Plan Your Website Right

O. Ross Business Consulting OUTBOX TIP

Here are a few industry tips to maximize your website functionality.

1. Websites usually retain customer interest for about 3 years before they need a fresh look

2. Buying your domain – try to buy your domain name for 2 or more years. Google indexes domain names in terms of ownership time, just like lenders view renters vs. homeowners.

3. About Us Sections – You don’t need to write your entire history. About Us is for the customer, not for you. Watch the ego.

4. Home Page – The top row and right side column are the primary real estate of your page. Keep this in mind as you decide what should be placed there.

5. Personalize it – Websites are great, but people still like to do business with people. Add a touch of yourself

6. Copywriter – The script of your site is important. It’s difficult to judge if you’re a good writer. Do you know when to speak in a passive voice or active voice? First tense or third tense? Get a professional writer.

7. Flash – Most of you “skip” flash when you enter a website. Don’t think others won’t do the same. Consider the average visit time to your site is less than 30 seconds. How much time do you have to waste on flash? Also know that Google and other Search Engines can’t index flash. So my take is unless you’re an artist or in a visual profession, limit flash.

8. Web Designer – Designers charge by the hour, by the page, or by the project. As a cost measure, always try to negotiate by the project

9. Structure – if your site is well structured, people who perform information searches will be led right to the page they need, not your home page. This increases your conversion rate!

10. Links – Have your links open to a new page. If you redirect people off of your site, chances are they won’t return. Internet users are notorious for short attention spans.

Did you know that analytics are becoming more sophisticated? Not only will you know data page by page, but a good analytical program can show the most popular sections of your web pages based on mouse locations. Kind of like heat sensors.

Your consultant O. Ross – www.orossenterprises.com ;

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