Stumbling Blocks to Web Site Success
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There are many reasons a web site might just sit there and fail to achieve its goals. Some might be big and structural, such as not clearly defining the site's objectives in the first place. Others might be small, like broken links or an unnecessary splash page. If you're not happy with your web site's performance, keep reading; you just might find your cause right here.
I have to say up front that you probably won't find a lot of search engine optimization techniques, as such, in this article. I'm not going to explain how to choose key words for your web site, or go into detail on building back links. Instead, I hope to provide an overview of how to think about your web site, in case you're having a problem seeing the forest for the trees. If you're new to building an online business or web sites, you'll find this a useful resource for what to avoid (and hopefully HOW to avoid it).
In fact, let's approach this issue as if we're starting a new web site. We know we want to start a new site. Why? Or, more precisely, what do we want this new site to do? Web sites shouldn't just exist; like Princeton from Avenue Q, they need to have a purpose. Yes, it is certainly true that every business and many individuals have a web site these days; some have several. But they all do something.
Gary Klingsheim, writing for ISEdb, noted that a site could have one or more of several different purposes. A web site could be:
- Informational, storing articles, videos, and/or other kinds of content based on a particular topic or topics.
- Sales-based, designed to sell your products and/or services right from the web site.
- Lead-generating, designed to encourage customers to fill out forms with their information and interests.
- Some hybrid of the above types. For example, you might be set up to sell products directly from your web site, but also let customers fill out forms for more information. Or you could offer customers a subscription to a free newsletter in exchange for their contact information.
Until you settle on the purpose of your site, you won't really know how to structure it. That will more than likely confuse your visitors, and confused visitors rarely return.
Next: Know Your Audience >>
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