Attractive Website Tips

1) Create an interactive experience- It is important to use technology effectively to increase the interactive experience on your website. The more interactive your website the closer a potential client comes to know and trust you. Now, I'm not saying that your whole website has to be a flash website. There are ways that your website can easily become more interactive without using expensive and sometimes complicated technology. Your website can have elements of a flash website within basic html. For example, a video clip that loads automatically when potential clients visit your website. Also, you can combine several mediums to create a virtual character that has audio, graphics, and technology which makes your website a complete interactive experience (I will be describing this technology in more detail in my high tech tools section). By adding these interactive elements to your website you will increase the amount of time potential and current clients spend on your website. This will in turn result in more sales conversions and help build the trust between you and possibly someone you have never met before. Remember we usually buy from those we know, like, and trust.

2) Collect potential customers information with a sign-up box- A website should be more than a brochure it should be attracting new clients for you. One easy way to start attracting more customers is to place a sign-up box on your website. Your sign-up box should be on every page of your website, because sometimes clients find other pages of your website first, rather than just your home page. Make it easy for them! They shouldn't have to hunt for your free information. But this can't just be any sign-up box. You should offer them a solution or free information if they sign-up. Then once you collect their email address you can follow up with an e-newsletter or contact them with a personal email.

3) Prominent call to action - A nicely designed website will not do much for your business if your copy isn't effective. One important element of your website copy is a call to action. Direct your potential clients and let them know what the next step should be. Should they call you, email you, purchase a particular product? This information should be on your home page and repeat the message on every page. For example, on my website I have a unique tool that provides potential customers with a way to customize their online solution and get an estimate for their custom solution. So on almost every webpage, I direct potential clients to this tool.

4) Easy to use navigation- A common complaint I hear from website users is I couldn't find what I was looking for on their site, so I clicked away. I am guilty of this as well. We live in a fast paced world and if we can't find the information quick enough we are gone. I tend to prefer easy to read navigation bars rather than several complicated pull down and drop down menus that could hide important information. Also, it's important to use terms that website users are familiar with such as "home, contact us, about us, services, etc.". It is important to think of your website navigation as the order in which you want people to read your website. The order of the navigation does matter.

5) Track your website visitors- What good would these customer attractive techniques be if we didn't know what the results were. It is very easy and important to track your website visitors. What search engines and terms did they find your website from. This information can be very helpful when deciding on what search engine keywords to use for google adwords or other search engine advertising (Don't worry I will go in more depth about search engine marketing in a future issue). It's also important to track the length of time visitors spend on your site. If it's low try to add interactive elements to engage your website visitors. Also, make sure to track favorite pages and the number of returning visitors.

Technology can be a great customer attraction tool if used effectively. Remember to "Let your website do the work".