Search Engine Ranking Specialists

1. But I have a Website!

If you started a business in a basement that relied on walk-in customers and you didn’t advertise, how successful would you be? Same with websites, marketing is necessary to have positive results. Even if you tell all your friends and they tell all of their friends, you are still doing more marketing then sitting at the counter in the basement, hoping for a customer to magically appear.

2. What is the price on this?

It sounds funny, but many sites actually list products and no prices or even where to buy, in the case of a manufacturer or distributor. The point I am trying to make is that each page on a website needs to have a purpose for the person meant to be viewing the page. If you offer services and you want them to call for an appointment, make the message clear. By clear, I don’t mean flashing in red and yellow, that has an equal or greater negative effect.

Remember, people you trust opinion and have no knowledge of your product or service are great ways to see the message you are presenting.

3. What???

Outsourcing has become common to save money, but you may find there are more important things than the bid price. Communication is generally strained by a difference within the same language and promises that are rarely delivered. Think bang for the buck and while you may spend more to keep the job in the states, you will usually get much more per dollar spent.

4. Make My Site Look Like XYZ.com

A common issue with website design is duplication of style. It would probably be fine, if it were a rare occurrence, but it happens so often, the design looks common and repetitive. Many sites can also be based on a template that does not get customized and creates an even greater number of similar looking sites.

If your site looks similar to all the others, what makes yours stand out? Nothing.

5. Website Design Sucks

Remember that what you think of your website is nice, but isn’t important to your success. The opinion you need is from the people you are trying to sell to. Pay for some opinion research or see if the customers you may already have will give you some honest feedback. If you sign their check, hang out with them ever, or they are related to you, their opinion should be taken with a grain of salt.

6. You hired your friend’s kid

This is very common to save money and while you saved money, you got what you paid for.

7. Do I really have to do this every time?

If your home page either plays a flash type intro with a skip option or you have to “click to enter,” you are either an adult site to confirm they are of age, or you are regularly annoying people. I can tell you unless I have to go to the site, I will generally be leaving before the intro is done. As for the click to enter, well I click back to leave instead.

8. One Stop Shop

While some people rave about their success with a single webpage that usually looks like a bad infomercial, but I would bet you they don’t see the stats showing how many people don’t do anything on their site. Content is king, is a saying that we try to educate website owners on because that is what the visitors want and will boost sales. Say too little and you don’t say enough, but if you have a page ten miles long, you will bore them.

9. Your Site is Boring

When selling a sports car, the performance and how cool they will be for driving it, not the mpg or safety ratings. Find the interesting points about your product or service and talk about the why and not the how. The how is why they pay you.

Here is a test, talk to someone who doesn't know about what you are trying to sell online, using the info you have on your site. If they are bored (especially sleeping), you need to work on your site content.

10. The “Cookie Cutter”

Templates, templates, templates…..well if having the same looking site will set you apart enough to build your online empire, then go for it! Sadly, this is not usually the case and you will just be another failed website. Remember, that it isn’t the facebook or myspace copies that are making all the money, but the originals. If you have enough to buy a book, you can learn enough to make a website unique. While it may take you a long time and not be what you really want, your site will still look different than others out there.