Encourage your readers to share your posts on digg, furl, reddit, etc. Look for similar services that only focus on your topic or industry.
Write posts that link to topics from other blogs, so that people will notice you.
Be active in topical forums, and put a link to your blog in your profile and signature.
Manage your online identity: add a link to your blog on Linkedin,Facebook, or whatever social forum is your poison.
Encourage readers to subscribe via RSS
Make daring statements, take on other bloggers fiercely if you don't agree. Engage in a blog battle, dare them to respond. Oh, the link juice will flow.
Be patient. It takes about a year to create a community around your blog. I've seen a blog taken 3 years.
I had some great results when optimizing company blogs writing in EzineArticles and GoArticles. Link back from the article to appropriate sections in the blog. Rankings soared, and as the articles got adopted around the net, it seriously improved the blog's organic results, making it number 1 for 3 key phrases.
Note:
If you can tie in your blog with a website (even a simple one) it does improve your visibility - I know this from experience but as of yet cannot offer much more of an explanation but that Google might look at these blogs as more "official".
If you need more information on how to do any of these things, leave me a comment, and I will talk you through it.
Mamihlapinatapai is a word from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the “most succinct word”, and is considered one of the hardest words to translate. It describes “a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start.”
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That means, you have to give your site that little extra in order to win the sale from your competitors.
In this blog post, we aim to give you the 10 ways in which you can achieve this.
1. Have a Unique Selling Proposition
People never visit just one site to buy a product. They compare prices and features. Being the cheapest option isn't necessarily the best solution, people also want 'service' or a sense of cool or just greater usability. The iPhone isn't at all the cheapest solution on the market and Apple's service can leave a lot to be desired, but it has the add-on value of being 'cool' and extremely versatile.
Understand that your product, service and company will be compared to others. Therefore, you need to show why you are different, and why people should choose your product over others.
2. Content is King
Good content does several things. First of all, it informs your clients about your product. Second of all, it helps them to explore all the different facets of your business. They might arrive looking for one thing on your website and discover another product or service they weren't aware of. And content helps you to be found in the search engines. Google and Yahoo really do nothing else but analyze content on the web and then try to match people's searches with the content that is the most informative and useful to the searcher.
If you want to learn more about content for your website, visit our article on creating effective content.
3. Have a Powerful Call to Action
It is not enough that a user finds what he or she is looking for on your site and wants the product. The user must know what to do next. And it needs to be right there and easy to use. If you prominently feature buying options in your content, you will promote more impulse purchases, if you prominently feature contact details in your content, you will see an increase in people contacting you.
4. Accessibility
Make your website compatible with all the different operating systems and web browsers available. Somebody visiting your website in FireFox or the Opera browser should still see your website correctly. People who use a Mac instead of a PC must see your website the proper way. Many website owners visit their website only on their PC with the Internet Explorer browser and aren't aware that people who use a different browser or system might not be seeing their website correctly, or might find that certain menus don't work.
People with disabilities make up a large percentage of the population. You can increase your sales by that percentage by making your site more accessible to people who may have an issue that make it hard for them to buy your product. A visitor might be visually impaired and require your website to display correctly in their special software. Deaf people who want to view your video content will need an option to turn on subtitles.
5. Test, test, test
Faults might be hidden in pages buried deep in your website. That page might however be the page that people land on first via a search in Google. Therefore it is important that you adequately test every page and make sure it displays and works correctly.
6. Communicate
Make sure your website offers capabilities and reasons for users to leave their email address or other contact details. It is important that you can send out communication materials to your customers from time to time to keep your company 'front of mind', to keep reminding them of your existence until the day comes that they need your services again.
A great way of doing this is by offering subscriptions to a newsletter, or a blog, or automatic updates on your latest special offers.
7. Know what your customers do on your site.
Use an analytics package that shows you how visitors found you, what they do once on your site and that keeps track of how many visitors eventually do what you want them to do: buy your product, contact you or subscribe to a service such as a newsletter. Knowing what makes visitors convert to a lead or sale and what turns them off is the most important knowledge you can accrue in order to learn how you can tweak your site to increase sales and lead generation.
8. Optimize your site for the search engines
SEO is the art of having your site come up in the search engines when your target audience types in keywords relating to your products and services. In fact, the search engines are the most likely way that you have found this page.
Understand what keywords your customers use and then use these words on your site to improve your visibility in the search engines. If you need help with this, you can always contact us or learn about our SEO services.
9. Advertise your site
Clearly feature your website on all your sales materials, from business cards to billboards. If your target audience sees your ad but needs more information before they buy your product, then your website can be a great information tool.
Also make sure you offer search as an option on your site, so that those people who type in your website address but are looking for a specific product or service, can easily conduct a search for that item.
10. Have a professional looking website
Looks do matter. Professional design builds trust. People will project the feeling they get from your website onto your company. If your website looks good, they will have a better feeling about doing business with you. This in turn will increase the number of visitors that convert to customers. in an earlier article we discussed how to choose a web designer.
Yesterday we spoke about how to find a web designer. Design is an important part of creating trust in your brand. Today, we are going to discuss another important strategy to create trust in your brand: content creation.
When creating content, many website owners fail to recognize that content is an important element of your marketing strategy.
Whenever somebody lands on your website, your content and imagery are effectively your sales people. The content needs to be convincing, persuasive and give incentives to the reader to contact you and buy your product and service.
But how do you get your content to do that? We'll, that's what we are here to explain:
Website Content That Sells
The first thing to do when creating content is to define:
Have your customers recognize your solution is superior
Who your ideal customer is and what their defining attributes are;
Understand the problems they face;
How you can offer them solutions that solve their problem.
Now understand the mindset of your customer. He or she is trying to solve a problem related to your product. In our case, our customers try to find a website. Since our ideal customers are business owners, we know they are looking for a professional website that can generate leads and converts customers. As a result, our content reflects that.
If you understand the NEED of your customer, and you can immediately show him or her that you can address this need in a professional manner, than the battle is already half won.
Add a Call to Action
There is a term that was coined in the late 90's to describe the average surfer: 'wandering drunk'. This seems a bit harsh, but on the internet, everyone seems to have ADD. Content is scanned, people stare at pages an average of 10 seconds before they decide whether they like your site or not, and you get very little time to sell your proposition.
You already know that your content needs to be targeted. It also needs to be short, to the point, and visual where possible.
But you don't just want your visitors to understand that you can solve their problem. You want them to CONTACT you.
'That's what the contact' button on my site is for', you say. We say: 'on the net, you have to be more obvious.'
Numerous studies have shown that if you end your copy with a way to contact you, either by calling or via email, you will dramatically increase the amount of people who contact you.
On your website, it is important to tell people what you want them to do: 'you found your solution, now contact us'.
The Beauty of Content Marketing
Television ads work because of their wide reach, but they convert less. Websites convert more visitors to customers than TV ads (in general) and with the help of SEO can attract a large number of visitors month by month.
Why do websites convert better than TV ads?
Because TV ads interrupt. You are watching a program and all of the sudden your are told of a solution when you really rather be relaxing. It works, because with enough exposure, you start feeling that the brand is somehow 'familiar'. But it takes a lot of repeated exposure, and that is why mobile phone companies for instance advertise so often on TV and elsewhere.
Websites are different. When you get a visitor, it is because he or she did a search on Google or another search engine and landed on your site. They have a problem and are actively looking for a solution. So if you can convince them that you have a solution right there and then, your chances of having the visitor contact you are dramatically higher than a TV ad.
And that is why you should pay attention to your content. It is a powerful marketing tool, but often misused. Follow the guidelines in this article, and you should see a rise in the amount of people who contact you after visiting your website.
What are some of the things you need to look for when you want to hire a web designer or a web design agency? Here, we aim to give you some handy tips that can aid you in your decision making process:
Step 1: Searching a Web Designer or Web Design Firm
Do a search online for web designers + your local area. That way, you will find web designers that are local to you and that you can keep accountable. One way of suppressing cost is by looking for foreign website developers, but keep in mind that creating a website is never a one-off job. You will want updates in the future, your web designer will from time to time need to update the security of your site to prevent your site from being hacked, and you might want extra functionality.
Always look at more than one web design company. Do you like the design of their site? Then check out their portfolio. Do you like the style of the work they've delivered? Does the work look sufficiently different from site to site? If the answer is no, you are dealing with a company that only can create a generic, 'one-look fits all' site. If the answer is yes, you have found a design company that is flexible enough to cater for different needs.
Step 2: Conducting the Interview
When talking to a web design firm, really notice how much they talk about your business. This is a good indicator of what type of partner they will be in the project. If they try to close the sale too hard without showing interest in your business, they will offer little value. Only a firm that wants to know your business intimately will be able to represent your business as it is.
Make sure you ask them if they do all the design work of their websites themselves. Some firms hire outside designers and only take care of the technical side of creating websites. That means that you are dealing with a middle man when it comes to trying to get your site designed, and Chinese whispers can soon get the better of your project.
Equally, ask them if they did the programming of the websites in their portfolio themselves. If the company doesn't know how to program a site and hires third party service providers, you might be facing unpleasant surprises that the firm cannot solve easily. Programming a website isn't that hard for a firm, but managing a third party programmer (usually in India) can lead to a number of accountability issues.
Ask your web designers for a structured process on how they develop a site, clearly detailing every design phase. It will show you how organized they are. They should be giving your an opportunity for input with every step along the way, otherwise how could you make the site into an accurate representation of your company?
Do they know about SEO? SEO is the art to have your site rank well in the search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. Your site should be designed with the search engines in mind, so that you can be found online for your products and / or services.
Also ask how you will be invoiced. Never accept a 'payment up front' arrangement. Instead, look for a deal where you pay 50% now, 50% after satisfactory delivery of the website. We offer payment terms of 30% at the beginning, 30% midway through and 40% payable 30 days after the website has been launched, giving you every opportunity to spot mistakes in functionality before you have to pay the full sum. It is important that you can agree with your web designer that you don't have to pay on the day of completion, but that you get plenty of time (a minimum of 14 days) to 'play' with the live site to find if there are any glitches. This makes the web designer more accountable.
Ask if they will maintain your site. The more dynamic your site is, the more it will need security updates, in order to make sure that nobody can hack your site. What are their terms, how much will you be charged on a recurring basis?
Ask them if they offer technology that helps you edit your site yourself. You don't want to have to call your web designer each time you need to update text on your website or each time you want to add an image. You should be offered a simple way to update your website yourself.
Make sure that any contract states that you own the copyright of the look and content of the site and that you own the domain name.
Tell your web designer what your deadline is and what sort of compensation they offer if they go beyond this deadline.
Your website is a crucial part of the success of your business. If you pay attention to the above tips you will find a web designer who will be able to meet your needs and help you make a success of your website and in turn of your business.
If you'd like to talk with us about your website design project, please contact us.
Yesterday we spoke about how to find a 
Websites are different. When you get a visitor, it is because he or she did a search on 
Do a 
When talking to a web design firm, really notice how much they talk about your business. This is a good indicator of what type of partner they will be in the project. If they try to close the sale too hard without showing interest in your business, they will offer little value. Only a firm that wants to know your business intimately will be able to represent your business as it is.
Ask your web designers for a structured process on how they develop a site, clearly detailing every design phase. It will show you how organized they are. They should be giving your an opportunity for input with every step along the way, otherwise how could you make the site into an accurate representation of your company?
