“First let’s get traffic to the site to get sales going and then we can worry about our image.”

Is this approach successful? Should you try to ramp up traffic to your web site first, and then worry about the image your copy and design project to prospects?

That’s what the business partner of a friend of mine thought. Rather than designing the site and writing copy to give it a unique identity, keep visitors’ interest and convert them to buyers, she
was solely focused on improving the search engine ranking of the site to get more traffic.

Her logic was that the higher their site ranked on the results page of search engines like Google, the more traffic they’d get and the more money they’d make. This is logically correct, but almost
always wrong.

A top ten ranking in Google can bring more visitors to your site, but in most cases, that doesn’t mean more sales or a dramatic increase in sales. Why not?

Most web sites are like out-of-tune car engines with clogged fuel pumps and dirty spark plugs. They’re barely turning over. With an engine like that, no matter how much gas you pour into the tank, you won’t get far.

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A top search engine ranking and more traffic won’t help you make more money if your site isn’t a lead-generating, selling machine. I regularly hear from people who’ve spent tens of thousands of
dollars on pay-per-click advertising and SEO whose sites still aren’t even breaking even, much less increasing profits.

Don’t waste your time and money driving traffic to a site that doesn’t sell. If you do, I can guarantee you’ll still be struggling 12 months from now.

How do you make your site sell?

Stand Out to Your Target Market!

Discover the fastest way to ramp up your online sales and profits >>

How many sites have you seen that look like cookie cutter versions of other sites? Can you even tell what the company does, or which services they provide? Is it immediately clear what makes them better than the competition or what’s in it for you and why you should bother sticking around?

If your web site looks like everyone else’s, makes the same promises, or is vague or unclear about the benefits you offer your prospects, you’ll lose them in a nano second.

A first-time visitor to your site scans the page they land on and makes a snap judgment about your company. They scan the copy and photos and decide in a matter of seconds whether you are likely to have what they are looking for and whether to leave or stay (at least for a couple of minutes). And obviously they’ve got to stay for you to make a sale or convince them to give you their email so you can market to them.

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How do you build a site that encourages prospects to stay? You’ve got just four tools to use to make your site jump out and grab your prospects’ attention. Use them or lose them.

1. Your Headlines
The first words that your prospects see when they hit your site, keep them reading or send them away. Make them about your prospects, what they want, not about you. And offer them something
for free that generates a lead.

Recently I added 4 words of text to the homepage of MarketingForSuccess that increased my opt-in rate by 32%. Take a look and see if you know which words made the difference.

2. Your Images
The pictures, or better yet, videos, you use should either directly support your headline or create the image that you think will attract your target market. For most sites, fewer images are
better, they just distract from the words.

One exception to this is sites that sell anything related to lifestyle, whether it’s clothing, jewelry or outdoors gear. For these sites it’s all about image, and that’s what attracts your prospects. Take a look at the sites of Patagonia, Horny Toad or the Sundance Catalogue.

Ready to discover how to use your site to both attract traffic and convert it into profits? Use this proven system >>

3. Use Audio
You can use audio testimonials to build credibility, audio clips to entertain to educate and to tell visitors what you want them to do. And these can increase your conversion rates of visitors to leads and sales by 10-20%.

4. Your Page Design
Your web site houses your online business. When you design it, find the most talented web designer you can. Find someone who knows how to do more than make your site look pretty. Find someone who can create a unique site for you that sells!

The look and feel of your site is all your prospects have to evaluate whether they should do business with you. The design of your site is what brings together your words and images and creates the impression prospects have when they visit it. Make it the right one!

Ready to make your site come to life and start selling? >>

Put these 4 elements together to create a site that makes a strong positive impression, generates leads and sales. Then once your site converts visitors into buyers, it’s time to ramp up traffic with
SEO and pay-per-click advertising.

To your success,
Charlie

P.S. Most websites don’t convert enough leads or make enough sales… and most websites could be making a lot more money.

What’s the secret to making massive online profits with your website?

It’s simply a matter of putting the horse in front of the cart to get your web site working so you can maximize your online profits. Discover how >>

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