How to Boost Your Chances at Having a Successful Web Site - (Part 1)

by Robin Nobles ©Copyright 2003

New Web sites are springing up online by the millions. However,

when they don’t reach a level of success, the Web site owners

assume that they can’t make money off the Internet.

Wrong.

The one thing that is important to know, however, is that you do

have to work to make money online. Just like having a regular

offline business, the online business needs to be taken care of,

the Web site continually updated, and the customers made to feel

safe and secure when doing business with you.

So, let’s devote this article to  simple things you can do to

have a successful online business. Remember that books have been

written on this subject, so this article won’t be all inclusiveby any means.

But, for the average Web site owner, it will give you simple

steps to take to turn your online business down the right path

toward achieving success.

Future of the Internet

In January of 2003, Roy H. Williams, who is widely known and

respected as the "Wizard of Ads", finally declared, "Now is the

time to get in." For years, Roy has been watching and predicting

the Internet's future. Back in 1996, he declared, "The Internet

is a baby born premature." He even predicted the great dot com

crash that we’re still recovering from.

So what does Roy have to say about the future of the Internet?

Roy says that the buying public has finally figured out how to

use the Internet and what it's good for: specifically,

"information gathering and features-based comparison-shopping."

What does Roy suggest for Web sites today?

1. Ignore heavy graphic sites and focus on providing information

for your visitors.

2. Build confidence by interacting with your Web visitors and

anticipating and answering their questions.

3. Don’t think "advertising" – think information delivery.

4. Focus on Web site architecture (a simply designed site) and

exceptional writing.

5. Help your visitors find what they’re looking for within a few

minutes of landing on your site. If you make them hunt for

information, they’re gone.

So, with Roy ’s predictions in mind, let’s look at some ways to

make our Web sites stronger, more visible, and have a better

chance at being successful.

Purchase Your Own Domain Name

Having a professional image is very important on the Web, and it

begins with having your own domain name. Having your Web site

located at AOL or one of the free Web hosting companies takes

away a level of professionalism.

Let’s face it: purchasing a domain is cheap! Did you know that

you can purchase a domain name for $18.00 a YEAR ?? That’s it!

From there, you’ll want to use a professional hosting company,

which will provide an address for your Web site. Inf-inet.com

Hosting will be glad to take care of purchasing your domain name

for you, moving your "old" Web site to their location, and

hosting the site for you. Their rates to "host" your domain

begin at only $6.00 a month, which is an excellent price.

"Hosting" a domain simply means to provide an address on the

Web for your site. http://www.inf-inet.com

Naming Your Domain

Before you rush off to purchase a domain, let’s talk for a

minute about naming your domain. Most businesses want to name

their domain after the name of their company, which is

understandable. However, if you can name your domain using

keywords that people might be searching for when looking for

the products or services you provide, you’re giving your site

a small edge with the search engines.

For example, if the name of your company is Simply Southern, and

if you purchase the domain name simplysouthern.com, you’re not

using any keywords in that domain name, and someone seeing that

domain name will have no idea what your site is about.

So, why not purchase simply-southern-catering.com, which will

give the engines (and your visitors) a keyword phrase that

describes your site: catering.

Your E-Mail Address

When you set up your own domain name, be sure to use that domain

name in your e-mail address, such as:

info@inf-inet.com

Again, this adds a level of professionalism to your business. In

my case, I have an e-mail address through my local ISP, which is

how I access the Internet. I use a nickname in that e-mail

address. Therefore, rather than use that e-mail address, it

would be better for me to use the above e-mail address that’s

connected to my domain name and online business.

Professional Image

When you have a Web site, you want to portray a professional

image. You want your visitors comfortable enough with your

online business to purchase whatever it is you're selling.

So, don’t let your 12-year old nephew design your Web site with

cutesy graphics of cartoon characters. Instead, have it designed

by a professional. To save money on Web design , you can always

have the designer create the main page of your site and maybe

one or two interior pages, and then develop a "template" for

you. Templates are "skeleton" Web pages containing just the

basic design, and you can then cut and paste the rest of your

pages into the template and finish up the site yourself, if

you’re comfortable with working on your own site.

If you have a software program like  SiteStudio that allows you to create and

work on Web pages , you may choose from templates for that program

that will allow you to create your own site with a professional look. SiteStudio

is just like working with a word processing program.

If you can use Word, you can use SiteStudio .

  SiteStudio makes creating your own site very easy.

Or, if you’d rather have someone else create your Web site for

you,  try Inf-inet business Solutions, which will create Web sites for a very

reasonable price. And, their designers also knows how to create

Web sites that are "search engine friendly", which is a big

consideration when looking for a Web designer.

www.inf-inet.com

(Continued in Part 2)

Robin Nobles, Director of Training, Academy of Web Specialists , has trained several thousand people in her online search engine marketing courses and is the content provider for (GRSeo) Search Engine Optimizer software. She also teaches 2-, 3-, and 5-day hands-on search engine marketing workshops in locations across the globe with Search Engine Workshops.