Category: Selling and Marketing
Websites That Make Money
13 Aug 2009
A cool website is not enough.
Just having a website used to be a bit cool. Your were blazing the trail in the amazing world of cyberspace. For some it was the promise of untold riches. But now, as we approach the end of the first decade of the 21st century, just having a website is not enough.
I recently recorded an interview with Stuart Lee of C2 Media. C2 Media built the website that you are now looking at. They did a great job.
In the audio that I recorded with Stuart (see below for the link) he had some very useful things to say about what having a on-line presence means. Here is some of his wisdom.
The big mistake. Having a good website design is, of course, essential. Usually a lot of effort goes into this. There is a lot of discussion about colours, images, branding and so forth. All of this is good and necessary. But if it ends there, the big mistake has been made. What you have so far is a “brochure” website. That’s fine if that is all you want. But if you want to make money out of your site, there needs to be definite strategies to get people to your online “shop” and to get them to buy.
Search engine optimised copy. The copy on your website refers to the text or words on the site. People find you among the millions of other sites through using search engines. The majority of people use Google. While the Google ranking methods do change, there are a number of principles that should be followed if you aspire to rank well in an online search. Having your website text optimised for search engines is essential for drawing large amounts of traffic.
Social media. This is the big new (perhaps not now?) thing. While search engine optimisation is still important, bringing potential customers to your online “sale” is now significantly influenced by social media sites such as twitter, You Tube, facebook and so forth. In addition there are myriads of online interest groups that enthusiastically chat about a huge diversity of topics. If your product or service is being talked about, you should at least listen, if not join such groups.
Wishing you easer business.
John M. Jeffreys
If you would like to listen to the podcast with Stuart Lee click here. It’s free!