When I talk about website marketing I don’t just mean getting more traffic or Search Engine Optimization (SEO). My feeling is that you should increase your website’s conversion before focusing on traffic. That way the results will be a lot better when the traffic does get added.
The sad truth is many business owners believe traffic is everything on the internet. But it’s not their fault… the world is full of experts guaranteeing riches from huge amounts of website traffic. But they don’t tell you that traffic is a waste of time if your website can’t sell.
What your website should really be doing
My philosophy is to build a relationship with visitors using your website. A big part of this is how you present your business through your website. But more importantly you need to start building a relationship by collecting their contact details.
It’s generally accepted only 1-2% of people will buy when they visit your website. But by taking the time to create a relationship with them that figure will be a lot better. It’s just like the one-hit wonder band competing with another band who creates great albums year after year.
Avoiding the social media buzz
With social media buzzwords flying around constantly now it’s important to remember what it’s all about. We have a lot of good ways to communicate with people around the world… and some bad ones as well. But at the end of the day it’s about creating a relationship.
It doesn’t matter whether this relationship is built over email, or Twitter, or Facebook, or YouTube… or believe it or not through mail, newspapers, fax or phone. It’s a matter of the value you provide the relationship no matter what media you use. In my opinion you should be using a wide variety of these media to connect with your prospects and clients.
Remember what your objective really is
There is no best answer… there is no almighty social media property that you should base your business around. That would be like having a store but deciding a phone was too much inconvenience. Intelligent business owners realize a phone is a useful tool for their business and that’s the same with social media.
The moral of the story is to focus on building a relationship with visitors irrespective of the media. By creating a valuable relationship your sales will rise almost without effort. Because people buy from those they know and trust.
How to implement this concept
Take a long hard look at your website and decide whether your focus is on the relationship or on yourself. What valuable information are you offering? Are you collecting contact details to send this information with?
Building a relationship isn’t really difficult… just pretend someone is standing in front of you right now. The results can be amazing.
Because it’s just another way to be unique.
