What’s the key to making big money in the world of online business? Many small business owners naturally concentrate their efforts on attracting more visitors to their online stores.
This seems like a very obvious step and there is a certain amount of logic here. If you want to make sales from your Internet store, then it’s clear that you’ll need to attract potential customers.
That’s why SEO consulting companies and paid search experts are often held in high regard. If you can gain access to the top consultants in these areas of online marketing, then you’ll be on the road to success.
But increasing visitor numbers won’t produce a wonderful improvement on its own. There’s far more involved in producing results.
The right approach to online marketing
For starters, you need to consider whether visitors to your site are actually likely to make a purchase. To some extent, this may depend upon the way in which you are targeting them. Are you SEO techniques designed to attract consumers who are likely to purchase your products and services?
If not, then it’s clear that you may have a problem. Now could be a good time to think about your SEO strategy and whether it’s really likely to pay dividends. A successful approach will certainly involve a realistic consideration of keyword targeting. The same will also apply to any paid search campaigns that you are currently running.
Thinking about your website
When visitors arrive on your site, how are you implementing a strategy that’s aimed to persuade them to purchase? Is this something that you’ve thought about?
You may think that many websites look similar. In reality, the big brands spend massive amounts of money on optimising the experience that visitors receive on their websites. That’s because improving conversion rates is often the most cost-effective way to transform a business. If you have the visitors, but you don’t have the sales, then it’s time to consider why your conversion rates are so low.
The answer to this dilemma is not always obvious. It can be particularly difficult to identify reasons if you have been heavily involved in the design and build of the site. Put simply, it can be impossible to be objective if you’ve invested a lot of time, energy and money in getting a site up and running.
This is why it may be useful to start asking friends, family, colleagues and existing website visitors for feedback. You’ve probably been asked to complete surveys online yourself – that’s a good example of other businesses trying to get information. They want to know whether you – and people like you – are encouraged to buy.
There’s no reason why you can’t do the same. In fact, this process is incredibly worthwhile, even if you don’t think that you have a problem with existing conversion rates. That’s because small improvements in this area can make a big difference to the bottom line.
Keith Barrett is a search engine consultant. He’s worked in the SEO industry for more than 10 years and is one of the leading UK experts in this field.
