps conversions. Every single one of those articles will say you should have a security seal. Why a security seal could improve conversions is fairly obvious: more than any other kind of site, a site with ecommerce needs to make consumers feel safe. It’s always a risk when you’re giving away your credit card details.

    However,  any business willing to shell out the money can buy a security seal, so how reassuring will your customers really find it?  Sites that are accepted for the seal can still have security holes, and other types of hacks that are not picked up by the security software.  Savvy consumers are looking for more than just a paid-for endorsement, they’re evaluating your credibility at every step of their shopping experience.

    You don’t have to pay for credibility

    A security seal is not a bad idea, and it’s frequently worth the money.  But here are a few other ways to make your site feel safe so your customers can purchase with confidence.

    1. Include a CVV field – It’s an added step to the purchasing process that helps avoid fraud by ensuring that the card is present. It’s a small detail that may or may not increase conversions, but if a site doesn’t ask me for it I feel a bit squeamish.

    2.  Have your return policy, money-back guarantees, and any other customer assurances easily visible and accessible on the site. When writing these policies, avoid legalese which confuses people. Keep your language plain, simple, and friendly.

    3. Create your own security badge and let people know that your cart is SSL encrypted for their safety. You can include this badge on all the cart pages with a link to your other policies.

    4. Include a phone number (not just an email link), and your physical address. It’s always reassuring when you know you can pick up the phone, or walk to the office if you have any problems.

    Making your shopping cart more professional and credible will increase conversions by decreasing buyer hesitation. If you need a shopping cart that helps drive conversions contact us – it’s what we do!

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    Category: EcommerceComments (0)

  4. The Biggest Email Marketing Mistake You Can Make

    March 4, 2010 by Jeune Ortiz

    Within the internet marketing industry you hear this a lot: The money is in the list. It doesn’t matter if you’re collecting email addresses from email signups or from your contact form, if they want to get your newsletter it means they like what you have to say. These prospects have moved from browsing to tire kicking, and that makes them extremely valuable! The worst thing you can do is collect their email address and do nothing.

    If you send your email newsletter out only once a quarter or once a month, it can be a long time before for an interested person gets anything from you. By the time they do, they may have forgotten all about having singed up in the first place, or worse yet, their needs have already been filled by someone else. If you send your email newsletter out even less frequently or with no apparent schedule, your list will get stale and you’ll never see any return on your email marketing efforts.

    Here’s how to prevent your list from spoiling:

    1. Have an auto responder.
    Most email providers give ways to send an email out automatically. You need to take advantage of this tool to send your latest email, or an introductory message to the subscriber right away. Take this opportunity to let them know when your next email is coming, and how they can find out more about you in the meantime (blogs are great resources for this!).

    2. Email addresses that are 6 months – 1 year old should get a special email.
    Don’t just hit their inbox assuming that they will remember you. Let them know that they signed up, and then make the email more personal. Remember, email marketing is all about building and keeping relationships. This will help keep them from flagging your email as SPAM too, which can get you kicked off your provider’s service.

    3. Email addresses that are 1 year or older need to renew their subscription.
    You wouldn’t call someone you haven’t talked to in a long time and immediately start asking them for favors right? Then you wouldn’t send your email to old contacts and ask them to buy from you. Reintroduce yourself, and ask them to renew their subscription. This is a good way to tell who’s still interested in your product or service. A lot can happen in one year – people move, change jobs, cancel their email accounts, etc.

    Free 10-Week Email Marketing SeriesWant to improve your email campaigns?
    Sign up for our free 10-Week series and discover powerful tips to build your list, generate sales, and improve your open rates. Sign up now!

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    Category: Email MarketingComments (0)

  5. Surefire Blogger’s Block Breakthroughs

    March 3, 2010 by Jeune Ortiz

    So, you have a blog and you need to write a post but nothing is coming to mind! We’ve all been there. When I told you all at the start of this year that I would write a new post every day, it was the hardest commitment I had to make. Fear of the dreaded blogger’s block almost kept me from pushing the “publish” button. Over the months though, I’ve developed a few tricks to help conquer the blank page, and now I’m passing them to you.

    Reduce the pressure
    Remember, not every post has to be worthy of a literary award. Even one or two paragraphs of good solid information is better than skipping a day and letting your readers down.

    Make a List
    No doubt you’ve seen these all over the internet including in my own posts:

    “5 Ways to _________” or “10 Top Tricks for ___________”. When you make a list of topics, filling in the information becomes a lot easier. And, as a bonus, the headline is an attention grabber.

    Capture Ideas
    When was the last time you picked up the phone to chat with one of your clients and touch base? Not only are these calls a great way to touch base and add valuable customer service, but it’s an opportunity for you to find out what questions they have about your product or service. Another great resource is to read your competitor’s blogs. Find out what kind of posts they are writing and write your own with your unique take on the subject. Remember not to copy unless you’re willing to cite your source.

    Focus on a Niche
    Focus your post on one of the demographics, businesses or customer types that make up your customer base. For instance, we develop websites for all industries, but we just wrote a couple posts specific to certain industries: “Web Design for a Construction Company ” and “Effective Web Design for Restaurants.” By narrowing your focus you can dive deeper into a topic and find gems of specialized information you haven’t written about before. Niche posts are especially great search engine food too!

    Develop Series
    If you have topics in mind but they are two lengthy for a blog post, consider writing installments each day until your topic is concluded. These kind of posts are great because they give you many relevant posts, but they also hook readers and get them to keep coming back for the next installment.

    Offer Insight
    If you find relevant industry news that could affect your product or your customers reference the article, but give your own insights to what the article has to say. Perhaps your product or service solves a problem mentioned in the news article, or maybe it is better than others the article refers to. In any case, use the article to support your information.

    Get Help
    Still struggling?  With a business to run and life to live, maybe blogging is just not happening for you.  But your blog is one of your most powerful marketing tools, so consider getting some help.  We offer professional, experienced blog writing services for nearly every industry.  Contact us today and we’ll throw you a lifeline.

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    Category: General MarketingComments (0)

From Our Blog

The Steven Covey Guide to Highly Effective Websites

In his #1 best seller, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," Stephen R. Covey presented a framework for personal effectiveness. The same habits can be applied to your website to harness their power and improve your website's effectiveness.

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