How to Get Results From Your Website

Wiregrass Advertising has built your site, optimized it for search engine results, submitted it to up to 200,000 search engines and now you’re waiting for results.

WHAT??? Why are you waiting? Here are some tips to help you get tangible results from your site. 

1. First and foremost you must let all current customers know about it. This is done through having the site’s address on everything printed: business cards, stationary, notepads, pens, pencils, the sign out front, stickers placed on every product, invoices, statements, etc. I heard a sign-maker say, “A business with no sign is a sign of no business.” Let’s put our signs up- all over the place.
   

2. Point 2 goes along with the first. Did you mention the website to the last customer you talked to? It does not matter if the customer is in your business or on the phone. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS refer the customer to your site. Of course, answer their questions, but always end with something like, “Check out our website, JoesBarns.com.” Although many business owners post website specials the results are dismally similar to a newspaper coupon, however it does build good will whether the customer uses it or not.
   

3. When you ran your last ad in the newspaper, on radio or TV did you mention the website? We need to do everything we can to keep the customer thinking about us. If they are on your site, then we’re holding their attention.
   

4. Each customer who has hosting through Wiregrass Advertising receives statistics each month. Did you look to see where your customers are coming from? That can be a good indication of where you need to spend your advertising dollars. It also helps to provide feedback on other advertising results.
   

5. Some website owners are disappointed by the site’s results due to unrealistic expectations. I had one customer say they were expecting hundreds of orders as soon as the site went live. I’m sorry, but Ebay did not even start that way. Depending on the business, most who follow the plan I am outlining should expect to at least pay for the site each year.  For others, the website will generate interest, provide information and help build goodwill which translates to future dollars as opposed to immediate return.
   
   Sometimes website customers are not as apparent as we would like them to be. I had one customer complain that his site was not generating any revenue. Right after that comment a man walked in and bought $1000 of merchandise. He was from out of state, had seen the website and traveled to the store to purchase. As soon as he left, the business owner turned to me to continue to complain that he was not seeing any site results!
   
   Along this same line, we had another customer who was not seeing many purchases on her website, so we started analyzing her business. Come to find out, about 25% of her business was being generated by the website, but people we calling on the phone to place their orders instead of ordering online.
   
   Don’t expect your customers to say they saw your site, just like they often don’t say they heard you on the radio or saw you in the paper. The best thing to do is ask every customer how they found out about you.
   

6. Along with this goes site maintenance. If a customer goes to your website, sees what is there, returns a few weeks later and sees the same thing he probably will not return again. Customers want to see new things. There are a few sites we have built that do not need monthly or weekly maintenance. The rest do. More maintenance increases search engine rankings, increases customer return which increases customer response which translates into higher dollars.
   

7. To get even more customers, include the site into your monthly advertising budget with the purchase of internet advertising such as Google’s Adwords. One customer took me up on this and had 20,000 customers visit his site in one month.

So, here are 7 tips to help your website along. If you are feeling that the site is not working for you then, first, let’s put these seven steps into action, especially the first two. Second, call Wiregrass Advertising and let’s sit down and talk to see what we can do to help you.