Sunday, January 25, 2009

Stuff You Need for a Great & Profitable Website

By Angie Sandy

Whether you've been an internet entrepreneur for quite some time or are just getting into the world of online business there are a few things that every business website must have to both attract and keep customers.

A Memorable Customer Experience

A fantastic customer experience is paramount to a great and profitable website. How do you create that fantastic experience? First and foremost, in order to make a decision to buy anything, your customers need to be able to find what theyre looking for quickly and easily. Make sure all your information is right up front and easy to find.

FAQ pages, for example, are a great resource for all those common questions. Shipping charges and easy to find product descriptions are also a must.

For many customers, it also means feeling a sense of connection to the store. Frequent buyer programs help create that sense of community, however free content, superior customer service, a fun and friendly about us page as well as unified branding images like your logo, all help to tell customers who you are and what youre about.

Regular and Valuable Content

Youve likely heard the term Content is King. Its overused for sure but it still holds true. Content not only provides your website visitors with the information theyre seeking, it helps drive search engine traffic to your site. However, organizing and uploading all of this content can be a full time job if you dont have a content management system to get the job done quickly.

A content management system or CMS makes creating, storing, modifying, and even removing content from your website a quick and easy process. No HTML skills are necessary to create a professional looking website. Its a great time saver.

Secure, Easy To Use Shopping Cart

If you're losing customers at checkout, part of the problem may be your shopping cart system. Theres nothing more frustrating than a system which drops items, makes you jump through hoops and doesn't provide all the payment and cost information right up front. An integral aspect to a customer friendly and therefore profitable website is a secure and easy to use checkout system.

A good shopping cart system is imperative for a valuable customer experience and itll make your life easier too with simple reporting procedures and readily accessible sales information and a reasonable pricetag.

Search Option

In order to make the most of your customers time, and to keep them on your website, make it easy for them to find what they want. Provide a search tool which lets them enter their keyword and find exactly what they need with relative ease. For example if you own a store selling pet clothing, rather than asking your customer to search through pages of products, provide a search tool lets your customer find dog sweaters quickly and easily.

Providing this functional search feature enhances your customers experience as well it provides you with valuable keyword data to incorporate into your marketing strategy and product line decisions.

Easy SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is an important part of any profitable business yet it can be complicated without a website builder that handles tagging and linking automatically.

If your website builder also comes with a sitemap feature each time you update your website content, the search engines are automatically notified, saving you tons of time and ensuring your website is getting noticed by the search engines and potential visitors.

Branding

In the competitive world of online business, your branding strategy can certainly help set you apart from your competition. While a logo is important, think about the Nike swish or the colorful eBay lettering, for a small business owner your personality is a large part of your brand. Your personality can be reflected in the content and design on your website.

Creating a great and profitable website starts with a website builder that provides the tools necessary to create a powerful customer experience. Choose your builder wisely, look for one that is easy to use and provides the tools you need to create the business you desire. - 16492

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